Businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have been reportedly promoting probiotics marketing to tap into growing demand in Viet Nam.

During the five-year period through 2021, Viet Nam’s imports of this kind of products grew by an annual average of 16 per cent. The country imported those products mainly from the US (31 per cent), Singapore (22 per cent), and Malaysia (5 per cent), statistics show.

Probiotics are said to be the most typical nutritional supplements in Viet Nam. Local consumers prioritise trustworthiness and safety instead of prices, and they tend to prefer imports such as those from the US, Europe and Japan.

In 2021, Viet Nam imported about US$41 million worth of probiotics from the RoK, turning this Northeast Asian country into the fourth largest supplier in 2021, from 8th position in 2017. Imports from the RoK increased about 23 per cent each year during this period.

Some Korean products distributed in Viet Nam include Vitamin PLUS of Ildong Foodis, Duolac Baby Probiotics of Cell Biotech, and Daily Probiotics of Mediogen. Like other imports, Korean products are classified as high-end items sold at relatively high prices compared to local products. — VNS