A promotional event for Woongjin Foods' Achim Haetsal beverage is held at a hypermarket in Vietnam. [Woongjin Foods]
A promotional event for Woongjin Foods' Achim Haetsal beverage is held at a hypermarket in Vietnam. [Woongjin Foods]

Woongjin Foods has established a local subsidiary in Vietnam and is accelerating efforts to expand its distribution network and deepen its localization strategy, with exports of its flagship Achim Haetsal beverage posting strong growth.

According to industry sources, Woongjin Foods set up a local entity — Woongjin Foods F&B VINA — in Vietnam in November last year. The company has since built out a local sales operation and broadened its retail channels, laying the groundwork for a full-scale market push that began this year.

Sales of Achim Haetsal in Vietnam rose more than 40 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year. The brand entered the Vietnamese market in 2015 and has since established itself as a premium K-beverage label, selling primarily in 500-milliliter and 1.5-liter PET bottles. The 500-milliliter format alone sold 10 million bottles in the first half of this year.

The brand's retail footprint has expanded well beyond Korean-expat grocery stores into mainstream local channels. Achim Haetsal is now stocked at major hypermarkets including AEON, Bach Hoa Xanh, Winmart, Lotte Mart and E-mart, as well as at small and mid-sized retailers across the country.

Localization efforts are also bearing fruit. Woongjin Foods recently launched Achim Haetsal Matcha and a Vietnam-exclusive product, Achim Daecchu — the company's first ready-to-drink jujube beverage — which sold out its entire export allocation within three months. The drink uses domestically grown Korean jujubes and was formulated with a sweeter taste profile to suit local consumer preferences, and has drawn attention as a next-generation K-beverage.

Marketing activity has been strong as well. In June, the company ran a large-scale promotion across 16 Lotte Mart stores in Vietnam, offering discounts on key products including Achim Haetsal, Achim Haetsal Black Rice, Achim Daecchu and Cocomong, and hosting tasting events for Achim Daecchu that drew a strong response.

"Since establishing our local subsidiary in Vietnam, we have been sustaining meaningful growth by expanding our distribution network, developing locally tailored products and strengthening our marketing," a Woongjin Foods official said. "We plan to further build our presence in the Vietnamese market through products that reflect consumer preferences and a range of localization strategies."


spa@heraldcorp.com