Note: In-text citations, references, and parts of the essay have been removed to prevent plagiarism and make it easier to read.
Company Overview
Vinasoy is a brand of soybean products released by Quang Ngai Sugar (QNS), Vietnam's largest sugar production company. QNS has produced a variety of beverages and sugar goods. The corporation gradually expanded from being government-owned to being a joint-stock company.
Every batch is tested through various methods at the CASE-HCMC and the Department of Science and Technology. QNS crucially "commit to fully comply with the provisions of the law on food safety and take full responsibility for the legality of the published records and the quality and food safety of the announced products." This demonstrates the role that a company's principles and statements have in fostering consumer trust.
Vinasoy was founded in 2005. Most supermarkets and convenience stores in Vietnam sell their products. This demonstrates a specialized and exclusive customer base and how well-regarded they are. With QNS company establishments in over 63 provinces in Vietnam, their products are also exported to America, Russia, etc. QNS has always made up its reputation by the legitimacy of the Vietnam brand contest and ranking, being in the high position of Top 500 Biggest Vietnamese Business, Top 500 Fastest Business Development, and Top 1000 Highest Business Corporate Income Tax.
Product Description
Vinasoy mainly focuses on products made from nut-based ingredients. They aim to bring the healthiest and high-quality products to consumers. Moreover, the “natural soybean” differs Vinasoy from other brands. Furthermore, all Vinasoy products have no preservatives and are not genetically modified (Non-GMO), along with plant-based protein, as well as cholesterol-free, lactose-free, and low saturated fat. There are various types of Fami and Vinasoy products.
Fami has original flavour, less sugar, black sugar, and coconut milk. The former reduced the sugar by 30% and increased soybeans by 25%, balancing the nutrients effectively and conveniently.
Fami Canxi has an original flavour, less sugar, cheese, chocolate, and coffee. The difference is the ingredients: the former has more calcium, strengthening the bones.
Fami Go has red beans and purple sticky rice. They are nutritious, increasing protein by 50%, providing energy and raising their effects and convenience.
Fami Kid, with a chocolate flavour that attracts youngsters, contains calcium, DHA, vitamins, and minerals to improve health, height and enhance brain development.
Vinasoy soymilk has an original flavour and black sesame, containing protein with rich isoflavones to balance estrogen and anti-oxidant hormones for a healthy body and radiant skin. The protein also helps reduce cholesterol, preventing obesity and building and maintaining well-proportioned, toned skin
There are two types of soymilk packages: in a packet or a box, the latter is usually packaged in a four or six-pack or a bigger box. The package is made from paper with layers of polyethylene, paper, aluminium to prevent oxidizing, smell and light.
Industry Analysis (Competitors & Trends)
Top 10 local dairy brands in urban 4 key cities and rural. Source: Ha (2023). Quang Ngai Sugar JSC (QNS). VNDirect. https://www.vndirect.com.vn/cmsupload/beta/QNS_Initiation_20231116.pdf
While the race for market share in liquid/powdered milk and yogurt is always fierce, QNS "calmly" dominates the soy milk segment with Fami and Vinasoy. Soy milk is almost an exclusive "playground" for QNS. AC Neilsen stated by December 2021, Vinasoy's market share in output would reach 90% of the market share of paper-packaged soy milk. While the two main competitors, Vinamilk and NutiFood only won 5% each. Fami was developed by QNS in 2003 after the company failed in the traditional cow milk segment. After that, the company invested in branding by changing the name of Truong Xuan factory to Vietnam Soy Milk Factory in 2004.
“Regarding Vinasoy's market selection rule, the first is healthy products with high sustainable value. If you can get a big slice of the pie in a small market, it's still very valuable. That's why soy milk is still the company's only product,” said Ha Thi Lan Huong (Communications Director of Vinasoy). Despite the effort to build its brand, Vinasoy could not avoid scandals around food safety and hygiene which were detrimental. Additionally, QNS is up against competition from dairy goods like cow's milk, which is becoming more well-liked as a nutritional beverage due to intensive brand marketing campaigns.
