Vietnamese people drink less and less coffee and milk tea

Research by iPOS – a platform providing management solutions for more than 100,000 restaurant and cafe businesses – in collaboration with Nestlé Professional shows that beverage industry revenue increases by 6.1% to 125,485 billion VND in 2025. Thus, on average, Vietnamese people spend nearly 344 billion VND to drink coffee and milk tea every day.

However, the beverage industry’s revenue growth rate has been much slower than the previous two years. In 2023, the increase reaches 20.5% and in 2024, this number records 13.4%. That is, the growth rate of beverage industry revenue has decreased for two consecutive years.

iPOS also conducted a survey on more than 3,000 respondents, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, showing that the frequency of drinking drinks outside is showing signs of slowing down. Specifically, the group that drank coffee and milk tea every day decreased sharply from 18.2% to 13.6%. The group that used regularly 3-4 times per week also decreased slightly to 31.59%.

Meanwhile, the group that drinks coffee and milk tea occasionally 1-2 times per week increased from 33.5% to 38.19%. This is also the group of diners with the highest proportion. The group rarely, meaning only 1-2 times per month, also increased from 13.7% to 15.37%.

According to iPOS, this development shows that beverage consumption behavior is entering a period of adjustment. In a context where spending pressure still exists, users are increasingly showing more and more pragmatism, not giving up on consumption needs, but starting to carefully consider the frequency and time of use.

The report also states that the group that rarely uses drinks (1-2 times per month) has the highest rate of spending over 71,000 VND for a drink of coffee or milk tea in the entire table, reaching 13.68%. Meanwhile, the daily use group has the largest spending rate under 20,000 VND, up to 19.32%, 4 times higher than the remaining frequencies. This reflects two completely different consumer psychology.

For the group that drinks less, each purchase is a rewarding experience, so they are willing to pay more for brand, space and emotions. For the daily drinker group, drinks have become a recurring expense, forcing consumers to optimize their budget and prioritize reasonable price options.

On the other hand, the range of 35,000-50,000 VND is considered the core price range of the market, and is also the fiercest competitive battlefield. Both the occasional and frequent groups have the strongest concentration at this threshold, reaching 35% and 38.25% respectively. This is the most important customer file of the beverage industry, with regular revenue generation and enough spending to maintain profit margins.

When juxtaposed with the data of nearly 48% of businesses not daring to raise prices for fear of losing customers, it can be seen that 35,000-50,000 VND is considered a challenging price range in the current period. According to iPOS, to step up to the price range of over 50,000 VND, businesses not only simply increase prices but also have to prove why their products are worth more money in the eyes of customers.

The race for the beverage industry in 2025 is no longer simply about stimulating customers to come back continuously with strong promotions, but is gradually shifting to the problem of maintaining a sustainable brand presence through product quality and overall experience. “When consumption frequency is no longer increasing as quickly as before, price per use is not necessarily the biggest deciding factor. Instead, diners are willing to return to brands that feel worth the money, are stable and good enough to become a familiar choice,” iPOS commented.

Mr. Dam Hoang Viet, founder and CEO of Black Pearl Vietnam – the owner of the Do Do Milk Tea chain, Mr Goodtea, O Long Day, Bong Bieng – said that the beverage market in 2025 will no longer follow the same trajectory of uniform expansion as before, but will be highly differentiated according to a structure similar to the “Barbell effect”. Cash flow and customers are now clearly concentrated at both ends. At one end are very cheap price models, using pricing strategies to win regular traffic. The other end are brands that do really well, have clear product values, thoughtful experiences and are connected to customers’ lifestyles.

In that context, according to Mr. Viet, the group of businesses standing in the middle is the most vulnerable group. They are not cheap enough to compete on price, but also not excellent enough to convince customers to spend money on the experience. “The past period has been a very strong screening process, allowing the market to clearly determine who is doing their job seriously, methodically and professionally, instead of just chasing superficial growth while actual purchasing power is no longer growing as hot as before,” he stated.