MARKETING PLAN MARKETING PLAN FOR LAUNCHING TOP TOP SELF HEATING HOT POT ACECOOK VIETNAM’S NEW PRODUCT

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE – MARKETING
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MARKETING PLAN
MARKETING PLAN FOR LAUNCHING TOP TOP
SELF-HEATING HOT POT- ACECOOK VIETNAM’S
NEW PRODUCT
MAJOR: MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Name
Le Vo Bao Ngan
Tran Tu Quyen

Class: CLC_20DMA08

Ho Chi Minh City - 2021

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PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
SERIAL
1
2

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TABLE OF CONTENT
1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................
2.SITUATION ANALYSIS .................................................................................................
2.1 Market Summary .........................................................................................................

2.1.1
2.1.2
2.1.3
2.1.4
2.2. SWOT Analysis .........................................................................................................

2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
3.MARKETING STRATEGY .............................................................................................

3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.4.1. Customer ..............................................................................................................

3.4.2
3.5
3.6

3.6.1
3.6.2
3.6.3
3.6.4
4.ACTION PLAN...............................................................................................................

4.1 QUARTER I .............................................................................................................

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4.2 QUARTER II..................................................................................................................... 19
4.3 QUARTER III.................................................................................................................... 23
4.4 QUARTER IV................................................................................................................... 27
5.FINANCIALS............................................................................................................................ 31
5.1 Break-Even Analysis...................................................................................................... 31
5.2 Sales Forecast................................................................................................................. 31
5.3 Expense Forecast........................................................................................................... 31
6.CONTROLS............................................................................................................................. 32
6.1. Implementation............................................................................................................... 33
6.2. Marketing Organization................................................................................................ 33
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 34
APPENDICES............................................................................................................................. 36

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Entered the Vietnamese market from December 15, 1993, and started production and
business in1995. With 27 years of experience, Acecook Vietnam became a manufacturer of

instant noodles leading in Vietnam, supplying the market with diverse products such as
instant noodles, instant rice noodles, instant vermicelli, cooked vermicelli, vermicelli
noodles, cooked pho... get the trust and supported by millions of customers.

With the set mission and mission, Acecook is committed to bringing consumers:
– Satisfaction, joy and peace of mind to consumers through convenient,
delicious quality and food safe products on the basis of technology, Vietnamese taste=.
– Focus on building sustainable human resources by creating a favorable
working environment, good welfare for employees to work with peace of
mind and make long-term dedication.
– Commitment to comply with the law, ensure food safety standards
and be environmentally friendly.
– Actively working to improve the quality of life, bringing joy and smiles
to everyone and contributing to the development of society.
In Vietnam, because of the Covid-19 epidemic, consumers' trends and consumption habits
are gradually changing. According to a survey from Nielsen, more than 50% of people have
reduced the frequency of visiting visit supermarkets, grocery stores and traditional markets. At
the same time, the cart value above 1 purchase increased to meet the need to stay at home
more and limit going out. They tend to buy packaged goods, instant food, .. and stockpile at
home instead of going to the shops outside. Because of people's health concerns, the amount of
packaged food is still on the rise. However, consumers value convenience, deliciousness, and
health nowadays. Unlike the past, the factor of convenience and savings has changed. This is
also the reason the manufacturers continuously offer products in the high segment, improve
quality, increase advertising and promotions to reach consumers such as noodles, pho,
vermicelli, and noodles cup-bowl-tray, added with meat, shrimp, eggs, seafood and other
nutritious foods supplements are continuously launched into the market, helping consumers
enjoy the food in anywhere and change dishes often. The Vietnamese instant noodle market is
also located in the trend of "premiumization" of the world, when consumers are willing to pay for
more expensive products.

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That's why Acecook wants to launch Vietnam's first self-boiling hot pot product. This is a
product that both meets the needs of convenience, health, as well as a variety of nutrition.

2. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Acecook - the leading general food company in Vietnam. Officially put into
operation in 1995, after many years of operation, Acecook Vietnam has
continuously grown and achieved a solid position in the market. Acecook always
wishes to bring satisfaction, joy, and peace of mind to consumers through
convenient products, delicious quality, and food safety.
2.1 Market Summary
2.1.1 Market Demographics
•

Geographics

Acecook has no set geographic target area. We serve customers all over the country by
leveraging the expansive reach of the Internet and multiple delivery services.

•
•
-

Demographics
The ratio of male and female users is quite balanced.

Age: 16-35.
Occupation: Student, office worker, housewife.
Income: medium to high income.
Behavior Factors
Users are busy and have little time to cook.
Users like the convenience, fast.
Users have a passion for food and prefer trying new foods.
Users spend money on food, typically available food.

2.1.2 Market Needs
Acecook brings to the market a lot of quality instant products. The company is still
making efforts to fulfill the following benefits for its customers:
Authentic taste: Consumers are attracted by delicious dishes and retain
the typical flavor of the original dish even if it is canned food.
Affordable price: When the quality of food satisfies customers, a
reasonable price will keep them longer. Consumers don't want to pay too
much for a serving, which can make them less loyal to the product.
Attractive designs: When putting many products together, the one with a
beautiful and outstanding design will attract the attention of customers more.

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2.1.3 Market Trends
In 2020, Vietnam has become the world's third-largest instant noodles market
with over 7.03 billion servings consumed. This is an increase of 29 percent from 2019
and a new record for the country, according to data from the World Instant Noodles
Association (WINA). Besides, the latest survey by the market research company

Nielsen Vietnam said the consumption rate of instant noodles during the Covid-19
outbreak in Vietnam increased by 67%. Most consumers have turned to storing dry food
in their homes. As a result, the demand for instant food has also increased because of
their convenience, variety of flavors, product lines and affordable prices.

2.1.4 Market Growth
WINA data shows, Global consumption of instant noodles rose nearly 10
percent in 2020 to 116.56 billion servings. In there, Vietnam accounted for around 6
percent of instant noodles servings in the world. Each Vietnamese consumed about
55.6 servings on average. The increase in instant food consumption in Vietnam has
occurred as the country faces the Covid-19 pandemic outbreaks, forcing people to
stay at home under social distancing directives. According to the market research
report by Facts and Factors, global instant noodle sales are expected to increase
from 45.1 billion USD in 2020 to 74.08 billion USD in 2028, and the average annual
revenue growth will reach 6.40% in the forecast period 2021 to 2028.

Figure 2.1: Global Instant Noodles Market
2.2. SWOT Analysis
2.2.1 Strengths
Has a large market and holds a high market share.
High brand awareness, familiar with Vietnamese consumers of many
ages.
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-

Get many certificates of food hygiene and safety.

Advanced production technology, international standard quality control
process.

2.2.2 Weaknesses
-

There is no comprehensive customer care policy.

Packaging and quality are not regularly improved that easily cause
boredom with customers.
2.2.3 Opportunities
Consumer demand for instant food has increased sharply due to the
impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Not must pay international tax and shipping fees, so the price is cheaper
than the common ground.
Create a breakthrough when challenging with new products.
The taste is more suitable for Vietnamese taste than foreign products.
2.2.4 Threats
There are many competitors in the market such as Masan Consumer,
Uniben and Asian Food.
Customers are not loyal to products/brands.
-

Consumers (take care of their health more and increasingly) appreciate
home-self-cooked dishes.
Shortage of supplies and labor resources due to the epidemic situation.
More and more substitutes will appear in the future.
-

2.3 Competition
For many years, the Vietnamese instant food market has been dominated by
four big players: Acecook Vietnam, Masan Consumer, Uniben, and Asia Foods.