Global soy milk market by region, 2022 to 2029. Source: Data Bridge Market Research (2023). Global soy milk market - Industry trends and forecast to 2029. Data Bridge Market Research. https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-soy-milk-market
Along with domestic market rivalries like Vinamilk and Nuti, Vinasoy will have to compete with foreign brands since the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has agreed to lower the taxes fee of imported foreign brands for the next ten years (NIF, 2020). Although there is fierce rivalry, there are still "untapped" markets where up to 65% of soymilk consumers choose unbranded, unprocessed, and homemade soymilk. This means that consumers will have more choices with various materials and flavours, enhancing the competing rate of Vinasoy in the Vietnam milk industry. Vinasoy has to find an effective way of marketing to attract potential customers along with remaining brand loyalty by producing more product lines.
Also, Nielsen recorded: the market share of Vinasoy reached 85.8% in 2020. In December of the same year, Vinasoy accounted for 87.3% of the market share, up 2.9% over the same period in 2019. Soy milk is known to be one of the food items directly affected by Covid-19. Consumption volume in 2019 reached 250 million litres. As for QNS, revenue from soy milk last year decreased by 10%, then increased after the pandemic since people purchased more health-conscious products. Enhancing life conditions and being aware of their health is highly considered. Therefore, plant-based products will be their top choice.
After 25 years of development, Vinasoy changed the message to "Enhancing golden nutrition from plants" in light of the trend of favouring plant-based products (Phúc, 2022).
Detailed Recent Promotional Activity
Although Vinasoy's Facebook profile was created in 2012, there is practically no expert product marketing (advertising campaigns or official advertisement promotion process). But achievements, articles, and events are presented. Vinasoy's most recent update on Facebook was on July 14th (at the time of writing). Their posts are mainly about sharing articles and product-related minigames with nutritional informative content that attracted minimal user engagement. As we perceived, they are keeping Facebook updated but with low effectiveness. Therefore, it is not mainly used for product promotion but leans toward brand legitimacy. The official Vinasoy website provides comprehensive data, including brand history, previous campaigns, etc. Nevertheless, neither of these two venues is actively utilized for advertising or promotion.
Vinasoy's 2012-created YouTube channel is the platform that has been used the most for print marketing. "LANG LIEU HAU TRUYEN-Vinasoy 2020 New Year Music Video" has received over 30 million views and is the most popular video on the channel. Therefore, this Branded Music Marketing campaign is a success. Along with that, several short videos (less than half a minute) are used to advertise various products line on YouTube. Television Advertising was the most popular conventional form of marketing for previous campaigns. Vinasoy concentrated on promoting their products on channels with a significant audience, like HTV9, HTV7, VTV3, etc., which are well-known and frequently observed channels. It led to effective advertising, increased brand awareness, and positive product impressions on a large scale.
Despite maintaining a steady wave of successful promotion, there is no connectivity via online platforms to optimize the most successful outcomes as it is given that social media is becoming a common stay of everyone's daily life. Therefore, Vinasoy needs to optimize social media to reach its effective advertisement goal.
Target Audience Profile
Vinasoy soy milk is produced from pure soybeans - valued for their nutritional value and health benefits - ensuring the best ratio of isoflavones and proteins without external supplements. So they are popular solutions for vegetarians due to their high protein content and versatility in producing meat analogs and dairy substitutes. Vinasoy pure soy milk is rich in natural soy protein, 100% non-GMO, and is rich in isoflavones, which help to balance estrogen and antioxidant hormones, giving you a healthy body shape. and smooth skin. This product aims to provide the target audience with the perfect product that meets various consumer needs. Numerous studies show that vegetarianism is becoming a way of life in Vietnam — with 55% of survey respondents saying they are vegetarian. 28.5% are regular vegetarians, and 29% are less committed to vegetarianism. As a result, the rise of plant-based diets indicates greater demand for products like Vinasoy, which appeals to a health and quality-conscious target audience.
