This week, we are flying from Tokyo to Vietnam to meet Benji Lamb, Founder and CEO of Asia Circles, a modern trade distributor and incubator in Southeast Asia.

The global axis of growth is shifting away from China.

China is still driving more than 1/3 of the global growth in absolute terms but Southeast Asia is growing faster in percentage terms.

I still cannot forget something Benji told me on our first call in April this year.

“We focus on emerging & divergent opportunities across Southeast Asia — that’s the coming tide.”

You don’t come across many people in this space with such strong convictions and a clear vision of Asia.

Both coming from the background of growing brands in Asia, we had a lot in common. Benji was a few steps ahead of me in terms of career and I felt that I could learn a lot from him pioneering the Southeast Asian markets.

It was just around this time I started seeing more China-based agencies turning their attention to outside China - Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. What these agencies had in common was their relentless focus on digital and proven modern trade playbooks.

The truth is that just because Vietnam is a growth market does not mean that every brand will have an upside automatically. You still need to fight for the rightful place in the market. Vietnam moves fast and you need a strong local presence to keep up the pace.

So how did Benji find himself at the centre of this global macro shift?

We will unpack that now. Enjoy.

My journey from the UK to China and now Vietnam was driven by a desire to chase opportunity and growth.

After an initial failed attempt to find work as an English teacher in South Korea, I got a one-way ticket to Shanghai in 2014, where the "golden age" of China's digital landscape was unfolding. Recognising a massive need for foreign brands entering China to have locally based English-speaking talents, I volunteered to work for a small digital agency, eventually helping grow the company from 5 to 125 employees in just a few years.

This experience working with multinational brands in China gave me valuable insights that I later applied when taking on a regional managing director role at Vitabiotics, a UK vitamins company, helping grow that business 8-9x in 4 years and from one person (me) to 30 people. It was at this time that I had some initial contact with Southeast Asian markets.

When the China market started to cool and become more competitive in 2019/20, I saw an opportunity in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam. When I landed with no network, I knew I could do it again. But this time, better and wiser. I came with suitcases full of products.

That is how I started Asia Circles this year. We have been going strong onboarding cornerstone clients like Faith in Nature, established a local team, and will launch with one of the major retailers in Vietnam soon.

When you hit the roads in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), you are welcomed by waves of moped traffic that cut across every corner of the city. At the same time, when you get off the busy streets, you see the traces of French colonial architecture blended with the smell of Pho and the typical alleyway tranquillity. The contrast is distinct yet balanced.

The people of Vietnam are warm, receptive, hard-working and youthful. They endured a long history of warfare, repression and colonialism but they forged their own identity from the painful past with a rich culture.

The Vietnamese people have a growth mindset and there is a feeling of ‘raw opportunities’ on the ground. It feels like my experience in China but different at the same time.

In terms of the retail ecosystem, it is still in development but the infrastructure is being set in place, and being driven by locally grown companies like Maison Maru, VinFast, Cocoon. Foreign Direct Investment flow into Vietnam is the highest in Southeast Asia. It recorded US$25 billion in the first nine months of 2024 which is 11.6% growth year on year. Major investors come from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and China.

In a developing market with a young population, price sensitivity is a key challenge, though this will gradually improve as an estimated 30 million people are expected to enter the middle class in the next decade.

The lack of retail infrastructure has historically been an issue, but this is rapidly being addressed with major investments from companies like Guardian (Health & Beauty 125 stores owned by HK-based DFI Group), GS25 (Korean CVS 300+ stores), and 7-Eleven (120+ stores).

Ensuring quality, innovative products and building genuine brand equity are also crucial in the Vietnamese market, which low-quality "container market" goods have previously dominated.

Perception of Vietnam

Vietnam is no longer a wartorn and rural country anymore. The people of Vietnam are commercially savvy, and their strong retail infrastructure is only growing. Despite all the growth, the culture remains friendly and the people are incredibly hospitable.

Another thing that many outsiders overlook is Vietnam’s status as an economic leader in Southeast Asia with many home-grown brands actively operating internationally. As a foreign brand operating in Vietnam, this is a strong leverage to launch into other neighbouring markets in the region.