Alcoholic Drinks Packaging in Vietnam

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Alcoholic drinks packaging performance improves in 2021 after the decline seen a year earlier

The Vietnamese alcoholic drinks industry, and therefore also its packaging, was hit on two fronts in 2020: new drink-driving legislation and the global pandemic. The stricter new drink-driving laws came into effect in Vietnam on 1 January 2020.

Metal beverage cans continue gaining share

Metal beverage cans is the most popular packaging type for alcoholic drink products, and continued to gain share from glass bottles in 2021. Although the price of metal beverage cans is more expensive than that of glass bottles, metal beverage cans are easier to transport than glass bottles thanks to their light weight.

PET bottles making headway in spirits on the back of soju’s rising popularity

In spirits, PET bottles had been gaining popularity prior to the pandemic, thanks to the increasing consumption of soju in Vietnam, with this trend expected to resume in the post-pandemic period. The increasing presence of soju in Vietnam is in response to rising consumer interest in Korean culture through Korean drama and music as well as the recent success of the Vietnamese national football team, which is currently being managed by Korean head coach Park Hang-seo.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Health and sustainability likely to be increasingly important trends

Due to the growing concerns surrounding sustainability and rising awareness among consumers about the negative effects that PET bottles and non-recyclables have on the environment, the share of PET bottles is expected to remain extremely low over 2021-2026. In addition, unit volumes of metal beverage cans are expected to grow over the forecast period due to their easy recyclability, as metal beverage cans contain between three to 20 times more recyclable content than glass bottles.

As Australia targets new Asian markets outside China with its wine, this should benefit glass bottles

At the end of 2020, China imposed major import tariffs on wine sales, effectively closing down wine-trading relations with its largest supplier, Australia. The Australians are therefore on the look-out for alternative markets to establish trading relations with and are expected to turn towards Vietnam as one of the ASEAN markets.