Vietnam in four steps.
An F&B market entry guide.

Demand is driven by an urban middle class with a growing appetite for foreign goods. Yet European brands sit far behind their Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai competitors.

The reason is rarely the product. It is the absence of local knowledge, the absence of teams on the ground, a business culture that works differently, and decision-makers sitting thousands of kilometres from the shelf.

The window is open. Almost nobody is walking through it.

Liên works the other way round. We use networks that already exist, partners who are already trusted, and we keep the risk measured at every stage. What follows is how a market entry actually unfolds, step by step.

The clientA French juice brand, no team in Vietnam

Our client is a French fruit juice brand with a strong identity, built on local production in France and quality raw materials.

They want to enter Vietnam. They have no real knowledge of the market, no one on the ground, and a language and culture barrier in between. We adapt our four-step model to that situation.

Step oneRead the market before you enter it

The client wants a concrete first look at the market and what it actually holds.

We run targeted research on the premium juice segment: who competes, how people drink, which campaigns worked for comparable products, and which points of sale and distributors match the brand's positioning.

We also map what it takes to bring the product in: product registration, labelling obligations, customs procedures, and the tariff reductions available under the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA).

Step twoMeasure interest instead of assuming it

The client wants proof that the market wants the brand, not a hunch.

We select the right trade fairs and events in Vietnam and across Asia, organise the participation, represent the brand at its meetings, introduce distributors and partners, and bring back direct feedback from consumers and the trade.

One point of contact. Communication on the client's time zone. Clear reporting at every stage.

Step threeEnter the shelves, not the paperwork

The client wants access without heavy commitment: no local company, no complex licences, no significant hiring.

We open our network of trusted local partners and place the brand in the channels that fit its positioning: premium supermarkets, high-end grocers, selected restaurants, bars and specialist retailers.

Then we stay in the middle. We coordinate imports, handle customs and distributors, oversee delivery, check the product is properly presented in store, and report on performance and consumer response.

The point: the client runs Vietnam from France, through Liên, without touching a single piece of local complexity.

Step fourSettle in, once the market has said yes

The brand is growing, the customer base is stable, and a permanent presence now makes sense.

We connect the client to our local legal, accounting, tax and HR partners, and coordinate the whole process: company incorporation, hiring, visas, payroll, insurance and day-to-day administration.

Four steps, in order. Each one earns the next.