Thousands of B2B meetings open up new market opportunities

As part of the Viet Nam International Sourcing 2026 (VIS 2026) international supply chain connectivity series, the Viet Nam International Sourcing Expo brought together more than 600 Vietnamese businesses with over 500 booths across 12,000 sq.m., creating a multi-sector platform for product showcasing and business networking.

From food and beverages; household goods and furniture; lifestyle and healthcare products to items serving export supply chains, the expo offered a comprehensive snapshot of the production and supply capabilities of Vietnamese businesses. It also provided international buyers with opportunities to directly explore products, assess suppliers and seek suitable business partners.

A key highlight of Viet Nam International Sourcing 2026 was again its B2B business matching activities. The B2B area was bustling with face-to-face meetings between Vietnamese businesses and international buying delegations and distributors.

This year, Viet Nam International Sourcing welcomed more than 580 international business delegations from 60 countries and territories. Around 3,000 carefully selected B2B meetings were arranged, alongside approximately 13,000 direct interactions at exhibition booths.

These figures show that business matching was not confined to a dedicated area but extended throughout the exhibition floor. Vietnamese businesses had opportunities not only to directly showcase their products but also to engage in more in-depth discussions with individual buyers about demand, standards, supply capacity and potential cooperation.

The participation of major international retailers and distributors, including Walmart, H&M, Aeon, Lotte, Central Group, Mega Market and LuLu, together with many new partners, further expanded opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access diverse markets and global distribution channels.

From initial meetings and handshakes to in-depth discussions and thousands of connections between Vietnamese businesses and international partners, Viet Nam International Sourcing is gradually building a substantive business platform where cooperation opportunities can be forged directly and Vietnamese products can gain further momentum in entering global markets.

For businesses that have participated in the event for several years, the value of VIS lies not only in its scale or the number of buyers in attendance, but, more importantly, in its ability to generate new connections after each edition.

According to Nguyen Trung Dung, CEO of Dh Foods JSC, this is the company's fourth time participating in Viet Nam International Sourcing. Yet each edition remains as exciting as the first, as Dh Foods has developed what he described as a “tradition”: every year it returns from the expo with new customers and partners.

Nguyen Trung Dung said the scale and atmosphere of this year's expo were livelier. In particular, the B2B Matching area was organized in a structured manner, with the direct participation of numerous buyers from different markets seeking products and business partners.

In the first days of the event, Dh Foods had the opportunity to meet representatives of Central Retail, Wumart and Metro from China, Lotte Mart from South Korea and Walmart from the United States. Products such as spring roll dipping sauce, Nha Trang chili-lime salt, pho soup base and Tay Ninh shrimp salt were introduced to partners. Other products, including satay sauce, braised chili, bun cha and passion fruit sauce, also received positive feedback.

Another positive signal noted by the Dh Foods representative was the growing number of Vietnamese businesses participating in the expo and making more serious investments in bringing their products to international markets. At the same time, buyers are becoming increasingly proactive in visiting Vietnamese booths.

“More and more Vietnamese businesses are participating in the expo and making serious investments in bringing their products to international markets. Buyers are also becoming increasingly proactive in visiting Vietnamese booths,” Nguyen Trung Dung said.

This trend partly reflects a shift in how businesses approach trade promotion activities. Instead of simply bringing products to an exhibition, businesses are paying greater attention to production capacity, product readiness, customer engagement approaches and their ability to communicate directly with international buyers.

At the same time, the growing initiative among buyers in visiting Vietnamese booths indicates that domestic products and supply capabilities are attracting increasingly strong interest from international distribution systems.

A meeting today could become an order tomorrow

Viet Nam International Sourcing is not merely a venue for product showcases. Businesses increasingly see it as a direct bridge connecting domestic production capabilities with international market demand.

A representative of Binh Tay Food JSC expressed appreciation to the organizers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Foreign Market Development Department, agencies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Trade Offices abroad and relevant agencies for supporting the company in business matching activities.

