Bottle caps help Vinamilk increase sales by nearly 80% in New Zealand
A bottle cap innovation has helped Vinamilk eliminate more than 5 million plastic straws and contributed to nearly 80% growth in the New Zealand market. This small solution from the dairy giant shows that cutting emissions is not entirely a cost issue, but can be a “priority card” to help products expand their presence in high-end markets and enhance brand value.
In early 2024, Vinamilk proposed to its New Zealand import partner to participate in testing a small improvement on the packaging of sterilized drinking yogurt in HDPE bottles of 80ml - a key export product of the company. Accordingly, the traditional round bottle cap packaging was replaced with a "ear cap" (Pre-cut lid with a pull tab), allowing users to easily remove the cap for use, without the need for a straw.
The experiment quickly had an effect: New Zealand consumers were enthusiastic in supporting it, and the importer immediately ordered Vinamilk to produce nearly 1 million more products using this innovation. It is expected that in 2025, there will be an additional 4.1 million yogurt drinks with improved packaging from Vinamilk supplied to New Zealand's two largest retail chains. This means that more than 5 million plastic straws will disappear from the market.
Whensustainable developmentbecome a competitive advantage
“As part of a development strategy,emission reductionno longer a cost, but a competitive advantage of the business”. This is the affirmation of Mr. Le Hoang Minh - Executive Director of Production and Head of Net Zero Project of Vinamilk at the 12th Vietnam Sustainable Business Forum (VCSF). As one of the most important annual dialogue events between the business community and the Vietnamese Government on sustainable development organized by VCCI since 2014, this year's forum has the theme "Sustainable development in the new era: Turning aspirations into actions" - clearly demonstrates the leadership spirit of General Secretary To Lam to bring the country into a new era, an era of national growth.
As evidenced by the packaging conversion story, Mr. Minh said that installing new cap mold equipment of course comes with costs, but the benefits are well worth it. In New Zealand alone, this improvement contributed to market growth in 2024 reaching nearly 80%, among the top growing markets of the year. In 2025 alone, this improvement is expected to bring in sales of more than 20%, above the high base of 2024.
More importantly, Vinamilk's image as a "green" manufacturer is reinforced, helping to increase its competitive advantage in markets with strict environmental standards such as the US, Australia, etc. In fact, sales growth in many markets in the Oceania region will reach more than 56% per year in 2024. Vinamilk products appear in major supermarket chains such as Costco, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Foodstuff, etc.
Of course, this achievement does not come from a single effort. Mr. Le Hoang Minh said that more than 10 years ago, Vinamilk was ready to provide sustainable development reports according to the requirements of international partners. In addition to building international standards such as ISO 9001:2015, FSSC 22000, ISO 17025, Halal, Organic EU... the enterprise has also completed greenhouse gas inventory reports and accelerated the Net Zero process across the entire value chain. The fact that the first 2 factories and 1 farm achieved carbon neutrality according to international standards is a strong affirmation of this effort.
Cut emissions, enhance brand
Expressing his impression of Vinamilk's use of emission reduction as a competitive advantage, Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy - General Secretary of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD), under VCCI, said that this is a typical example showing that sustainable development does not always require too much cost.Sometimes small improvements can make a big difference”, he said.
According to a recent Kantar report, around 22% of consumers said they are actively changing their behaviour to shop more sustainably. And according to PwC, more than 80% of survey respondents expressed concern about climate change, and around half of them (44%) said they would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly food – such as products that improve soil quality and increase biodiversity; a further 43% said they could be persuaded to do the same.
“This means that any business that is slow toin green transformation or sustainable business strategy willRightface risks and be eliminated from the game earlier", VBCSD representative emphasized.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Le Hoang Minh said that the green consumption trend is no longer a “niche” market but is gradually becoming a common requirement in all segments and all markets. From there, it creates a “lever” to increase brand value.
With Vinamilk, the Food & Drink 2025 report ofBrand FinanceThe ranking ranks the company as the number 1 in the top 3 most valuable dairy brands globally. This result is based on key criteria such as brand loyalty/recommendation, investor appeal, ability to accept premium prices and long-term prospects. These are all criteria directly affected by ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) practices.
“In other words, sustainable development has shifted the rolefrom 'compliance costs''strategic assets', directly increasing brand value in the international market", Mr. Minh concluded./.