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Vietnam, with a population of over 99.5 million people, ranks 15th in the world and has the second largest population in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and the Philippines. According to statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health in 2022, the usage of e-cigarettes in 34 provinces and cities in Vietnam was only 0.2% in 2015. However, by 2022, this figure had increased 18-fold to reach 3.6%.
Vietnam's regulations for electronic cigarettes are unclear, leading many in the industry to refer to it as a "grey market". The current state of the electronic cigarette market in Vietnam is unfamiliar to outsiders, prompting 2FIRSTS to conduct field research by visiting over ten e-cigarette shops in Ho Chi Minh City. The findings revealed that global brands are already present in the Vietnamese market, but there is a lack of dominant brands.
There is currently no dominant brand in the market.
Walking into an electronic cigarette store in Ho Chi Minh City, shelves are lined with boxes of electronic cigarette products - many of which are vastly different from those found in Western markets, featuring several unfamiliar brands, alongside popular European and American brands such as ELFBAR and LOST MARY.
When requesting physical samples of brands such as ELFBAR and LOST MARY from the store clerk, they indicated that only the packaging boxes on the shelves were available.
The fourth floor features ELFBAR and LOST MARY products. Image source: 2FIRSTS.
At another electronic cigarette store, shelves displayed a wide variety of electronic cigarette products, including the Aspire brand, which were arranged by brand on different levels of the shelves.
The second row of Aspire packages in black | Image source: 2FIRSTS.
A characteristic of Vietnam's e-cigarette stores is the absence of a dominant global brand. In contrast to the saturated e-cigarette market in Russia, Vietnam lags behind both in product quantity and dominant brand presence.
Russian electronic cigarette store | Image source: 2FIRSTS
The sources of some products are a mystery.
At an electronic cigarette shop, promotional materials for the brand ZOVOO are displayed on the store counter, with a focus on their disposable electronic cigarette product, VINCIBAR.
In the promotional materials provided, three QR codes and a website were presented for scanning. After testing by 2FIRSTS, it was confirmed that the displayed QR codes and website were indeed ZOVOO's official account and website.
Shop promotional materials | Image source: 2FIRSTS
Main product | Image source: 2FIRSTS
Product promotional materials from RELX have been spotted in multiple e-cigarette stores, featuring discount promotions, and displayed in prominent locations.
RELX offers promotional deals. Image source: 2FIRSTS.
Promotional information from RELX | Image Source: 2FIRSTS
It is currently unclear whether domestic brand electronic cigarettes appearing in the Vietnamese market are genuine products from the original manufacturer, and whether the propaganda material suppliers for electronic cigarette shops are directly associated with the manufacturers. However, based on the degree of professionalism in the material production, it is unlikely that Vietnamese electronic cigarette shops are producing the materials in-house.
It is reported that the Vietnamese government does not allow the marketing and circulation of electronic cigarettes, and related legislation is still pending submission for discussion by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
It is noteworthy that according to information obtained from product packaging by 2FIRSTS, some products sold in electronic cigarette stores are marked as designated for sale in the United States only (Sale only allowed in United States).
The image source, 2FIRSTS, has a notice indicating that the sale of the product is solely allowed in the United States.
2FIRSTS purchased an electronic cigarette brand called Dragbar, packaged under the name ZOVOO, from a vaping store. The product features a production date and batch information on its side.
Product Batch: Image sourced from 2FIRSTS.
Stay tuned for more updates on the electronic cigarette market in Vietnam from 2FIRSTS.
Cover image source: Unsplash library.
References:
Vietnam's Population
The use of electronic cigarettes has increased by 18 times after 5 years, causing numerous unpredictable health consequences.
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