Hot drinks are perfect for the weather.

(Baonghean) - The prolonged hot weather recently has increased the demand for beverages. Many types of drinks, in various forms and varieties, are being sold in shops, on streets, and on sidewalks to meet customer needs. However, alongside these refreshing services during the hot season, there is also a potential concern about food safety and hygiene.

Purchasing power increased sharply.

This year's hot season beverage market has seen a surge in new products, ranging from carbonated and non-carbonated drinks to herbal extracts and 100% pure fruit juices. Ms. Hong Minh, owner of a confectionery shop on Ho Tung Mau Street (Vinh City), said: “Currently, the shop sells about 50-70 cases of soft drinks and beer daily. The consumption of natural cooling drinks and slimming teas has increased three to four times compared to April…” With the current high temperatures, from small-scale beverage vendors to large supermarkets and stores, everyone sees this as a “golden” opportunity to do business and increase revenue during the hot season.

At the warehouse of Trung Dung Commercial Service Development Co., Ltd. (on Nguyen Du Street – Vinh City), which specializes in distributing beer and soft drinks, employees are busy receiving goods for distribution to small shops and retailers. Mr. Le Quang Dung, Head of Business Operations, said: “The most popular soft drinks among consumers are non-carbonated products, herbal drinks with natural flavors, fruit juices, and mineral water... Although demand has increased significantly, most products have maintained the same prices as at the beginning of 2014.”

Fresh coconuts are one of the items consumers choose to cool down during the hot season.

Besides the surge in demand for bottled soft drinks, the market for affordable beverages such as sugarcane juice, soy milk, and various desserts is also attracting customers. Around the gates of colleges and universities in the city and along sidewalks, beverage stalls are popping up everywhere, attracting an increasing number of customers. Furthermore, the increasingly hot weather has driven up the demand for fresh coconuts (a cooling drink). According to Ms. Tam, the owner of a large coconut wholesaler at Vinh wholesale market: “Normally, I import a large truckload of coconuts from Binh Dinh and sell them within a week, but for the past half month, they've all sold out in just 3 days. Along with the surge in coconut consumption, prices have also been pushed up. Fresh coconuts at beverage shops cost 20,000 VND/each, while young coconuts range from 25,000 to 30,000 VND/each…”

Recently, consumers have been increasingly drawn to natural and health-boosting beverage products such as bird's nest, ginseng bird's nest, sugared bird's nest, and reishi mushroom. Despite the relatively high prices of these products, demand in Vinh remains strong. At the Thien Viet Premium Bird's Nest branch, with temperatures reaching 39°C in Vinh, many customers are buying various bird's nest products for children and the elderly to cool down and prevent illness during the hot season. Currently, these products range in price from 190,000 VND per box of 6 cans of sugared bird's nest to 6.5 million VND per 100 grams of whole bird's nest.

Is the quality guaranteed?

Although more beverages are available to meet people's consumption needs during the summer, the quality and food safety of these drinks remain unassured, especially those sold on sidewalks. Exploiting people's concerns about food safety, many vendors display signs advertising "super clean sugarcane juice" to attract customers. The investment cost for a "super clean" sugarcane juice cart is 5-6 million VND higher than older models. However, in reality, these vendors advertising "super clean sugarcane juice" are no better than other sidewalk beverage stalls. They also sell pre-peeled sugarcane, cut into pieces and stored in uncovered plastic buckets.

In some places, the peeled sugarcane has discolored due to being left for too long. Some vendors even place bundles of sugarcane right next to drainage ditches. At the stalls, the cups used for customers are only rinsed once in a reusable basin of water. The leftover sugarcane pulp is piled up in front of the juicer, attracting flies and creating unsanitary conditions. Many vendors, after cleaning up the discarded pulp on the ground with bare hands, continue juicing customers without washing their hands. Furthermore, the ice used in sugarcane juice stalls is often block ice, which is only used for chilling food. If the water source for making the ice is not guaranteed, the risk of unsanitary conditions is very high.

Visiting Vinh Market and stopping by a stall selling flavorings and additives on a hot summer day reveals the abundance of syrups and concentrates; with a variety of flavors from mango and orange to passion fruit and strawberry, in eye-catching green, red, purple, and yellow hues. According to vendors, these fruit flavorings for smoothies come in many varieties, priced from 50,000 to 120,000 VND per bottle. Sellers claim that with these juices, you only need a few spoonfuls, along with water, ice, and sugar, to create a rich, fruity drink without the hassle of buying fresh fruit, peeling, removing seeds, and blending. Not to mention that the cost of a glass of fresh fruit juice is many times higher than that of one made from this ready-made syrup... If I hadn't seen firsthand where they buy and sell the ingredients for making these drinks, I wouldn't have understood why soft drinks are so cheap.

Hot weather increases the demand for beverages, leading to a surge in production and market expansion. This makes the market increasingly diverse and abundant. However, it is also a time when low-quality products often infiltrate the market, posing difficulties and health risks to consumers. Research shows that, in addition to high-quality beverages produced by reputable domestic and international companies, many counterfeit and imitation products with unclear origins and labels are also appearing. Therefore, consumers should be cautious when purchasing products to avoid buying substandard goods. Street vendors, in particular, need strict hygiene inspections by relevant authorities to ensure consumer health. While the number of dedicated food safety officers is limited, regular, random inspections can effectively warn vendors.

Ngoc Anh