Functional food in Viet Nam: Trends consumer online shopping in Ho Chi Minh city

Abstract

Functional food is an interface between food and drug, but the food law governs it because the nature, structure, production, and use of functional foods comply with the provisions of the food law. Therefore the first issue is to distinguish functional foods and medicines. In the elderly, with increasing longevity and quality of life, primary health care is paid more attention, promoting health risk management and preventing chronic non-communicable diseases. In Vietnam, about 100 adults have 27 people with high blood pressure. More than 10 million people with pre-diabetes patients and other chronic diseases such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, impaired memory, metabolic disorders. Ho Chi Minh City has 43% of adults who use functional foods. The development of broadband Internet helps Vietnamese people efficiently use internet-connected computers and smart mobile devices. This development has led to many Vietnam acceptance of online shopping with the development trend of functional foods as diverse and abundant in the emerging markets such as Vietnam, and the big cities have e-commerce activities early development. This study's objective was to evaluate the factors demographics such as age, gender, income, information channels understand the product and place of production-related product trends of customers buying functional foods. This study surveyed 500 people and collected samples from 374 people using functional foods, aged 18 to 65 in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the places with the most developed e-commerce activities in Vietnam. The overall results show that demographic variables such as age, gender, income, product discovery information channels, and production place are significant premises related to online shopping and Customer confidence in the quality of functional food products. Among 374 people using functional foods, 247 (66%) people buy functional foods online. In people buying functional foods online, men represent 23.9%, and women represent 76.1%. Research shows that consumers' demand trends, and the potential of innovation and the health benefits of an emerging market, development trends e-commerce for food markets function in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the future.