According to the company, through successive editions, Viet Nam International Sourcing has increasingly demonstrated the significance and stature of an important international trade promotion program, bringing together businesses, manufacturers and suppliers from provinces and cities across Viet Nam while connecting them with buyers, importers, distributors and partners from numerous countries and territories.

What Binh Tay Food particularly values is that Viet Nam International Sourcing goes beyond organizing a trade fair or exhibition and is building a bridge between Vietnamese production and global markets. For businesses, every face-to-face meeting with an international buyer carries the potential to develop a long-term commercial relationship.

“For our company, these connections are extremely valuable. An exhibition may last only a few days, but a handshake can open up a market for many years. A meeting today can become an order tomorrow,” the Binh Tay Food representative said.

According to the company, the significance of an export order goes beyond the revenue generated by an individual business. Behind each order are jobs for workers, market outlets for farmers' agricultural products, operations at Vietnamese factories and the presence of Vietnamese brands in global markets.

This perspective shows that although B2B meetings at the event may last only a short time, they can generate long-term impacts if businesses and buyers find common ground.

A discussion about products, standards or prices can prompt businesses to further improve their products, adjust supply capabilities and meet the necessary requirements as they move toward a concrete order. Conversely, international distributors gain an opportunity to directly assess the capabilities of Vietnamese businesses, rather than learning about their products solely through indirect channels.

The continued participation of major distribution groups also demonstrates the program's appeal to international buyers. According to a representative of AEON Topvalu Vietnam, this year marks the company's fourth consecutive year participating in Viet Nam International Sourcing.

With a mission to contribute to Viet Nam's economic development through exports and bring high-quality Vietnamese goods to AEON Group's distribution systems in various countries and territories, AEON Topvalu Vietnam continued to participate in the event with a strong sense of responsibility and determination to promote business connections.

The representative of AEON Topvalu Vietnam also expressed appreciation to the Foreign Market Development Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and relevant agencies and organizations for their continued support and facilitation, enabling the company to participate in and contribute to this year's exhibition.

Notably, this year's event brought together buying delegations from various AEON Group entities across East and Southeast Asia. The direct participation of these buying delegations created additional opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to introduce their products to companies within the same distribution network across multiple markets.

According to AEON Topvalu Vietnam, the presence of international partners not only opens up new cooperation opportunities but also reflects growing confidence in the quality and potential of Vietnamese goods.

“With confidence in the future and a spirit of continuous innovation, AEON Topvalu Vietnam will continue to accompany Vietnamese businesses on their journey to take Vietnamese goods further afield, contributing to economic growth, enhancing the value of Vietnamese brands and creating sustainable connections between Viet Nam and international markets,” the representative of AEON Topvalu Vietnam emphasized.

After four years, Viet Nam International Sourcing is increasingly establishing itself as a platform connecting international supply and demand. Vietnamese businesses are not only given opportunities to present their products to buyers but also to gain direct insight into actual market demand.

More than 580 international business delegations from 60 countries and territories, around 3,000 carefully selected B2B meetings and approximately 13,000 direct interactions at exhibition booths generated a high level of business engagement throughout the event.

However, the significance of Viet Nam International Sourcing 2026 lies not only in the number of meetings. More importantly, its value lies in the relationships established through each discussion, direct feedback from markets and the ability to turn connections into contracts, orders and long-term partnerships.

From Dh Foods' direct meetings with major retail systems, to Binh Tay Food's expectation that a handshake could open up a market for many years, and AEON Topvalu Vietnam's goal of continuing to support Vietnamese goods in entering international distribution networks, the stories emerging from Viet Nam International Sourcing 2026 share a common message: businesses increasingly regard direct engagement with buyers as an important link in their journey into global markets.

An exhibition may last only a few days, but the value of the meetings it creates can last much longer. When Vietnamese businesses are placed directly in front of the needs of global buyers, every discussion, every piece of feedback and every handshake can become the starting point for a new business opportunity.

This is also the increasingly clear value of Viet Nam International Sourcing after four editions: moving from creating a space for meetings to fostering substantive business connections, thereby opening more doors for Vietnamese products, businesses and brands to gradually move deeper into global supply chains and distribution systems.