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Figure 2.2: Market share by volume of Vietnamese noodle manufacturers.
(source: nguoiduatin.vn)
According to Retail Data's statistical data, in the first 9 months of 2020, this group
accounted for about 84% of instant noodle market revenue. In which, Acecook Vietnam
Group leads with 35.4% market share. However, the data shows that this company is losing
market share over the years, from 36.8% in 2018 to 36.7% in 2019. By the end of 2019, the
company's revenue reached VND 10,648 billion, profit after tax was VND 1,660 billion.
Holding the second position in the instant food industry is Masan Consumer. With the goal
of constantly innovating, the company continuously launched high-class instant noodle
products to the market and achieved high growth in both volume and selling price. In 2019,
the company achieved a revenue of 4,968 billion VND, up 7% compared to 2018. Facing
the strong rise of Masan, like Acecook Vietnam, both Uniben and Asia Foods are losing
market share. For Uniben, the market share in 2018 accounted for 17.2%, decreasing to
14.9% in the first 9 months of 2020. In terms of business results, Uniben achieves steady
revenue of thousands of billions of dong per year, but the profit is quite low. Specifically, in
2019, the company earned nearly 2,856 billion VND, but the profit was only nearly 40 billion
VND. Compared with Uniben, Asian Food's profit is higher and there is a big gap.
Specifically, in 2010, Asia Foods' revenue reached VND 3,070 billion and a net profit of VND
409 billion. And the market share of Asia Foods decreased from 11.5% (in 2018) to 10.1%

(9 months in 2020).

Figure 2.3: Revenue of instant noodle maker in 2017-2019 (unit: billion VND)

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Figure 2.4: Profit of instant noodle maker in 2017-2019 (unit: billion VND)

2.4 Product Offering
Acecook self-heating hot pot currently offers 3 taste:
The first product is Tóp Tóp Seafood hot pot. The product includes 1 pack of sauce,
dry noodles and side dishes such as fish balls, squid balls, crab sticks, dried shrimp and
lotus roots. The dish has a sour, spicy and deep flavor that is extremely attractive.

The second product, Tóp Tóp Beef hot pot, includes 1 pack of dry noodles, 1
pack of sauce, 1 pack of large beef, tofu and onions. The beef is both soft and
chewy, served with the sweet broth of onions to create a warm flavor for the dish.
The third product is Tóp Tóp Mushroom hot pot, also known as Tóp Tóp Vegetarian
hot pot. This product includes dry noodles, flavored sauce packs, tofu, carrots and corn.
Besides, this type of hot pot also has a package of mushroom sauce including many types
such as enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and straw mushrooms.

2.5 Key to Success
The keys to success are quality and price of products that meet market demand.
Ensuring these two factors will help the position of Tóp Tóp in the market more firmly.
Besides, Acecook must satisfy its customer through the tastes of the dish. Any product
should be launched because of customer need - the success or failure of any product is

largely dependent on whether people like and use it or not. If these keys to success are
achieved, Acecook will become a profitable, sustainable company.

2.6 Critical Issues
Regularly follow customer satisfaction and update their responses, ensuring
that the growth strategy will not compromise service and customer's experience.
-

Control the growth that expenses will never exceed the revenue base.
This will protect the company from recessions.
-

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Pay attention to their competitors for similar products at both their price
points and their target customers. Get to know other businesses and identify
gaps in their products that you can fill.
-

3.MARKETING STRATEGY
3.1 Mission
Vision: governance capacity to adapt to the process of globalization=.
Mission: ASSURANCE for customers=.
Business philosophy: "Through the culinary path to contribute to Vietnamese society".
Core value:

Happy Customers, Happy Employees, Happy Society
3.2 Market Objectives
Acecook Vietnam is currently supplying to the market the following products:
● Instant noodles (packs, bowls, cups, trays) - this is the company's
spearhead product with brands such as: Hao Hao, Modern, De Nhat…
●

Pho, noodle soup, instant vermicelli (package, bowl).

