Vietnam?s economy strengthened during the second half of 2009 and should be one of the region's fastest-growing in the medium term. Average prosperity has risen and poverty rates have fallen, as a result of improved access to education, health care and higher incomes. The global trend in the consumer foodservice industry is to maximize traffic and broaden appeal, and this trend is manifesting inVietnam. The expected growth of new shopping malls and buildings will provide more space for high-traffic retail locations and make these new locations a preferred choice for foodservice operators.

The food service sector inVietnamincludes hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets, airline catering and institutional catering such as hospitals and schools.Vietnam, like many other Asian countries, has a strong culture of eating out and consuming food with family and friends. Most business relationships also have a strong component of dining out and almost all business negotiations and meetings would involve hospitality around a meal. The vast majority of the restaurant sector is based on Vietnamese cuisine and the ingredients are sourced locally, but as the economy grows the opportunity for imported goods is also growing.

The Country overview (Economy, Demographics, Eating habits), Consumer foodservice by channel (Full-Service Restaurants, Café/Bars, Retail Foodservice, Fast Food, Street Stalls/Kiosks, Lodging/Travel/Leisure), Foodservice travel and tourism, Foodservice value by packaged food category will be included in this paper.