Food-beverage businesses struggle to survive amid pandemic

By Tat Dat   July 20, 2021 | 07:22 pm PT
Food-beverage businesses struggle to survive amid pandemic
A Phuc Long kiosk at a VinMart+ store in Thu Duc City, HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Tat Dat.
Many food and beverage enterprises have set up kiosks, deliver products home and sell foods and drinks at supermarkets to sustain themselves amid the Covid-19 lockdowns.

From July 12-15, Phuc Long, well-known for milk tea products it sells in big cities, set up 27 kiosks at VinMart+ stores. A Masan Group subsidiary that manages the VinMart+ chains, recently bought a 20-percent stake in Phuc Long Heritage Corporation.

Over the last 10 days, Dau Homemade chain, whose restaurants used to sell fresh noodles with fried tofu and shrimp paste until the pandemic forced the closure of its outlets, has switched to selling frozen paste and spring rolls made from pork, sticky rice, crabs, and snails.

Its sales are now 10-15 percent of pre-pandemic levels. It delivers them itself or uses delivery services depending on various factors.

Like Phuc Long and Dau Homemade, many other F&B businesses are seeking ways to remain in business such as introducing new products and making home delivery.

In June, beverage chain The Coffee House launched new products like instant milk coffee bags and cans, which it sells through supermarkets, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Since the wave started on April 27, community transmissions have been recorded in 60 of Vietnam's 63 cities and provinces, with HCMC accounting for the most cases, 39,526.

HCMC has been under two weeks of strict social distancing since July 9, requiring people to stay home and only go out for necessities such as buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses that are allowed to open.

 
 
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