● The salt and seasoning package of Hao Hao noodles is loved by
consumers, so recently, Acecook Vietnam has launched Hao Hao Sauce to
serve and satisfy the needs of millions of customers
3.3 Financial Objectives
Revenue: expected 1 year after product launch (from January 1, 2022, to
December 31, 2022) Acecook will sell 21,000,000 Top Top self-heating hot pot
products in 5 big cities of Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, Can Tho and
earn 975,000,000 thousand VND in revenue.
Market share: the total population in 5 major cities of Vietnam is nearly 21 million
people (Ho Chi Minh Minh city 8,837 million, Da Nang 1.191 million, Hanoi 8,3
million, Hai Phong 1.342 million, Can Tho 1.244 million). With 21,000,000 products
sold, corresponding to a maximum possible market share of 15% (assuming each
people buy products 1 time)

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3.4 Target Markets

3.4.1. Customer

Demographic

Geographic
Psychologist

Love to try the products
new, discover, curious.
Want to save time and still

want to eat good
quality food nutrition.
Lazy to go buy or cook

Diverse flavors make
the meal not boring
Fill your stomach quickly
and easily to cook.

Very reasonable price for
a box hot Pot.

eat.
Behavior

There are full-quality dishes
in a shorter delivery time.

Buy online, shop when

catching new products
at retail points.

No time to cook.
Eating is boring due to
lack of food options.

Regularly update the
coin’s consumer
orientation, products new.

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3.4.2 Bussiness

Demographic

Supermarket
Grocery store
Traditional shop
Convenience store
Ecommerce platform

Geographic

5 big cities
E-commerce platform

Seeking benefits

Prioritize high-margin, high-recognition goods
Prioritize goods that are easy to store.

Products continuously develop and stabilize every year
Support from the manufacturer in terms of
storage, transportation, display
There is a source of goods to provide a full range for distributors

Behavior

There are promotions for consumers
Buy a variety of products from the manufacturer at a
discounted price.

3.5 Positioning
The Top Top self-heating hot pot is essentially fast food. However, compared to
existing instant food on the Vietnamese market such as instant noodles, Pho, etc.
Acecook's self-heating hot pot has many improvements. Firstly, consumers do not
need boiling water but only need cold water to be able to cook hot pot of selfheating within 10 minutes by the self-heating mechanism of the self-heating bag,
which is very convenient for those who want to use hotpot in a place where there is
no electricity, gas, etc. Moreover, the self-heating hot pot on the Vietnamese
market today is mostly imported from China - where the dishes are commented to
have quite a lot of oil and flavor of traditional medicine. Vietnamese people,
especially young people, are not too familiar with that taste. Therefore, Top Top
self-heating hot pot can also satisfy the taste factor suitable for Vietnamese taste.

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3.6 Marketing Strategy
3.6.1 Product
Tóp Tóp self-heating hot pot is the first self-heating hot pot product in Vietnam. That
is a product capable of self-heating heats the food inside without the need for a stove or
any other heating tool any. To do this special thing, inside the self-heating hot pot, there
will be a heat-generating bag. When this package comes in contact with water, it will
generate heat and make the water hot, from which the hot pot will automatically It's like
boiling on a stove. Vietnamese people have a unique taste formed from the culinary
culture Since ancient times, Vietnamese dishes are always full and full of spices.
However, Today's busy life has made Vietnamese people gradually accept simple
dishes simple and bland just to save time. Grasping that situation, Acecook times First
introduced to the market Latuso self-heating hot pot not only meets all the requirements
unique culinary needs but is also very convenient and time-saving.

-

Product name: Tóp Tóp self-heating hot pot

This name is easy to read, easy to remember and expresses closeness and
affection. The logo of Top Top is the word "self-heating hot pot" with the full brand
name and the taste of hot pot but smaller.
-

Packaging:

Acecook's plastic tray is specialized for food and is supplied from reputable partners,

certified for safety in practice products. The front side of product label: Acecook logo, symbolic
image for hot pot, net weight, product flavor, product information, and note pictures,... We keep
the traditional Acecook logo on the product packaging and continue to design the paper
packaging. To move into the product growth phase, we continue to research

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and expand the depth of the product mix, launch and upgrade multiple versions for
the campaigns.
Top Top has 3 typical flavors: mushroom, seafood, and beef developed from
satisfying the taste of Vietnamese people which are sour, spicy, salty. At the same time,
vegetarians can also use this product when choosing a mushroom flavor. Depending on the
taste, the packaging process and product packaging will also have specific similarities and
differences to help consumers easily recognizable. Below is our team’s self-design for three

flavors of this product.

