In the past few years, the worldwide market of herbs and spices witnessed massive development all due to the health-conscious purchases, emergence of natural food solutions, and the growing versatility of food. To any B2B customer anywhere in the world, be it in food manufacturing, production of functional beverages or manufacturing natural medicine, Vietnam has become a reliable herbs and spices manufacturing hub that offers both quality and scalability.
Vietnam with its favourable climate, long tradition of farming production and well-developed export infrastructure can be the perfect supplier of dried herbs, medicinal herbs and high-quality spices, to any business interested in finding stable sources. The article examines the development of the herbs and spices export market in Vietnam with emphasis on its major range, quality and export advantages to foreign B2B partners.
Herbs and spices are in high demand around the world
Market research company Grand View Research revealed that the current market value of herbs and spices is worth more than 85 billion dollars globally, and it is anticipated to expand with a CAGR of 6.5 percent between 2023 and 2030. This upsurge is caused by numerous factors:
- Increasing health awareness and preference of natural remedies
- Ethnic cuisines preference on authentic home spices and herbs
- Heightened use in nutraceuticals, teas, supplements and cosmetics
- The proliferation of organic and clean-label foods Growth of organic and clean-label food segments
Herbs and spices including countries such as the United States, Germany, India, the UAE and Japan are major importers of herbs and spices. They also need good quality reliable supplies that can be traced and are certificated and packaged flexibly. Vietnam, as a vastly diverse country with export friendly infrastructure has the potential to serve all these needs.
What makes Vietnam a trusted source for herbs and spices
The industry has a strong basis in Vietnam as the country has many strengths with regards to agriculture and processing in exporting the herbs and spices. This is the reason why B2B buyers are becoming more and more frequently engaged with the Vietnamese suppliers:
Perfect climate and biodiversity
Due to the tropical and subtropical climate, a great variety of herbs and spices is produced in Vietnam all year long including the highland-produced cinnamon and star anise and the lowland-grown lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, and peppermint. It has been proven that the medicinal plants and aromatic herbs held in traditional Eastern medicine thrives in the country.
High manufacturers volume and cost efficiency
Vietnam especially is competitive in offers when compared to the other large spice-producing countries like India or Indonesia as it continues to produce quality at good prices. Exporters can offer large quantities, OEM, and white label products that can interest international wholesalers, importers, and stores brands.
Defined supply chain and logistics
There are networks of GMP processing plants, advanced drying and grinding sectors and international ports of shipment in Vietnam, such as Hai Phong, Cat Lai and Da Nang. Fast lead times, traceability and multi-lingual B2B communications are possible by a large number of suppliers.
Government support and quality levels
The government policies that support Vietnamese agriculture include organic farming and pesticide-free farming, sustainable sourcing, better farm-to-farm handling of agricultural produce. Most herbs and spices exporters are certified with: HACCP, ISO 22000, organic (USDA/EU), Halal/Kosher and GACP-WHO where medicinal herbs are involved.
Best Herbs and spices Vietnam
Herbs
Dried Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
The Vietnamese dried lemongrass is one of the most famous herbal exports especially in the food industry, beverage industry, and cosmetic industry. It is also known for its antimicrobial and citrus perfume which is common in teas, soups, essential oils and natural cleaning products. Vietnamese lemongrass can be brought in two forms, namely cut and sifted, fine-milled powder or distilled oil as deemed suited by the buyer depending on its production requirements.
Holy Basil, Perilla, Vietnamese Mint
These spicy aromatic herbs are Southeast Asian daily food and medicines. Holy basil can be praised about having adaptogenic functions, perilla, and Vietnamese mint is loved because of its original taste and gastro-like properties. These herbs are normally provided in the form of air-dried or freeze-dried leaves by the exporters and a few provide them in form of essential oils or herbal tea mixtures. The growing popularity in the health-conscious consumers has made them even appealing to consumers in the functional food and wellness markets.
