Want Want Group, Taiwan’s largest rice cracker and flavored drinks maker, announced in Ho Chi Minh City on 12 December 2019 that it is building of a factory in Vietnam as part of a push into the Southeast Asian market.
The USD 70 million factory in Tien Giang province in Southern Vietnam is currently under construction and is expected to go into operation in early 2021. Once completed, it will be the company’s first production facility in Southeast Asia. In addition to rice crackers, Want Want will also produce frozen ice cream and beverages for the regional market.
Want Want’s products are currently available in the region imported primarily from China and Taiwan. Southeast Asia is an important market for Want Want as it hopes to replicate its success in China in a region with a total population of around 655 million people.
In China, Want Want appears to have reached a plateau as Chinese consumers growing up with Want Want are looking at other brands to satisfy their needs. Moreover, the brand is losing its touch with the younger generation.
In Southeast Asia, Want Want has the potential to make itself relevant to consumers in Southeast Asia, a region with different levels of economic development and where the consumers are less sophisticated than those in China.