Figure 3.1: llustration of Top Top self-heating hot pot seafood flavor.

Figure 3.2: llustration of Top Top self-heating hot pot beef flavor.

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Figure 3.3: llustration of Top Top self-heating hot pot mushroom flavor.

3.6.2 Price
We’ll adopt a Value based-pricing method due to good brand and excellent
product quality. Acecook also applies Market penetration pricing strategy in order
to quickly gain market share and give customers the opportunity to try our new
product. Besides that, we also apply Product bundle pricing strategy to
encourage the purchasing power of customers.
Acecook also uses psychological pricing. The idea behind psychological
pricing is that customers will read the slightly lower price and treat it lower than the
price actually is. We’ll sell the product with a retail price of 65.000 VND, combined
with the Product bundle pricing strategy.
•

B2B:

Unified shipping pricing: due to Acecook's distribution system throughout
Vietnam, distribution is a strength. However, only a few factories are able to meet the
production requirements of this Top Top product, so free shipping is not possible.
Therefore, the shipping price for each agent and distributor will be the same.
-

Discount: Dealers or distributors will receive a discount based on the number of

imported goods in batches. At least 10% will be (Extract in 30% of selling expenses).

•

B2C:

Location-discriminatory pricing: customers will choose products
according to their usage needs depending on the shopping location,... Therefore,

retail locations will always have price differences to increase profits.
Understanding that factor, when Acecook the price sells to agents or retailers will
be adjusted to meet their profit needs but still, guarantee the price to consumers
unchanged.

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3.6.3 Place
Distribution method: mass distribution
Acecook has 11 noodle factories spread across 3 regions of North, Central, and South in

Vietnam. In each province, the factory is located in a different strategy. North has 3
factories, the South has 7 factories and the Central has 1 factory. Below is the
model distribution pattern of Top Top heating hot pot from production to consumers.

Manufacturer

Acecook has many different forms of distribution channels to bring products to people’s
consumption but is still mainly distributed under the agent system (wholesale). Acecook
chooses to sell outright to distributors to save costs (warehouse rental costs). The business
chooses many wholesalers and the duty of these distributors is to distribute to the retailers
hierarchical and then cover the retail stores. When customers have demand, retailers will
report it to wholesalers and this business will offer the product on a wholesale basis break.

This model is optimal in that Acecook will limit the amount of inventory to save
costs as well as meet the number of products committed to distributors.

We have adopted an Intensive Distribution Strategy and maintain a growing
network with our distribution partners.

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3.6.4 Promotion
•
Push strategies: Contact with Acecook’s old distribution agents in major
cities. Then, try to contact 150 new distributors and 2,000 serving retailers (new)
to offer products to them. Connected with dealer chains, especially which is in
serving the upper-middle-income customer segment such as supermarkets,
hypermarkets, mini market, convenience stores in the city center,...
•
Pull strategies:
Advertising
We work with newspapers to support our press conference. We run TVC on digital
platforms, advertising on social networks associations like Facebook, Instagram,..
collaborate with influencers, and hold related online campaigns to promote the product.

-

PR

We organize campaigns related to environmental protection, sponsor competitions,
events, and cooperate with partners to hold health-related events.

-

Sales promotion

During the first and second quarters, we test our products by sampling them and
running flash sales on double days. Then, in quarters three and four, we launch a
lucky award campaign.
-

Personal selling

Give samples at selling points and place booths with an event to attract customers so that
customers can easily try out products and make purchasing decisions. In detail, the Top Top
testing booth can be put at supermarkets, offices, schools, convenience stores...