Kaffir Lime Leaves & Coriander Leaves
Leaves of the Kaffir lime and coriander are very common ingredients in Thai, Vietnamese, and fusion cuisine in that they are added to create direct flavor in the meals to be used with the leafy vegetable or as a garnish. These herbs are sold by Vietnam in different dried forms, like whole leaves and flakes crushed, and prepared with a great care so that the valuable essences of these herbs and their freshness are maintained. They also find wide application in commercial mixes of spices and soup base in the formulation of international food manufacturers.
Medicinal Herbs (Gotu Kola, Bitter Leaf, Licorice Root)
More demand is also met by the importation of medicinal herbs like gotu kola, bitter leaf, and licorice root by these Vietnamese exporters. These ancient Eastern medicine herbs are also currently gaining new markets in herbal tea blends and skin care preparations as well as diet supplements. Farms with organically certification are used and active components are usually preserved through sun drying or low temperature drying to comply with EU or FDA regulations.
Spices
Cassia Cinnamon
Vietnam would be one of the exporters of cassia cinnamon in the world especially in the mountainous region of Yen Bai and Quang Nam. Cinnamon is valued in particular due to its rich aroma (spicy), deep reddish-brown color, as well as high essential oil content (usually more than 4 percent). It is commonly made into stick (split or whole), broken bits, or fine powder, and applied as a flavoring, in baking, and beverage infusions, in herbal medicine. Vietnamese cinnamon is particularly attractive to the health-conscious markets due to low coumarin content.
Star Anise
Another typical Vietnamese spice is star anise because in Lang Son and Lao Cai provinces, it is widely produced. It is commonly added to spice mixes, marinade, liqueurs and pharmaceuticals, especially as a source of shikimic acid, a major component of antiviral drugs. High oil content and strong smell are characteristic quality measurements of Vietnamese exporters being sold by them in whole, broken, or powdered forms of star anise.
Black Pepper
Vietnam is also the largest exporter of black pepper in the world having a vast number of products like black, white as well as ground pepper. The nation’s pepper is characterized by strong taste, spicy smell, and standard grading. Exporters provide pepper in an international standard with regards to moisture content, granulation of the product and packaging- bulk 50kg bags to consumer ready pouches. The consistency of volumes and affordability of Vietnamese pepper are especially appreciated by the buyers in the food processing and spice blending business.
Dried Ginger and Ginger Powder
Vietnamese dried ginger is very spicy and is well demanded in other countries due to its wide applicability and versatility. It is then converted into sliced or whole root appearance and they are mostly sun-dried or machine dried so that they are hygienic and still maintainable on the shelves. Ginger powder is also high in demand especially in the beverage industry and in the confectionery industries as it is uniformly granulated and clean tasting. HACCP and ISO certified ginger are generally exported by suppliers and frequently the reports on microbial and heavy metal testing are available.
Turmeric
The Vietnamese turmeric has a bright yellow color and a concentration of curcuminins of 3 or more %. Turmeric is cultivated mainly in the provinces of Nghe An and Quang Binh and supplied as sliced and dried rhizomes or as powder. It is also talked about as a commonly occurring food coloring agent, part of spice blends and active ingredients in such supplements and herbal treatments. Turmeric exporters offer the products with possibilities of organic certification and ready-to-modify packaging to a B2B customer.
Conclusion
Vietnam is quickly emerging as a superpower in international trade in herbs and spices. The country also has its diversity in agri-products, cost benefits, quality certification, and export mechanisms that make it well placed to support the emerging demands of B2B buyers in other countries.
This provides the possibility of introducing to the world a viable source of high-quality, consistent, continuous, and reliable supplies of herbs and spices supplied by the right Vietnamese exporter that can serve all industries in the food/wellness/health sector.
In case you want to order herbs and spices directly in Vietnam, you need to find a reliable and experienced exporter that can help you to follow the logic of B2B business, comply with the rules of product quality, and ensure the exportation of goods in a legal way.
We at GreatFoods Vietnam deal with bulk supply of herbs, dried spices, and functional plant ingredients to our global client in the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industry. We support international buyers throughout the natural products supply chain, with certified products, flexible packaging and total support exporting.
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