Flavors Vietnam 2022 festival goes cashless with Mastercard and Vietcetera

On January 11, Mastercard and Vietcetera kicked off the third annual Flavors Vietnam gastronomy festival, with the four-month programme promising to connect people with some of the greatest culinary experiences the country has to offer. With Mastercard as the official payment partner, diners can simply tap-and-go at any participating food and beverage (F&B) outlets, securely, quickly, and seamlessly with their cards or mobile devices – offering Vietnamese businesses and consumers a safer, touch-free way to pay and be paid.

Flavors Vietnam 2022 festival goes cashless with Mastercard and Vietcetera

Flavors Vietnam will be the biggest iteration of the festival yet, featuring highlights such as Restaurant Week, Bar Week, Rising Chefs Challenge, Vietnam F&B Conference, Vietnam Restaurant and Bar Awards, and two original multimedia series dedicated to food (Khong Cay Khong Ve) and beverages (9PM). The 2022 programme is part of the bigger campaign ‘Make a Priceless Moment with Mastercard’, which gives consumers priority access to Mastercard’s award-winning Priceless platform – offering unforgettable experiences and unbeatable every day offers to fuel attendees’ passions.

As society adjusts to a new normal, human connection is more important than ever. Mastercard wants to help Vietnamese make meaningful moments while connecting over a shared passion for food. Over the course of the festival, Mastercard will offer consumers unique experiences such as opportunities to enjoy bespoke cocktails from leading mixologists, exclusive access to peek into the kitchen, and dine at Asia's 50 Best Restaurant Anan Saigon to gourmet five-course meals onboard a railway adventure through Central Vietnam.

More than 500 businesses and over 5,000 food lovers are expected to take part in this year’s festival. To ensure the programme can reach as many people as possible during a trying time for Vietnam’s hospitality industry, Flavors Vietnam will incorporate an interactive online component where participants will be able to engage with specially designed digital content. This digital aspect of the programme is expected to bring in an additional 15 million participants.

Hao Tran, CEO at Vietcetera

"Anchored by our new partnership with Mastercard, we hope to build a foundation for the industry and consumers that lasts for many years to come,” said Hao Tran, CEO at Vietcetera. “Our vision for this programme is to supercharge excitement around regional and global F&B trends while making Vietnam our home base. Similar to other platforms that Mastercard has supported, such as the UEFA Champions League and Cannes Film Festival, we aim to continue developing Flavors into a globally recognised programme."

Vietnam’s F&B segment has innovated quickly to meet consumer needs. Flavors Vietnam 2022 is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on some of Vietnam’s gastronomic leaders so that the industry can look to enjoy a stronger recovery when domestic and international travel return.

Winnie Wong, Mastercard country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

“Mastercard has long been an organisation that brings people closer to each other and their passions. Partnering with Vietcetera on Flavors Vietnam represents an incredible opportunity to foster a sense of connection over something that unites us all – food,” said Winnie Wong, country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos at Mastercard. “Some of the most important experiences we have revolve around sharing meals, whether it’s enjoying a home-cooked meal with family or celebrating milestones at our favourite eateries. Through Flavors Vietnam, Mastercard hopes to bring people together for a celebration of tastes that will remind us of the meaningful moments that are important in life, and in doing so, create something priceless.”

Mastercard has long indulged the palates of passionate foodies by creating hundreds of one-of-a-kind dining experiences around the globe. Over the past five years, Mastercard has partnered with some of the most pre-eminent global chefs to create the most extraordinary culinary events in landmark locations worldwide including on top of a billboard in Times Square and inside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, at Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, and atop Palazzo Beltrami overlooking the Duomo in Milan.