AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Worldwide, there has been an explosion of consumer interest in the health enhancing effect of functional foods. Vietnam is no exception to the phenomenon. The Vietnamese market for functional food has been growing tremendously in the last decade. This has attracted much attention from domestic companies as well as foreign investors. Raisio Benecol is a Finnish brand of cholesterol-lowering products. Proven by many studies, Benecol’s patented ingredient “Plant stanol ester” can effectively lower blood cholesterol levels. The company sells Plant stanol ester and licenses its brand to other food manufacturers. Already engaging in some activities in Vietnam, Benecol looks forward to find more opportunities in this market. This becomes the inspiration for the author to study the Vietnamese functional food market and several main players in order to find business opportunities between these firms and the Case Company. In this study, the qualitative method and deductive approach are employed. Data are collected from both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data are attained from Benecol’s guidance, the semi-structured interviews with several prestigious people with knowledge about the market and the author’s own observation. Secondary data are gathered from books, journals, reports, websites and previous studies. Based on the thesis’s findings, the author points out the opportunities of Benecol with the food companies reviewed. This would help Benecol to start realising its intention in the Vietnamese market.