Vietnam is an obvious place to make a private-label food product: fruit, rice, cashews, pepper, coffee, cocoa and seafood grow or land close to the factories that process them, and the country has a large food-processing industry built for export. Finding a factory that says yes is not difficult. The difficult part is everything that has to be true before the first batch is made — that the factory is licensed for your product, that the recipe and specification are yours, that the shelf life on your label has been tested rather than assumed, and that the ingredients are acceptable where the product will be sold.
This article covers those checks for shelf-stable foods such as snacks, sauces, noodles, confectionery and dried fruit. Beverages, coffee, frozen food, retort pouches and pet food have their own articles, linked at the end.
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Match the factory to the product, not the other way round
Food factories in Vietnam are specialised by process — frying, baking, drying, cooking and filling, extrusion — so start from the process your product needs and look only at factories that run it in-house.
A factory that makes excellent dried fruit may have no frying line; a noodle plant may not be able to pack sauce sachets. A factory quoting outside its own process will either subcontract or learn on your order. Ask each candidate which lines run in its own building, which products currently run on the line you would use, and which steps — roasting, seasoning, packing — go to another site.
| Product type | Process to look for | What decides the result |
|---|---|---|
| Snacks, chips, coated nuts | Frying or roasting, seasoning, nitrogen-flushed packing | Oil management, seasoning adhesion, oxygen in the pack |
| Dried and dehydrated fruit | Drying, sometimes infusion, sorting | Moisture content, water activity, colour retention |
| Sauces and condiments | Cooking, hot-filling or pasteurising | Acidity, fill temperature, seal integrity |
| Rice noodles and rice paper | Mixing, steaming, drying | Moisture, breakage, packing density |
| Confectionery and biscuits | Cooking or baking, forming, wrapping | Humidity control, packaging barrier |
Check the food safety licence and what it covers
A Vietnamese food manufacturer needs either a food safety eligibility certificate or a valid recognised certification such as HACCP, ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 — and whichever it has must cover the product line you are buying.
Under Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, Article 11 requires food production establishments to hold a certificate of eligibility for food safety (giấy chứng nhận cơ sở đủ điều kiện an toàn thực phẩm), and Article 12(1)(k) exempts establishments that hold a valid GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, IFS, BRC or FSSC 22000 certificate or equivalent. The exemption is from the certificate, not from the food safety conditions themselves.
Decree 46/2026/ND-CP was issued to replace Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, but its effect was suspended by Resolution 15/2026/NQ-CP of 6 April 2026 until the amended Food Safety Law and its guiding decree take effect, so Decree 15/2018/ND-CP continues to apply. Checked on 17 October 2026.
What to check in practice:
- The scope line. A certificate names the site and the product categories. A site certified for dried fruit is not thereby certified for sauces.
- The validity date and the certification body. Confirm the certificate with the body that issued it, not only from the copy the factory sends.
- The buyer’s own requirement. Many retailers and importers require a scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative, such as FSSC 22000 or BRCGS, rather than ISO 22000 alone. Ask your customer before you shortlist.
How to verify the company itself is covered in how to verify a Vietnamese supplier without visiting.
Own the recipe and the specification
Decide at the start whether the product is your recipe made by the factory or the factory’s recipe sold under your brand, and write down who owns the formulation and the specification either way.
With your own recipe, you hand over a formulation and the factory scales it to its line; the scaled version — ingredient grades, process temperatures, times — becomes the real specification, and you should receive it in writing. With the factory’s recipe, you are buying a proven product quickly, but you may not be able to take it to another factory later. Either model works if the contract says:
- who owns the formulation and the finished-product specification;
- whether the factory may sell the same product to others, and under what conditions;
- what happens to the recipe, the artwork and the packaging plates if you move production.
The general contract points are in how contract manufacturing in Vietnam runs.
💬 We find, vet and manage the Vietnamese food manufacturer that fits your product, and carry your specification into Vietnamese — see our OEM and private-label service.
