Instant noodle producers gain from Vietnamese craving

Masan Consumer, which makes Omachi and Kokomi noodles, saw revenues from packaged food, including noodles, rising 38.5 percent from 2019 to nearly VND6.9 trillion ($302 million) last year.

Sales of Omachi noodles rose 32 percent, with the brand claiming 45 percent of the high-end market. Omachi was also the best-selling noodle brand in supermarkets.

In the mid-end segment, Kokomi saw sales growing 43 percent to become the best-selling brand in the northern region.

Masan Consumer continued to post strong figures so far this year with revenue growing 10 percent to VND11 trillion.

The company expects instant noodles and porridge products to rise double-digit for the whole year.

Japanese producer Acecook posted revenue of VND11.5 trillion last year, 1.6 times that of Masan Consumer’s packaged food sales.

The company claims to account for half of Vietnam’s instant noodles market. It forecasts sales to reach 350 million products next year, twice that of 2017.

Smaller noodle producers also recorded stable figures. HCMC-based Vifon leaders once told press it made around VND200 billion a month.

Another company, Colusa-Miliket, saw revenue falling 2 percent to VND624 billion last year.

There are about 50 noodle businesses in Vietnam including foreign companies. The country exports to 40 markets.

Vietnam became the third-largest instant noodles market with over 7.03 billion servings consumed last year, up two places from a year before.