Thailand and Vietnam Plant Based Food Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Overview

The Vietnam and Thailand-based food market size is estimated to reach $820 million by 2026. Furthermore, it is poised to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period of 2021-2026. As the name indicates, plant-based food is primarily obtained from the sources such as whole grains, legumes, and various other seeds. Moreover, manufacturers have started aligning their product offerings to provide the maximum nutrition sourced from plants in creating breakfast cereals or even a burrito. Furthermore, plant-based foods are high in dietary fibers, and their water content is on the higher side, which can help cure or prevent colorectal cancer. The technological advancement subjugated by the rising consumer demand is why people are adapting to such a diet. The rising cases of diabetes in the region can be prevented with the active usage of plant-based food. Additionally, the southeast countries such as Vietnam and Thailand have started seeing a current demand for plant-based food owing to the various trends that began from the west, and now the restaurants have started vegan forms of Thai and Vietnam cuisines. The following are some of the factors driving the Thailand and Vietnam plant-based food industry forward in the year 2021-2026.

Report Coverage

The report: “Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Forecast (2021-2026)”, by Industry ARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food.
By Source- Fruits, Vegetables, Seeds and Nuts, Legumes, Whole Grain, and Others.  
By Application- Food & Beverages, Bakery and Confectionary, Animal Feed, Dietary Supplements, and Others.
By Distribution Channel- Business to Business and Business to Consumers.

Key Takeaways

• Thailand and Vietnam's plant-based food market’s demand is fuelled by the increasing prevalence of diabetes and other cardiovascular diets, which are caused owing to a heavy meat diet. However, the age-old consumption and resilience of gaining protein from animal sources are challenges markets must address. 
• The growth in food and beverages and dietary supplements will help the plant-based food market penetrate deeper.
• A detailed analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will be provided in the Thailand and Vietnam plant-based food markets report. 

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Share, By Application, 2020(%)

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Segment Analysis- By Application

The Thailand and Vietnam plant-based food market based on the application can be further segmented into - Food & Beverages, Bakery and Confectionary, Animal Feed, Dietary Supplements, and Others. The food and beverages segment held a dominant share in the year 2020. It is owing to the different product offerings created within this sub-segment. For example, the lactose intolerance rate in Thailand is close to 84%, while 98% in Vietnam. The product category such as soy milk, almond milk, and other plant-based milk can be actively used in place of cow or buffalo milk while not compromising on the nutrient content. 

Moreover, the food and beverages segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment, with a CAGR of 9.1% over the forecast period of 2021-2026. It is owing to the new manufacturers coming in the domain or the existing businesses expanding their product portfolios to cater to the rising demands. For example, Mantra, a seafood-based brand of Thailand, was launched in 2011, only lately by 2019 created a plant-based division to meet the upcoming demand.  

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Segment Analysis- By Distribution Channel

The Thailand and Vietnam plant-based food market based on the distribution channel can be further segmented into Business to Business and Business to Consumers. The B2C segment held a dominant share in the year 2020. It is owing to stringent lockdown in place for the majority of 2020, thereby closing the B2B segment outlets such as restaurants and hotels. Moreover, the B2C segment provides the consumers with mostly all the product offerings at their doorstep via offline and online channels. Additionally, discounts upto 10% were observed while purchasing various plant-based food brands online. Therefore, the cash backs and multiple discounts became a predominant market strategy. Some of the favorite items selected off the shelves were Fermented Vegetables, as they provide one with improved digestion, protein, and help make the immune system robust.

However, the B2C segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing, with a CAGR of 9.8% over the forecast period of 2021-2026. It is owing to the various adaption being made in both the country’s cuisines. For example, a ratio of 3:10 (restaurants) was observed while serving vegan Thai cuisine, which held a negligible stand couple of years back. In addition, the following trends would help the market to grow at a steady pace.

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Drivers

The ability to prevent and reverse diabetes by consuming a plant-based diet drives the market in Thailand and Vietnam

The global prevalence of diabetes is significantly reaching new marks each year. The cases/prevalence of diabetes in the population such as Thailand and Vietnam are rising. As per the 2019 fact sheet by WHO, the diabetes prevalence in total was close to 10% of the entire population of Thailand. Additionally, 5.76 million people in Vietnam currently have diabetes. Thus, the prevalence has multiplied 2x from a decade back. Red meat consumption has been directly linked to diabetes due to the abundance of heme iron. Hence, the population has been readily substituting the dominant meat diets with plant-based diets as it reduces the chances to develop diabetes and can reverse type-2 diabetes. Researchers even culminated that legume intervention in the diet can reduce Hb1Ac by 0.10-0.50% over 10-12 days.

Product availability and substitution have readily grown due to the dominance of online retailing and social media

The trends of adopting vegan diets have started from the high HDI countries situated in the west due to the various issues regarding carbon footprint. The following trends were actively communicated with the use of social media, newsletters, and other mediums. Moreover, in the previous years, the social media penetration in the regions such as Vietnam has increased by up to 11% from 2019-2020, which roughly translates to 74% of the entire population. Marketers fulfilled the rising awareness for such diets by using online retailing and product innovation. A variety of new products such as almond milk, pistachio milk, oat milk, and pea milk took on the shelves in the hypermarket. Also, it was made available online on various online retailers such as Amazon. Moreover, the marketers provide ready discounts and cashback to the new customers, thereby retaining and penetrating the market deeper.

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Challenges

The resilience of meat and meat products is acting as a grave challenge for the market

The meat-eating population occupies a dominant share, up to 90% of the entire population, in both countries. Moreover, they reside behind a solid rationale to continue eating meat, the cause being- “meat provides complete protein.” The statement holds across the comparison between plant and animal-based protein. For example, the body needs the nine essential amino acids for better protein synthesis, animal meat such as fishes, bison, cows, turkey, chicken, and other livestock animals contain such amino acids in a good proportion. In contrast, the plant-based protein is incomplete as they don’t even consist of heme iron and Vitamin-B12, a much-needed nutrient category for human survival and growth. The following reasons have become a significant reason for the low penetration of plant-based food and products.

Thailand and Vietnam Plant-Based Food Market Competitive Landscape

Product launches, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and geographical expansions are key strategies adopted by Thailand and Vietnam Plant-based Food Market players. The top 10 Thailand and Vietnam based food market companies include:

• Thai Union Group PCL.
• V Foods.
• Mantra
• MJ Plant-Based
• Sesamilk Foods
• Swees
• Let’s Plant Meat
• Krop
• More Meat
• Meat Avatar

Recent Developments

• In June 2021, V Foods (Thailand) and The Union Group signed an MoU. Under the MoU, both companies will work together to expand their plant-based food business across the regions.
• In October 2020, Let’s Plant Meat began its operation in Thailand. The following would sell plant-based burger patties made from soy protein, rice protein, coconut oil, and beetroot extract. The following won various plant protein awards.

Relevant Titles

Asia Plant-Based Food Market- Forecast (2021-2026)
Report Code- FBR 0533

Egg Substitutes Market- Forecast (2021-2026)
Report Code- FBR 0419 

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