While it said that a country’s breakfast routine reflects its culture, the reality is sometimes different. For example, in Japan today, more than half of the population eats bread for breakfast. How about in Vietnam? Is Vietnam becoming as Westernized as Japan?

To understand the situation better, we have conducted a 1,000 respondent breakfast survey in Vietnam. For those in the restaurant or food industries looking to expand there, or for those who are just simply curious about current Vietnamese trends, have a look!

Slurping Noodles from the Morning—Vietnamese Love Pho for Breakfast

First up, lets take a look at what Vietnamese said they usually eat for breakfast. Here are the top five ranked:

• #1 — Rice Noodles (Including pho, bún, and Hủ tiếu) 41.58%
• #2 — Bread 26.63%
• #3 — White or Brown Rice 15.31%
• #4 — Rice Porridge 6.34%
• #5 — Cereal 4.08%

As you can see, ranked first was noodles made from rice, such as pho or bún. This is a clear difference from Japanese or Western breakfasts, where you rarely see noodles being served. The clear gap between noodles and second-ranked bread shows that traditional foods still have a strong hold.

Surprisingly however, bread has a higher ranking than white or brown rice, despite Vietnam being a major rice producing country. Perhaps this is due to Vietnam’s long history with bread, starting when it was still a French colony.

Broken Down by Age, Western Breakfasts Are Popular Amongst the Young

While rice noodles make up the largest percentage in each age group, as people get older, the more that percentage goes up. Throughout all age groups, bread remains fairly consistent, indicating that it is an entrenched part of the culture.

Vietnamese Spend 10 to 20 Minutes Eating Breakfast

Looking at how quickly Vietnamese eat breakfast, the clear leading times are 5-10 minutes and 10-20 minutes. This not that different from Japan and indicates that the majority of respondents want a quick, tasty, well-balanced meal in the morning.

Summary of Our Breakfast in Vietnam Survey

Looking at the data, the following key conclusions can be found:

(1) What people eat varies greatly by generation

(2) People usually spend more than 10 minutes, but less than 30 minutes eating breakfast

Going forward, we will investigate where people eat breakfast: in or outside of the home?

Survey Design

• Target Country: Vietnam
• Target Population: Males and females, aged 18-79
• Number of Respondents: 1,104 (602 men and 502 women)
• Survey Time: April 2018
• Survey Methodology: Internet Survey

Koeeru Global Trends regularly presents the results of global market research surveys conducted by Koeeru and Koeeru partners using our in-house market research system. If you have any questions about the data or would like to request a reprint, please contact us.