Settle the shelf life with tests, not with a number from the factory
A shelf life printed on your label is a promise; base it on a test of your product in your packaging, under storage conditions like those it will actually meet.
The same recipe has a different shelf life in a different pack. A snack in a metallised film with nitrogen flushing keeps differently from one in a clear bag; dried fruit with slightly more moisture can grow mould before its date. Ask the factory what shelf-life testing it can run or arrange — storage trials, accelerated tests, water activity and moisture measurements, microbiological tests at intervals — and which accredited laboratory it uses. Then base the date on the results, with a margin.
Two practical points specific to shipping from Vietnam: goods may spend weeks in containers and warehouses at high temperature and humidity before they reach a shelf, so test at conditions that reflect that; and the shelf life starts at production, so the time from production to arrival eats into the selling period your customer will accept.
Make sure the ingredients are acceptable where the food will be sold
An ingredient, additive or level that is normal in Vietnam may be restricted at the destination, so check the formulation against the destination’s rules before the recipe is frozen.
This is cheap to check at the recipe stage and expensive to discover at the border. For Japan, food additives must be on the permitted list and within the use standards, and residue limits apply to agricultural ingredients; the import procedure is described in Japan’s food import notification procedure and labelling in Japanese labelling for imported food. If the product will also be sold in Vietnam, it needs its own declaration and Vietnamese labelling; see Vietnam food import self-declaration, which applies the same Decree 15/2018/ND-CP route to domestically sold products.
The checklist before the first batch
Before you approve the first production batch, each line below should be answered in writing.
| Item | What to have in writing |
|---|---|
| Licence | Food safety certificate or recognised certification, with scope covering your product |
| Process | Which steps run in-house; which go to another site |
| Specification | Scaled recipe, ingredient grades, process parameters, finished-product limits |
| Ingredients | Sources of key ingredients; allergens; additives checked against the destination |
| Shelf life | Test method, conditions, results and the date you will print |
| Packaging | Film or container specification, barrier, seal, artwork approval |
| Testing per batch | Which tests on every batch, by which laboratory, and the certificate you receive |
| Samples | Approved pre-production sample, retained by both sides |
| Ownership | Recipe, specification, artwork and plates |
Sample approval and the record to keep are covered in sample approval stages, and how first-order quantities interact with packaging minimums in negotiating a lower minimum order.
For specific categories, see beverage contract manufacturing in Vietnam, private-label coffee from Vietnam, frozen food manufacturing in Vietnam, retort pouch food from Vietnam and pet food manufacturing in Vietnam.
💬 For each project we find, vet and manage the manufacturer that fits — tell us about your food product.
Frequently asked questions
1. Does a Vietnamese food factory need a licence to make my product?
It needs either a certificate of eligibility for food safety or a valid recognised certification such as HACCP, ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 under Decree 15/2018/ND-CP. Check that the scope covers your product and confirm it with the issuer.
2. Can I use the factory’s existing recipe?
Yes, and it is often the fastest route to a first product. Agree in writing whether the factory can sell the same product to others and what happens if you move production.
3. Who sets the shelf life on my label?
You do, as the brand owner, on the basis of tests of your product in its packaging. The factory can run or arrange the tests, but the date is your promise to the customer.
4. Is ISO 22000 enough for my customer?
It depends on the customer. Many retailers ask for a scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative, such as FSSC 22000 or BRCGS. Ask before you shortlist factories.
5. Do I need to register the product in Vietnam if I only export it?
Product declaration under Decree 15/2018/ND-CP concerns food sold in Vietnam. For export-only products, the destination’s own import rules apply; confirm the position for your product with the factory and your importer.
Sources: Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, Articles 11 and 12(1)(k); Resolution 15/2026/NQ-CP of 6 April 2026 suspending Decree 46/2026/ND-CP. Checked on 17 October 2026 — confirm the current text before you rely on it.