The outstanding nutritional values that nut milk brings have been scientifically proven; in which macadamia nut milk and walnuts are rich in unsaturated fats (Omega-3) and antioxidants that have good effects on health. Additionally, nut milk effectively prevents chronic non-communicable diseases, like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.
As a result, this has triggered consumer demand in search of a brand that fulfills these needs while still providing a healthy breakfast alternative that fits their preferences. Therefore, the goal of consumers is to find a quality product that meets their demands and taste standards, allows quick access within their busy schedules and supports them with the protein and energy they need to get through the day.
With this, Vinasoy gives customers choices that meet their and their family's needs while setting a high value on health benefits. Vinasoy also ensures that the product is lactose-free and cholesterol-free, indicating inclusivity for all customers. While consumers of the other product lines (Fami Kid/Go, and Vinasoy) are more likely to have a solid relationship with small families or individuals as they buy the particular product for intended individuals, the target customers for Fami Canxi & Original are more likely to buy them for a family. The products of the brand Vinasoy are distributed to many retail establishments in Vietnam, including Bach Hoa Xanh, Winmart, etc. They can even be found in family-owned grocery stores, indicating that their product has a high level of identification and an affordable price point. The target demographic is people with families, and potential customers would be health-conscious people who live primarily in inner-cities and a smaller number in outer-city areas.
Communication Objectives
Based on Data Bridge Market Research, Fami was the most recognized brand and Vinasoy soymilk was less recognized. However, the company was not as well-known as its Fami branch. Consequently, the objective is establishing and increasing brand awareness using social media, including Facebook. Since Recent Promotional Activity has mentioned that the Vinasoy Facebook page had minimal user engagement, specifically below 100 likes per post, we aim to reach 3000 likes for each Facebook post and especially 10000 likes per sponsored post in the third quarter of 2023. According to Hr1tech, nearly 76 million Vietnamese people use Facebook by June 2021, which accounts for more than 70% of the national population. Thus, remaking the Facebook page by creating more promotional posts and running ads containing health information is essential.
Based on Figures 2 and 3, Facebook clicks and impressions have a significant impact on the visit numbers and sales since these aspects accounted for the largest part of the chart. This method builds an identity for the products in health fields. Therefore, their Facebook page can create brand recognition and broaden awareness while creating a closer relationship with current customers.
Daily paid Facebook metrics from stored files, 2021. From “Going digital? The impact of social media marketing on retail website traffic, orders and sales,” by L. Dolega, F. Rowe and E. Branagan, 2021, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 60, p. 102501. Copyright 2021 by Elsevier.
An additional medium is using TV advertisements to bring Vinasoy to the public more consistently and memorably, as the TVC has been effective for Vinasoy. For instance, the 2013 Vinasoy TVC contains someone who accidentally broke a table, followed by “Fami Canxi - Delicious and Beneficial for your bones.” It was deemed very effectively approachable and considered one of the most successful and memorable Vinasoy advertisements. Another example is “LANG LIEU HAU TRUYEN” considered one of the most impressive campaigns in the New Year 2020 because of branded music marketing.
Another objective is to build and maintain customer loyalty. According to Appendix A and B, 61.4% of people rarely drink soymilk, and when they want to buy soymilk, 60% of participants make a purchase decision based on health information. Additionally, according to Vinasoy, all products are created from non-GMO soybeans and plant-based protein. We have also discovered that Vinasoy's products are associated with health choices from customers and targeted audiences, primarily women. Due to gender roles and social pressure that women have to eat healthily may encourage them to rely on food labels more than men. Therefore, we aim to build loyalty for women customers who value and cater to health and beauty and Vinasoy is pleased to be their long-term partner.
To do that, Vinasoy can establish events like creating stamp collections for their products, customers can exchange them for gifts. According to Wood, the behavioural assumption is that it can “motivate customers to base their purchasing decisions both on the current environment and on a long‐term goal of achieving a frequent buyer reward.” Furthermore, stamp collection events can be promoted through television commercials, which helps attract more customers to participate and boost brand awareness. Fu et al. stated TV ads are created to advertise to encourage purchases, increase sales revenue, and guarantee the success of the new product.
