Australian ice cream brand Golden North will begin exporting its products to Vietnam, with the first 12,000-litre shipping container packed with pallets of traditional and low-GI Good n Creamy ice cream varieties setting sail this month.
Golden North marketing and export director Trevor Pomery said the deal with supermarket chain MM Mega Market started at a trade show in Singapore in May 2018 and was 14 months in the making.
The South Australian ice cream manufacturer began exporting to China in 2015, sending around four containers each year, but Pomery is aiming to triple these sales in Vietnam, with a container expected to reach Ho Chi Minh City each month.
“The ice cream market is growing over there and they were looking for an Australian product, it was a great opportunity and it was perfect timing. The trade show was right when they were looking for a new supplier,” Pomery said.
“It’s going into Ho Chi Minh City and then the customer has a number of outlets all over Vietnam. This particular customer has retail outlets in a number of countries so if we go well in Vietnam we might get into a couple of other places as well – that’s the hope.”
Established in 1923, Golden North is a privately owned and operated manufacturer, producing around 14 million litres of ice cream a year due to growing sales.
Golden North was voted as Australia's favourite ice cream for the second consecutive year in April, and also topped categories in the Canstar Blue customer survey for taste, consistency, variety and overall satisfaction.
“We’ve just won that Canstar award again so when the products launch in Vietnam they will have signage in the stores saying 'Australia’s favourite ice cream two years in a row' and as an introduction – if you’ve never seen the brand before – that’s a very good reason to give it a try,” said Pomery.
“Australia has a very good reputation as being a clean, green food producer so all those who have gone before use to establish that position really do help.”
Golden North will send 16 pallets of traditional two-litre tubs and four paletts of its low-GI 1.2-litre Good n Creamy varieties to Ho Chi Minh City on July 27.
