Building a Broadline Wholesale Food Distribution Business to Supply Food Industry Retailers and Mid- to High-End Luxury Hotels and Restaurants in Vietnam
Nov. 22, 2023, Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”) together with Sojitz Asia Pte. Ltd. and Sojitz Vietnam Company Ltd. has jointly acquired full ownership of DaiTanViet Joint Stock Company (“NEW VIET DAIRY”), which is Vietnam’s largest wholesaler of commercial food.
NEW VIET DAIRY is a wholesale importer and distributor that operates in three areas—commercial foods, foodservice, and dairy ingredients. The company’s annual sales totaled approximately JPY 37 billion in 2022. NEW VIET DAIRY is also the sole food importer in Vietnam to be granted approval and certification by the Authorized Economic Operators program*¹as a business operator with established security management and legal compliance systems, which enables expedited customs clearance procedures.
Growth is anticipated in Vietnam’s dining industry as demand continues to increase from both eat-in restaurants and takeout delivery services. As part of NEW VIET DAIRY’s commercial food and foodservice businesses, the company handles a total of 2,000 products for nearly 6,000 mid- to high-end luxury hotels and restaurants and has approximately 100 suppliers in Vietnam and overseas.
NEW VIET DAIRY is also one of the country’s largest handlers of beef, cheese, and other food products that have increased in demand due to diversifying needs from an evolving food culture. A large number of products are processed and manufactured at the company’s factory and distributed nationwide under the Bottega Zelachi brand. These production activities will continue to be developed moving forward. The company’s Foodservice Division is an added-value segment that is offering food solutions to professionals.
With the rise in middle class consumers, Vietnam’s dairy products market is expected to grow to approximately USD 8.4 billion with an average annual growth rate exceeding 8%.*² NEW VIET DAIRY imports dairy ingredients to Vietnam from New Zealand’s largest dairy manufacturer, Fonterra, to supply dairy product manufacturers with powdered milk and other products. NEW VIET DAIRY has earned a reputation for responding to customer needs with fast delivery times and by accommodating even small lot orders. The company boasts a 40% market share from sales as the top in the industry.*³
Vietnam has been one of Sojitz’s most important markets. In recent years, Sojitz has built value chains for manufacturing, logistics, and retail industries in Vietnam to meet the rapid expansion of supermarkets, convenience stores, and other modernized retail store business formats. Through acquisition of NEW VIET DAIRY, Sojitz will work alongside its consolidated subsidiary and major consumer goods wholesaler, Huong Thuy Manufacture Service Trading Corporation (“HT”), to create a broadline wholesale food distribution business that supplies independently owned retail stores, mass merchandisers, and mid- to high-end hotels and restaurants. Sojitz will leverage both NEW VIET DAIRY and HT’s customer networks to expand its sales channels in Vietnam. Additionally, Sojitz will make use of NEW VIET DAIRY’s sales network to promote sales of marine food products handled by MF Vietnam Ltd.*4 among other business collaborations, and Sojitz will continue to pursue synergy with Sojitz Group businesses to strengthen its value chains in Vietnam.
*1: Authorized Importers’ Program: An importer who has received the approval of any director general of regional Customs in advance will be able to use the Authorized Importers’ Program for designated types of goods, which will make it possible to have goods released prior to filing a declaration for customs duty payment, by separating the import and duty payment declarations, conditioned on a guarantee of compliance with the law. Consequently, there will be greater convenience for the importer, such as a reduction in cost, receiving imported goods more quickly and easily, and improving the efficiency of business.
(Source: Japan Customs)
*2: Source: Euromonitor research
*3: Source: In-house research
*4: A group company of The Marine Foods Corporation, a subsidiary of Sojitz
