How are the "big guys" in the soy sauce and instant noodle business doing?

Owners of famous fish sauce, soy sauce, and instant noodle brands such as Nam Ngu, Chin-su, and Omachi are seeing declining revenue due to the disruption of traditional distribution channels.

Masan Consumer Goods Corporation (Masan Consumer; UpCom Code: MCH) has just released its investor report for the third quarter of 2025. This is a company that owns famous brands such as: Nam Ngu fish sauce, Chin-su soy sauce, Omachi instant noodles...

The big fish sauce, soy sauce, and instant noodle business is facing challenges in the process of transforming its distribution system. (Photo: Dai Viet)

Revenue decline in Q3/2025 of Masan Consumer has been narrowed compared to the same period. Specifically, revenue in the third quarter reached more than 7,500 billion VND, down nearly 6% compared to the same period last year. Accumulated in the first 9 months of the year, Masan Consumer had revenue of nearly 21,300 billion VND, down more than 3% compared to the same period last year. However, MCH's after-tax profit in the first 3 quarters of this year still decreased sharply by 16% compared to the same period, reaching nearly 4,600 billion VND.

According to Masan Consumer's revenue decline in the third quarter, although improving year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, is still affected by the short-term impact of the disruption of traditional distribution channels and the transformation of MCH's distribution system.

In the third quarter, traditional distribution channels decreased as retail outlets temporarily reduced inventories to adapt to the new business household tax system. Distributor inventories were about VND1,200 billion, and wholesale inventories were about VND1,000 billion.

Although the traditional distribution channel has seen a decrease in revenue, MCH's other channels have been doing quite well. Specifically, revenue from the restaurant, hotel, and coffee shop channel increased by nearly 72%; the e-commerce channel increased by 60%; the export channel increased by nearly 15%; and the modern retail channel increased by 12.5%.

Masan's spice and convenience food sectors both saw revenue decline. (Photo: Dai Viet)

According to Masan Consumer, the business of fish sauce and soy sauce products is still under short-term pressure during the adjustment period of the new distribution system. The company will improve the fish sauce brand and expand distribution. In addition, the enterprise will also launch a collection of heritage fish sauce in the brand expansion strategy.

For soy sauce, MCH will restructure the portfolio with product upgrades and targeted marketing orientation.

Omachi maintained good consumption and positive contributions from segments such as mixed noodles, bowl noodles and cup noodles. Meanwhile, Kokomi was affected in the short term due to inventory adjustments during the process of expanding direct distribution.

MCH's revenue from bottled beverages in the third quarter of 2025 also decreased slightly by 0.5%, reaching nearly VND 1,270 billion. Revenue from coffee trading decreased sharply by 20% compared to the same period last year, reaching only VND 324 billion.

Although MCH’s core product lines saw a sharp decline in revenue, revenue from the personal and home care segment still grew well. In the third quarter, this segment achieved VND571 billion in revenue, up 22% year-on-year. In addition, export revenue also increased by 15%, reaching VND359 billion.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/ong-lon-kinh-doanh-nuoc-tuong-mi-goi-ra-sao-5063787.html