Counterfeit candies and sweets appear in Tet gift baskets.

This year, Tet gift baskets contain quite a few counterfeit products of famous brands, sold at cheap prices.

Mr. Nam (residing in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) said that a few days ago, a business partner gave him a vacuum-sealed gift basket containing 10 carefully decorated items, but upon opening it, he discovered a box of cookies and a box of chocolate candies that were counterfeit versions of Thai brands.

“The barcode and information on the packaging all indicated that it was a Thai product, and even the brand name only changed the letter A to O, making it very difficult to recognize. Only when I opened the box and tried it did I dare confirm it was a fake because the candy bars were broken, and some had a pungent, unpleasant smell, like they were past their expiration date,” Mr. Nam said, adding that he had just contacted his partner to inform them about the poor-quality gift basket they had mistakenly purchased.

Ms. Lan, a customer who bought a Tet gift basket at a store in District 5, also said that when she opened her gift basket, she discovered certain products.Danisa was imitated as Damisa, and Choco-Pie was imitated as Choco-Pai.

Counterfeit Danisa cookies are included in Tet gift baskets. Photo: Phuong Dong.

Ms. Thanh, the owner of a grocery store on Phan Van Tri Street (Binh Thanh District), said that Tet gift baskets using counterfeit branded products are much cheaper. Specifically, each gift basket containing various types of wine, soft drinks, and confectionery costs between 200,000 and 345,000 VND, while if using high-end domestic products, this figure could be 3 to 4 times higher, but the demand is not strong.

“A 681-gram box of Danisa cookies, produced using exclusive Danish technology and branding, costs 186,000 VND when imported to Vietnam. However, counterfeit versions of this brand cost less than 40,000 VND. Most of our customers here are factory workers and low-income earners, so even though they know there are counterfeit products in their gift baskets, they still accept them because they are affordable, considering it a way to experience the Tet atmosphere,” Ms. Thanh shared.

Contacting the information on the packaging of the counterfeit products, a representative of the confectionery company based in Long An province stated that they are the actual manufacturer and distributor of these products in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to this source, the company is offering two product lines, Damisa and Oseo, at the same wholesale price of 380,000 VND per carton of 20 boxes, equivalent to 19,000 VND per box. Additionally, there is a product line of biscuits in metal boxes, which has a wholesale price that is double that.

"Although these are counterfeit branded candies, they still have a shelf life of one year and are produced according to regulations ensuring safety and quality, without using artificial colorings or preservatives as stipulated by the Ministry of Health issued in 2001," this person said, affirming that even with a large number of orders in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), they can still guarantee sufficient quantities to supply customers within one day of order confirmation.

Besides the aforementioned cake brands, other popular products are also being counterfeited, such as Custard (imitating the Custas brand), Silaté (similar to Solite), Oseo (imitating Oreo), and candy products like Nucoti (with names and packaging similar to Milkita milk candy), and Kofeko (Kopiko candy), which are widely sold in markets.

Speaking to VnExpress, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Thao, Deputy General Director of Pham Nguyen Food Processing and Confectionery Company, said that every Lunar New Year, the amount of counterfeit Choco-Pie products increases sharply. The company has repeatedly collaborated with authorities to detect counterfeiters, but the problem persists. In particular, the market share in the poorer central provinces has significantly decreased due to the rampant counterfeiting. Most of these products lack proper origin and quality checks, and their prices are many times lower than genuine products, significantly impacting the company's business. Many counterfeit Choco-Pie packages are marketed as Choco-Pai, but buyers find it difficult to distinguish them due to the sophisticated design and size of the packaging, which closely resembles the real thing.

"To prevent consumers from buying counterfeit goods, besides cooperating with market management agencies, our only option is to persuade retailers to prioritize consumer health by selling genuine products instead of being tempted by cheap prices," Ms. Thao said.

According to a representative from a Danisa distributor, counterfeit products are priced at only one-third the cost of genuine products. They stated that most of these counterfeit products are mixed in with Tet (Lunar New Year) gift packages and sold to workers. Because of the extremely low price, the quality is very poor. The cookies lack the aroma, are hard, and don't have the rich flavor of the authentic product. Notably, these counterfeit products often have identical information on ingredients, nutritional value, and quality standards printed on their packaging, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish them. Therefore, consumers should purchase from reputable distributors.

According to VNE