Moreover, Acecook aimed to increase sales of cup noodles in Vietnam to around 350 million servings in 2022, more than double 2017 levels, as local consumers shift to pricier yet more convenient alternatives to bagged instant noodles. 

The Japanese firm hoped to shore up sales of its popular Hao Hao cup noodles with television commercials featuring members of the national football team. 

Vietnam is the world’s fifth-largest market for instant noodles. Acecook is the leader in the Southeast Asian country with a market share of about 50%. The bagged variety still reigns supreme in Vietnam.

At around 34 cents apiece, cup noodles cost more than twice as much as bagged noodles. But as consumers seek out ever greater convenience, emerging markets have tended to shift to cup noodles. Acecook expected cup noodles to account for 9% of overall sales in Vietnam in 2022, up four percentage points from 2017.

Acecook is among 70% Japanese firms operating Vietnam looking to expand production in the country, according to the latest survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Hanoi, which is highest rate among ASEAN countries and significantly higher than that in China at 48.7%. 

The reason behind such high rate was the high percentage of Japanese firms operating in Vietnam reporting a profit, reaching 65.3%, up 0.2 percentage point year-on-year.

Other factors such as stabilized macro-economy, the scale of the domestic market, and potential economic growth also added to the positive sentiment, said Kitagawa, JETRO’s chief representative.