The year 2025 marks a clear turning point in the media landscape of Vietnam’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) industry. Communication is no longer driven primarily by product promotion or high-visibility marketing campaigns. Instead, the industry is increasingly operating within a new “frame of perception,” shaped by public policy debates, public health concerns, and sustainability expectations. These forces are redefining how the media, the public, and regulators view the sector—and how brands must respond.
Policy-related coverage continues to play a central role in SSB media discourse throughout 2025. At the forefront is the ongoing discussion around the introduction of a special consumption tax or health tax on sugar-sweetened beverages—a topic that has evolved from a periodic debate into a sustained policy conversation.
Media coverage reflects a multi-stakeholder dialogue. The Ministry of Health consistently emphasizes the link between sugary drinks and non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance approaches the issue from the perspective of fiscal revenue, economic impact, and market implications. Alongside government voices, medical experts, industry associations, and businesses actively contribute opinions, analyses, and counterarguments.
Notably, media narratives in 2025 increasingly place Vietnam’s discussion within a global context. International experiences from countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, and Thailand are frequently cited as reference cases, offering comparative insights into the effectiveness, limitations, and unintended consequences of sugar taxes. This broader framing has helped elevate the conversation beyond domestic controversy toward a more evidence-based public dialogue.
Alongside policy discourse, public health and consumer behavior remain a key content pillar. Media outlets regularly publish warnings about excessive sugar intake, rising obesity rates, and growing health risks—particularly among children and younger demographics.
Importantly, coverage does not stop at raising alarms. It increasingly documents real shifts in consumer behavior: reduced consumption of carbonated soft drinks, growing preference for low-sugar or zero-sugar options, and greater interest in functional beverages. In this context, nutrition education is highlighted as a long-term solution, framed not only as a public responsibility but also as an area where businesses are expected to play an active role.
These narratives place mounting pressure on beverage companies, as products are no longer evaluated in isolation but assessed through their broader health and societal impact.
The third dominant content stream in 2025 centers on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Issues such as plastic packaging, recycling systems, circular economy models, carbon emission reduction in F&B operations, and responsible water resource management appear with increasing frequency across mainstream media.
What has changed is the tone of scrutiny. CSR is no longer treated as a reputational bonus or optional branding exercise. Media coverage increasingly demands long-term commitments, measurable targets, and transparent roadmaps. As a result, sustainability has effectively become a baseline communication standard, rather than a differentiating advantage.
Together, policy, health, and sustainability form the core “frame of perception” within which all SSB brand communications must now operate.
From a brand perspective, media attention in 2025 remains highly concentrated. Suntory PepsiCo (34%), Coca-Cola (30%), TCPVN (16%), and Tan Hiep Phat (16%) collectively account for 95% of total Share of Voice (SOV) across the sugar-sweetened beverage sector. Smaller players such as La Vie, URC, and Carabao together represent less than 5%.
A defining trend is the dominance of corporate news over product-focused coverage, with a ratio of 64% corporate vs. 36% product-related content. Corporate stories—particularly those related to CSR and sustainability, mergers and investments, financial performance, legal matters, awards and recognitions, partnerships, and human resources—are heavily featured across online media and print publications.
This pattern suggests that corporate communications have become a defensive and credibility-building tool, helping brands reinforce legitimacy and resilience amid policy scrutiny and public debate.
Within this landscape, Tan Hiep Phat stands out as the only major player investing more heavily in product-driven news than corporate narratives—a differentiated approach that also carries higher reputational risk in the current environment.
While product news no longer dominates in volume, its nature has evolved significantly. Traditional announcements focused solely on launches or promotions have declined, replaced by content that links products to additional value propositions.
Key themes include low-sugar and zero-sugar formulations, functional and energy beverages, tea-based drinks, and innovations in packaging, ingredients, and formulations. Product communication has thus shifted from simple promotion toward explanation and persuasion—explaining why products align better with health trends and sustainability expectations, and persuading audiences that brands are responding meaningfully to societal change.
In terms of media value, online channels contribute approximately 90% of total industry media value, reflecting both high publication volume and audience reach. Platforms such as baomoi.com, vnexpress.net, thanhnien.vn, tuoitre.vn, dantri.com.vn, cafef.vn, and vietnamnet.vn remain the industry’s most influential touchpoints.
At the same time, television (6%) and print newspapers (3%) continue to provide credibility and depth, while business and investment magazines—including Forbes Vietnam, Nhip Cau Dau Tu, and Saigon Times Weekly—play a strategic role in shaping executive-level and policy-oriented discourse.
Overall, sugar-sweetened beverage communications in Vietnam in 2025 reflect a more complex and demanding environment. Brands are no longer competing solely for attention, but for legitimacy, trust, and alignment with societal priorities. In this context, effective communication is less about speaking louder and more about speaking within the right frame—at the right time, and to the right public concerns.
