Non-alcoholic drinks fetch higher revenues

Suntory PepsiCo, a venture between the U.S.’s PepsiCo and Japan’s Suntory Holdings Ltd, continued to lead the market with revenues of VND18.3 trillion ($793 million), up 14 percent year-on-year.

The company offers a variety of products including soft drinks, water, energy drink and Oolong tea.

Coca-Cola followed with VND9.3 trillion, its product range also comprising soft drinks, water and energy drink.

Vietnamese company Tan Hiep Phat Group (THP) came in third at VND9.2 trillion, up 10 percent, focusing only on two types of drink: tea and energy drink.

The fourth and fifth places were taken by Vietnamese firm Masan Consumer and Thai company Red Bull, both having recorded growth in recent years.

Masan Consumer, which introduced its energy drink Compact in 2018, saw revenues rise 32 percent to VND2.6 trillion last year.

Its leaders had earlier expressed confidence that local players still have the potential to win a greater market share from foreign companies thanks to better understanding of local consumers’ preferences.

Red Bull, which entered Vietnam in 1999, saw revenues top VND1 trillion for the first time last year.

In terms of pre-tax profit, THP led the market last year with VND3.3 trillion, 20 percent higher than that of the second placed Suntory PepsiCo and three times that of third placed Coca-Cola.

It also had the highest gross profit margin of the three at 40-50 percent over the last three years, compared to roughly 30 percent for Suntory PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.