Nestlé Vietnam has entered the fish sauce market by launching its first Maggi fish sauce products.

The company said the sauces are made from natural ingredients like Phu Quoc black anchovy essence and Ba Ria sea salt and are free of preservatives.

According to a study by Kantar World panel, 97 per cent of Vietnamese families in urban areas use fish sauce in their meals and per capita consumption is around 11 litres a year.

The market is worth over VND8 trillion (US$347.8 million) a year, with 500 million litres consumed, making it large and lucrative enough for the company to enter, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, food division director at Nestlé Vietnam, said.

The products come in two options, one designed for southern consumers and the other for northern consumers.

Maggi has been well-known to Vietnamese consumers since 1912, with products such as soy sauce, seasoning and oyster sauce. — VNS