-

Direct marketing

We keep in touch with customers (mainly dealers and retailers) by sending emails.
We will send notifications for product launches, holidays, and anniversaries, as well
as discount voucher codes and QR codes.
3.7. MARKETING RESEARCH
We will have our products tested with focus groups of target customers, including those
who are not interested in self-heating hot pot and those who have already had needs and
are interested in this. By which, we will get feedback from customers on product quality
(price, taste, nutrition), packaging, and design, and then make the improvements. We will
continue to expand product testing with a diverse range of users in order to measure and
analyze customer attitudes toward competing self-heating hot pot brands and products.
Research on brand awareness will assist us in determining the effectiveness and efficiency

of our messages and media. Finally, we will assess the market reaction.

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4. ACTION PLAN
4.1 QUARTER I
CATEGORY

QUARTER I

QI Totals
(thousand

VND)

Product

January

February

March

X

X

X

X

Price

Product bundle pricing strategy: launch 20,000 (10,25%) off for
20,130,000 combo 3 flavors and 1.000.000 codes 5% discount (up to
20,000) for any combo of 2 products with different flavors.

Place

- Sign distribution/
commission contract with
retailers/ distributors
- Prepare products to distribute
to Loyal retailers/ distributors of
Acecook (CVS, Supermarkets,
etc) focus on 5 big cities Ha
Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho
Chi Minh, Can Tho.

- Expand retail partners in 5
big cities and nearby
provinces (from traditional to
modern channels)
- Continue to sell products on
e-commerce

- Officially sell products on

e-commerce
channels
especially Shopee
Promotion

PUSH

1.000.000
●
Use of various forms of POSM: launch posters,
testing booth, divider, gondola end, island display,
dangler.

●

Support a 5% discount for large retailers and distributors.

●
Display shelf support for dealers: apply the
gift-giving program for new products on display.
PULL:

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Adve
rtising

*16/1/2022 - 31/1/2022

Book the article "Selfheating hot pot- new
trend" in the online
newspapers:
+ VNExpress: Article
Type 4,5 (3h)

Book the article "Is
self-heating hot pot
good for health?" on
Dan tri newspaper in
home page for 2h
- Produce TVC 15s
with Ly Hai- Minh Ha
to introduce the new
product
- OOH (out of home):
Place panels at 5 bus
bodies in Ho Chi Minh,
5 buses in Hanoi.

-Social
Media Ads:

-Social Media 1,503,800
Ads

- Cooperate
with 10 large

- Partner with

food bloggers
who care about
health,
convenience
and support
Vietnamese
products on
social
networking
platforms to
increase brand
recognition:

Fanpage,
group on
Facebook/Inst
agram to
review/post
product
advertisements

- Cooperate
with Ninh Tito,
Dino Vu, An
sap Sai Gon,
Bong Tim, Tun
Pham to make
review videos
on youtube as
well as Tiktok

to advertise for
Top Top
- Display ads:
run TVC 15s

Skippable instream ads
YouTube:
850.000 views
+ Facebook
CPM
plan:
250,000 views

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+ Dino Vu
(Youtube)
+ Tun Pham
(Tiktok)

+ Ninh Tito
(Youtube)
- Display ads:
run TVC 15s

Skippable instream ads:
850,000 views
on Youtube

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PR

*1/1/2022 15/1/2022

X

X

902.000

- Announce the
launch date of the
new product on
press in 3 days

+Acecook website
+
Vietnambiz: Type
4 (4h)
+ Kenh14: Type 2
(4h)
+ Cafebiz: Type 3
(4h)
*16/1/2022
- Press conference
for launching Top- self-heating hot
pot= (renting
venues, invite

guests, hiring
agencies, etc)

Sales

X

Promo-

- Promotion:
Buy combo 3

tion

hot pot for 20
red envelopes

of Acecook

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*3/3

- Flash sales
campaign for 2
times with
30% of the
price on
Shopee

300.000