Asia Foodfest highlights opportunities

Many delicacies being prepared at Asia Foodfest 2019

While young people tended to focus on foreign food vendors to enjoy South Korean gimbap and tteok-bokki, Japanese sushi, and Thai Tom Yum soup, middle-aged people stuck to traditional Vietnamese dishes like bun cha and bun oc, bun suon.

“Via the event, we hopes to bring a diverse selection of high-quality street food at a reasonable price to all customers,” Nguyen Ha My, Foody’s communication representative, told VIR.

Promoting food safety, the criteria for selecting eateries to participate in the food festival were quite tough.

My said, “The selected vendors need certificates of food hygiene and safety issued by competent authorities and must prove that the raw materials are clean and safe. Besides, the dishes served at the festival also need to be excellent both in form and significance, showcasing the culture of each country.”

Asia Foodfest 2019 built on the success of Foody’s prior festivals staged in the central city of Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi. Accordingly, the festival in Ho Chi Minh City last year was joined by 30 vendors and more than 50,000 visitors.

Welcoming foreign chefs

At the Hanoi event, 34 vendors offered more than 200 mouth-watering dishes from South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan, bringing an interesting food experience for locals.

Most vendors at the event were foreign-owned, but the people introducing the foreign dishes at the festival were mainly Vietnamese who had learnt to cook foreign dishes from their foreign employers. At the same time, several Japanese booths featured Japanese chefs to directly showcase Japanese cuisine.

The big interest in street food makes Vietnam a very promising market, presenting opportunities for foreign people making a living from the restaurant business in Vietnam. In fact, over the past few years, the Vietnamese food market has seen a significant number of Japanese and South Korean people open food stores and restaurants in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang.

Specifically, Bui Thi Xuan street in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung district is a popular location for Japanese restaurants, with the majority run by Japanese people. At dinner time, these restaurants are full of customers, including both Vietnamese and Japanese ones. A prime example of foreign investment in the restaurant business in Vietnam is Harry Ang, the Singaporean owner of Lion City’s seven restaurants, which serve hundreds of traditional dishes from across Southeast Asia.

There are ample opportunities in the restaurant business in Vietnam, and the attendance of foreign chefs at Asia Foodfest 2019 signals that foreigners are keen to increase their foothold in Vietnam.

Heating up food delivery

The high demand for take-away food and the high market penetration of e-commerce platforms are the main reason behind the boom of food delivery services. Big names like Grab’s GrabFood, Go-Viet’s Go-Food, and Foody’s Now as the latest entry after long years of reviewing local restaurants are in a fierce race to dominate the dozen-million dollar food delivery market.

It is very clear that the numerous food festivals as well as entering into co-operation with Coca-Cola is part of Foody’s strategy to compete with other competitors.

My also told VIR that Foody keeps an open mind about the similar festivals in other localities around Vietnam. Leveraging its long local experience, Foody may plan to enhance its coverage across the country via co-operation with big brands like Coca-Cola. Back in 2016, when food delivery was not popular yet, Foody had a similar strategy by co-operating with once-iconic ride-hailing application Uber. Through the co-operation, people could call for an Uber ride right from the Foody app to visit restaurants that drew their interest.

Meanwhile, GrabFood, a player that has only been present in Vietnam for six months but is a big player in Southeast Asia, has been rolling out its strategy to ramp up its share of the local market.

Le Quang Kiet, communications manager at Grab, told VIR, “In addition to optimising the menu for users, GrabFood is applying many discount promotions and the programme ‘Unique dishes at popular vendors’ to bring interesting gastronomic experiences for customers.”

Additionally, instead of focusing on enhancing their presence across Vietnam, GrabFood’s strategy revolves around delivery speed. “GrabFood’s average delivery time is 25 minutes per order. In the central areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, this has been narrowed down to 20 minutes,” Kiet said.

Food delivery is a hot segment in Vietnam with the market value of $33 million, which is forecast to increase to $38 million in 2020, according to market research company Euromonitor.

With good prospects for the local market, competition is unavoidable, especially with the entry of many new players in the future.

Vi Thien Thanh - Ba Dinh district I come here to enjoy South Korean and Japanese food. I love tteok-bokki and takoyaki because they are both tasty, with reasonable prices. I also like Vietnamese street food like bun dau and bun cha. However, this is Asia Foodfest, so of course I’m looking forward to experiencing different things. Last year, I also attended Foody’s Vietnamese Street Food Festival. Compared to last year’s festival, the 2019 Foodfest recorded far more customers and a greater selection of dishes. I really like the festival, and I am very excited to visit the next one. Tran Thu Giang - Hai Ba Trung district I love both Vietnamese and foreign dishes. However, I came to mostly enjoy foreign dishes. I like the taste of Japanese and South Korean grill dishes, which keep the taste of the meat without overpowering it with seasoning. This is the first time I come to a festival like this, and I would not have thought so many people visit events like this. Normally, I select Vietnamese cuisine for my meals, but foreign dishes are still the best option to hang out with friends. Regarding the next festivals, if they are not much different from this year’s event, I will not attend. Hoang Thi Hien - Tay Ho district I came with my daughter, she really likes Thai food. In my opinion, Vietnamese dishes are still the best because I have been used to them for a long time. I also tried some South Korean, Japanese, and Thai dishes, but I do not like them because while South Korean food is too sweet, Japanese food is too salty, and Thai dishes are too spicy. Furthermore, they are quite pricey and the servings are too small. Actually, I am quite keen on the Vietnamese dishes presented at the event.