Japanese, Hokkaido contact?

Wild_1 Sapporo beer has been imported to Vietnam for at least 3 years now. The Distributor has already establish a very effective supply chain to all the major retail stores here. Hope this helps.

Budman
That is a good one.
On a more serious note: Vietnam's beer market is a heated market for leading brands. Heineken with its Heineken, Biere Rue and Tiger (I bet most don't know they are Heineken brands) is investing heavily.

They sponsor the big new year celebration on Nguyen Hue street, D1 yesterday. Their revenue has grown 10%/year since 2000 and another 10.4%/year until 2020 is expected!!!.

Sapporo also sees the same importance. I quote from their press release "In Asian beer market, Vietnam is the third largest after China and Japan and is expected to be the second in ten to fifteen years time."

Sapporo joined with Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation (VINATABA) to open a new production plant last year.

Howie.
Don't your school have an alumni database? I am sure some poor souls living in Hokkaido have been unfortunate enough to have studied there. On a second thought, that may not be a good idea to contact them after all!

No, you two.  I would never go to such length for a beer...  Any beer! 

I have tried everything, even checked the expat forum.  Nothing, zip, nada!  It seems like these guys are really on an island.

Didn't you hear?

VietNam is Top Beer-Drinking Nation in ASEAN

Vietnamese drinkers put down 2.6 billion litres of beer in 2011, ranking first in the Southeast Asian region, followed by Thailand (1.8 billion litres) and the Philippines, according to the global market research company Euromonitor International. On the other end of the scale was Myanmar had the lowest consumption rate with 30.4 million litres of beer.

Placed third on the list were Filipinos who downed 1.6 billion litres

Over in Muslim Indonesia some 236.4 million litres went down their throats, Malaysia listed at 171.4 million litres, Cambodia only 136.3 million litres, Laos checked with 134.3million litres, Singapore a miserable 108.2 million litres, and Myanmar.

In 2010, the Euromonitor International predicted that beer consumption, measured by volume, in the Vietnamese market would grow rapidly. Vietnamese consumed 1.6 billion litres of beer in 2009, an increase of 56% over 2004.

This year, Kirin Holdings, Japan's second largest brewer after Asahi Breweries, reported that VietNam was among the top 25 beer-drinking nations in the world, with an increase of 15% over the last year, just behind Nigeria at 17.2 percent, India with 17% and Brazil at 16%.

A Press Release from Dutch beer company Heineken said it sold 200 million litres in VietNam in 2010, making the country the third largest out of its 170 markets worldwide behind the US and France!

Meanwhile, the Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (SABECO) sold 1.088 billion litres in 2010.

Sources: Euromonitor International and press bulletins

Wild_1 if it's not beer what products are you talking about?

Budman,

I am talking about that amazing line of chocolates, Nama.  Have you ever tried one?  They are to die for...

I really want to bring them to California and Vietnam.

It's already in Vietnam Howie:

http://ttvnol.com/Amthuc/1460454

Wild_1 wrote:

I really want to bring them to California and Vietnam.

You sure they don't have it here?
A quick google check shows that they are selling this stuff already in Hanoi and Saigon, including one claiming to be the main distributor!

On the Nama product site, they give you this

ROYCE' chose Singapore for our center of overseas market development 10 years ago.

For enquires, please contact us at enquiries@royceconfect.com.sg,


plus telephone numbers of all the stores in Singapore.
What else do you need?

If you are into fresh chocolate, how about trying to be the main dealership for Belgium chocolate? Neuhaus, Leonidas for example: much more famous brand names and loyalty thus bigger market potential, probably cheaper.

I am sure they don't have it here. Heck, they don't even have it in Bangkok last time I checked.

Budman and Anatta,

I will look up the Singapore, as an international center, part up.  I didn't see that at all.  I knew that Singapore was their very first outlet.

As for Vietnam and California, they have nothing yet.  All products in these areas are of the "hand carried" variety.  They had just signed a least in NYC last month.  But, there are still no word on what will become of that.

I just want to get a hold of their business development folks.  If the terms are right, I can get them into some pretty nifty places...  But, the last thing that I want to do is knock on the wrong door or inadvertantly violate one of their business protocols.

Nonetheless, thanks for the tip, Budman.  If your information holds true, Singapore should be good.  I am more familiar with that place and its people than Hokkaida.

Wild_1 here is a link with a little more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce'

That being said, I'm sure I've seen Royce choclates in the Metro and the Big "C".


Also try this place:

Nama Chocolate KOIBITO hiện có bán tại cả 2 chi nhánh của MOF: (miễn phí giao hàng tại Quận 1 và 3)

+ 30 Lê Lợi, Q.1, TP.HCM. ĐT: 08.38277.898

+ B3-17A Vincom Center, 70-72 Lê Thánh Tôn, Q.1, TP.HCM   ĐT: 08.3936.9779