Nestlé Vietnam, one of the country’s leading businesses, especially in terms of its commitment to sustainable development, not only does well in business activities, but also creates jobs, contributes to the state budget but also contributes to initiatives and programs on social and community development, environmental protection.

Pursuing these goals, the company is enhancing the promotion of its sustainable, “Made-in-Vietnam” products, bringing the NESCAFÉ and MAGGI brands to many countries around the world.

Exports are an important part of Nestlé Vietnam's strategy/business, with the goal of making Vietnam a regional supply hub, according to Will Mackereth, head of Supply Chain at Nestlé Vietnam. The year 2020 has seen the company’s exports grow by 20% against the previous year.  Coffee has long been a focus, but now Nestlé is looking to grow its Culinary export portfolio.

Vietnam Becomes Culinary Supply Center of the Region

MAGGI is a brand of Nestlé Group (Switzerland) with a history of over 100 years, widely used by consumers in nearly 200 countries around the world.

Last year, the exports of Nestlé Vietnam’s MAGGI spicy products to the Philippines, Thailand and even markets with numerous high technical & regulatory standards such as the United States, Australia, Japan & Korea picked up both in volume and value.

The main drivers of this achievement are the fact that the MAGGI products become indispensable in the kitchen of every Vietnamese family, such as naturally fermented MAGGI Soya Sauce, MAGGI oyster sauce made from genuine oyster extract and MAGGI Bouillon.

Will Mackereth added: “These products have contributed a great deal to the growth of Nestlé Vietnam’s exports. Along with improving quality, productivity and flexibility, we have also developed our capacity to export our products to markets with the highest quality requirements such as Japan, Korea, Australia and the US.”

MAGGI products are also welcomed by Vietnamese consumers living abroad, including in markets with high demands for safety and food quality.

In addition to the familiar product lines consumers have grown accustomed to over the years, Nestlé Vietnam also offers specialty products for consumers in foreign markets such as the all-in-one cooking sauce in Thailand and the MAGGI Supreme Sarap cooking sauce in the Philippines.

The Leading Roaster of Coffee

Coffee exports under the NESCAFÉ brand of Nestlé in 2020 increased by 20% on-year. Growth was reported in both value-added and sourced coffee products certified by International organizations for sustainable coffee farming and production such as 4C and the Rainforest Alliance.

Every year, Nestlé globally purchases 20-25% of Vietnam's coffee output to process worldwide into coffee products, with an average total value of US$600-700 million, maintaining the position as the biggest coffee buyer in Vietnam. Locally, all Nestlé Vietnam’s NESCAFÉ products are made from 100% high-quality Vietnamese coffee beans and are enjoyed domestically by Vietnamese customers, and exported to 25 markets for the love and joy of consumers around the world.

In addition to processed coffee products made from Vietnam’s specialty Robusta beans, Nestlé Vietnam also exports coffee made from sustainably sourced Arabica beans. It cooperates with the Rainforest Alliance to certify that NESCAFÉ Excellente 100% Arabica products meet Sustainable Agriculture Standards for supply to markets such as South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore.

Le Thi Thanh Mai, Inter Market Supply manager of Nestlé Vietnam, shared:  “While the majority of coffee export from Vietnam consists of Robusta beans, we are very proud to be producing and exporting the high-value, sustainably sourced (RFA-verified) Vietnamese Arabica to markets like South Korea, Thailand, Singapore with very specific and demanding requirements. This highlights the fact that high-quality Vietnamese coffee beans can compete abroad with other prestigious-origin coffee beans.”

Be committed to investing in the development of the coffee farming community

In Vietnam, the NESCAFÉ Plan sustainable coffee development project strives to improve the coffee production value chain from farmers to consumers, enhancing the value of Vietnamese coffee beans.

Since 2011, Nestlé and the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI) have effectively coordinated research programs on coffee varieties and technology transfer in coffee production, among others, to create new varieties of coffee that thrive in the climatic and soil conditions of the Central Highlands to ensure high yield and quality, contributing to sustainable coffee development in Vietnam. The project has supported 260,000 farmer training events in sustainable farming techniques. So far, 21,000 farmer households have been certified for 4C international sustainability standards while participating farmers have seen income rise by at least 30%.

Completing the coffee production value chain, the Nestlé Tri An factory in Dong Nai province can produce a wide range of products with high added value, playing a central role in bringing sustainably-sourced processed coffee to markets worldwide.

Will Mackereth shared: “Export growth will remain positive this year, partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand in import markets. Consumers still show high demand for products that are fully compliant & high quality as well as meeting sustainability requirements”.

As a leading roaster, Nestlé will continue contributing to Vietnam's growing coffee exports, helping to realize the goal set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to raise the proportion of processed and value-added coffee products to 20-30% of the total coffee exports of Vietnam,” he said.