According to statistics by Retail Data, Acecook Vietnam is holding 35.4% market share in terms of revenue, following are Masan (27.9%), Uniben (12.2%), and Asia Foods (8%).
Officially entering the Vietnamese market in 1995, Acecook has dominated the instant noodle industry in Vietnam when it holds about 50% market share in the city and 43% nationwide. Acecook's most popular product is Hao Hao, which is known as "the king of instant noodles" in the mid-end segment, with an average supply of nearly 3 billion packages per year.
According to a report in June 2021 by Facts & Factors, Acecook Vietnam is one of the 11 largest instant noodle factories in Asia.
Acecook’s Hao Hao noodles account for 60% of its total sales while the remaining 40% belong to other product lines such as Pho De Nhat, Phu Huong vermicelli, Bun Hang Nga, etc.
The revenue of Acecook grew by an average of 8.2% from 2017 to 2020. In 2020, its net revenue reached 11,531 billion VND, an increase of 8.3% compared to 2019 with a profit after tax of 1,892 billion VND, up 14.0% compared to 2019. Gross profit margin in 2020 was 33.6%. Compared to other companies in the same industry, Acecook’s profit margin is quite high.
Coming out second in the list of top largest instant noodle companies in Vietnam is Masan Consumer, a company that offers a wide range of consumer products with an extensive network throughout Vietnam.
According to a survey by Kantar Worldpanel, about 98% of Vietnamese households use at least one Masan product. In particular, Masan’s Omachi instant noodles, which dominates the high-end segment with 45% market share, is the best-selling brand in supermarkets and convenience stores.
In the mid-end segment, Masan also holds a market share of 41.5% in the North with the brand Kokomi noodle. Overall, Masan's instant noodle market share ranks second with 27.9%.
In 2020, the net revenue of Masan Consumer's convenience food segment reached 6,882 billion VND, up 38.5% compared to 2019. Specifically, revenue from Omachi instant noodles increased by 32.0% compared to the previous year, while that of Kokomi increased by 42.8% YoY.
Uniben is also one of the giants in Vietnam’s instant noodle market. The company currently owns 2 large and modern food factories, with brands 3 Mien, Reeva, JOCO and BONCHA.
Regarding financial background, in early August 2021, Uniben increased its charter capital from 900 billion VND to 1,000 billion VND through issuance of shares to existing shareholders. Besides, TCBS has invested 213 billion VND in the company in the second quarter of 2021. Uniben also sold 3 million shares of VIB, earning about 176-191 billion VND.
Uniben's revenue experienced a slight decline of 1.3% in 2019 but regained its momentum in 2020, exceeding 3000 billion VND, up 6.3% over the previous year. Its profit after tax has continuously increased since 2016, especially in 2020 it increased sharply by 451% compared to 2019, reaching 216.3 billion VND. The gross profit margin of the company in 2020 was 37.0%, which is quite high compared to other companies within the same sector.
Asia Food was established in 1990. The company has been associated with the brands Gau Do and Trung Vang instant noodles. Although it is not very active on the mass media like Acecook or Masan, data shows that this company is not left behind.
Asia Food's factories are located throughout 3 regions of Vietnam and can produce about 1.25 billion noodle packages per year.
From 2016 to 2018, the revenue of Asia Food had a slight decline, but recovered in 2019. In 2020, Asia Food achieved a revenue of 3,298 billion VND, up 7.4% over the previous year. Its profit after tax reached 537 billion VND, up 31.3% compared to 2019, after reaching a peak of 877 billion VND in 2018. Asia Food's gross profit margin was at a good level, 26.0% in 2020.
Vifon is one of the most well-established enterprises in the instant noodle industry in Vietnam. It was established in 1963. In the 90s, Vifon was a household name in the Vietnamese instant noodle market.
The company co-operated with Acecook when this Japanese company first entered Vietnam, establishing the Vifon Acecook joint venture. However, Vifon did not benefit from this co-operation. On the contrary, after the dissolution of the joint venture, Vifon's business performance declined, while that of Acecook soared and this company has dominated Vietnam’s market since then.
Vifon's revenue still grew continuously from 2015 - 2020. In 2020, its revenue achieved a remarkable growth of 2,143 billion VND, up 45.1%. However, profit after tax was at the lowest level in the last 5 years, down 43.2% compared to 2019 with a very low gross profit margin of 7.0%.
Colusa Miliket was established before 1975. This is one of the most famous Vietnamese brands at that time. The company used to hold about 90% of the market share in the 90s of the last century. However, after 2000 when many other players entered the market, Miliket gradually lost its position and market share.
Colusa Miliket's revenue growth and profit after tax gradually decreased from 2015 and recorded negative growth in 2020. Miliket's net revenue in 2020 reached 611 billion VND, a slight decrease of 1.8% compared to 2019. Profit after tax reached 22,131 billion VND, down 10.7% compared to the previous year. Miliket's gross margin averages around 23.0%.
Bonny Le - VietnamCredit