Budgeting Approach
Affordable budgeting method aids the business in deciding how much it can spend on areas like operations and production before deciding how much it can spend on advertising and promotions (West et al., 2014). A corporation allocates the remaining funds to advertising after covering all its fixed and unavoidable expenses (Kotak, 2020).
In 2022, QNS earned 8,553 billion VND (~537 million AUD) in revenue, up 13% compared to 2021 and exceeding 7% of the plan. Profit after tax reached 1,287 billion VND (~81 million AUD), up 3% and exceeding 28% of the year's plan (Phuong, 2023). The cost of advertising and communication is nearly 46 billion VND (~2.9 million AUD) (reduced by 5 billion VND (~314 thousand AUD) compared to the beginning of the period) (Ho Nga, 2023).
From Mạnh tay chi quảng cáo, Chủ thương hiệu sữa đậu nành Vinasoy báo lãi 316 tỷ đồng quý 1, by Hồ Nga, 2023, https://nguoiquansat.vn/manh-tay-chi-quang-cao-chu-thuong-hieu-sua-dau-nanh-vinas oy-bao-lai-316-ty-dong-quy-1-78334.htm.
Soy milk consumption decreased by 12% in the same period in Q2/2022 and 4% in the same quarter in Q4/2022, indicating consumption in the nutritional food market is still weak. There is a constant fluctuation throughout the years, as seen in this chart (Figure 5). So, based on this, we are predicting an increase in Q2 2023 revenue, so we calculated the ratio of the ads and communication to profit: 46 billion VND (cost of advertising/communications)/ 317 billion VND (profit after tax) x 100 ≈ 14.5% Despite the affordable budget method and QNS's trends, we recommended to increasing to approximately 20%.
The trend of digital communication becomes more effective in the context of globalization today. Globalization is amplified faster, and more dramatically with the help of the Internet, e-commerce and digital communication tools. A company's performance can be affected immediately in any way, depending on how these trends’ effectiveness. Vinasoy is trying to be an organization that strives to build relationships with its clients rather than just measuring and documenting research findings. We will use this as a evidence to help reach more customers through communication campaigns.
Creative Media Strategies
Vinasoy values the family’s health in general and nutrition. Using an emotional framework in creative strategy is linked with familiar and happy imagery which makes the product more family-friendly and health-conscious by including Vinasoy’s quality assurance. Hence this method is to raise brand awareness and recognition. Additionally, the products will be advertised in cozy and bright colours in media and product packaging, which can also create familial feelings and coziness, followed by: “Vinasoy - Love begins at the soul,” which means each family member is part of our soul and deserves love and healthiness.
From Nguyen (2025), Primary social media apps among Generation Z in Vietnam as of 3rd quarter of 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1229559/vietnam-primary-social-media-apps-among-generation-z/
On the other hand, the media strategy will be offline + online advertising. Based on the affordable budget method, 40% of the profit from the previous quarter will be invested in traditional media and aimed at elder people, while 60% will be in social media to concentrate on younger people. The reason we focus on social media more is that it has played a vital role in people's lives. Also, youngsters ‘spend a significant amount of their time on social media.’
Moreover, since the Communicative Objectives part has been mentioned, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Vietnam. The average time spent on social media is 5.9 hours, ergo Facebook will be suitable for using online advertising by displaying ads on the news feed plus easily updating product information with clickthroughs which leads to the Vinasoy website for information illustration and customer interaction for promotion purposes.
Besides, research shows that 74.1% of Vietnamese people that watch TVC are in the age range of 20-50, followed by the prime time is 5pm to 10pm. Consequently, offline advertising will be in visual media comprising TVC advertising to familiarize brands to the audiences, particularly those that prefer traditional advertisements. These will vitally build brand awareness and promote all Vinasoy products.
