Deer milk is among the latest nutritionally rich products to hit the shelves in Viet Nam, as businesses look to meet the demand for healthy products post COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 25, Ciels Group signed a distribution deal with Pāmu Foods of New Zealand to bring deer milk to Viet Nam after 18 months of working with each other online.

As fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are quickly bouncing back to capture the pent-up demand of customers, backed by an increasing appetite and a more affluent population.

Tran Thu Huyen, Ciels Managing Director, told Viet Nam News: “The company will provide the best healthcare products to optimise the quality of life and the development of the Vietnamese people with the special milk.”

According to Science Direct, deer milk has "the highest total fat, protein, and casein protein content of all the animal species whose milk has been used for human nutrition. It also contains more calcium, phosphorus, and zinc than cow's milk."

Huyen said the pandemic has made lots of people choose the best food for themselves.

She said her company signed the contract with the partner online as no one from her company could visit the farm directly because of the pandemic. The firm saw the market demand and decided to finish the deal regardless.

Early next year, Pāmu will start exporting the product to Viet Nam and Huyen’s firm plans to launch in March 2022.

In Viet Nam, FMCG companies were quick to bounce back post-COVID-19. Huyen’s firm is not the only one seizing the opportunity.

When social distancing measures eased last month, KIDO Group announced a new plan for different FMCG categories. Under a joint venture with Vinamilk, it launched fresh corn and green bean milk products in Viet Nam.

Turkish FMCG firm Hayat Viet Nam is upbeat about the outlook for the FMCG market in the upcoming months due to the vaccine rollout.

At the moment, Hayat Viet Nam has invested around US$100 million and employs more than 500 people in Viet Nam. The company continues to expand in accordance with its commitment to invest $250 million.

Hayat Viet Nam already has some brands in Viet Nam's FMCG markets, such as Papia, Familia and Bingo, and plan to expand.

Recently, Sakuko Store, a Japanese supermarket chain, operating in seven FMCG segments, including mother and baby, cosmetics, food, healthcare, fashion, and stationery, announced plans to expand its current 33 stores to 60 by 2025.

Cao Thi Dung, CEO of Sakuko, told local media food and healthcare are the fastest-growing segments at Sakuko, which showed that Vietnamese consumers are better aware of heathcare and nutrition. The company plans to diversify its food product portfolio. Meanwhile, the firm will also increase products in healthcare, targeting different customer groups.

Considering that the consumption habits of customers have changed significantly after a long period of social distancing, she said: “Customers slashed spending on family activities and luxury items while increasing purchases of necessities such as fresh food and packaged consumer goods.”

In addition, shopping habits have shifted from traditional to modern retail channels such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, mini supermarkets, and e-commerce.

“These changes have had a significant impact on the FMCG market, and created opportunities for businesses to change the structure of goods, expand their customer base, and complete customer care stages to create engagement,” Dung said.

The FMCG industry in Viet Nam has been growing fast in recent years thanks to the country’s rapid economic development. People have more disposable income and an improved living standard with an increasing consumption rate of FMCG products, according to market research firm Statista.

Urbanisation has been another driver of the double-digit growth of the FMCG market. In 2020, the annual growth of retail sales of consumer goods in the country reached 6.8 per cent and was forecast to be at least 9 per cent in 2021.

After introducing deer milk in the market, Huyen from Ciels Group said deals will see the product available in luxury gourmet shops, premium healthcare product stores and fine dining restaurants.

She told Viet Nam News, "I believe that the deer milk, which has won multiple accolades including food and innovation awards and was selected to feature on the menu at the prestigious Asia Top 50 Restaurant awards in Macau, will win the local heart of local consumers.”

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Commissioner and Consul-General to Viet Nam, Joe Nelson, said: “New Zealand is a trusted provider of safe, high-quality and sustainably-produced food ingredients and Pāmu are a leading example of why New Zealand food businesses are regarded so highly."

He said more than ever Vietnamese people are looking to enhance their lifestyles with products that are healthy, nutritious and safe and we are proud to support Pāmu and Ciels as they look to fulfil the desires of Vietnamese consumers with the launch of their innovative health and wellness products.

New Zealand Ambassador to Viet Nam, H.E. Tredene Dobson, told Viet Nam News: “Despite COVID-19 and all of the difficulties posed by the pandemic, trade between New Zealand and Viet Nam has continued to grow. We have seen that through excellent relationships between New Zealand exporters and their Vietnamese partners, like the partnership between Ciels and Pāmu.” — VNS