A STUDY OF CONSUMERS’ DECISIONS IN PURCHASING CHILDREN’S PHARMACEUTICAL SYRUP PRODUCTS: THE EXPERIENCE OF CADILA VIETNAM

Abstract

Pharmacies are trusted by the consumers for baby nutrition products due to safety concerns. They form the main children's beverage business due to strict regulations regarding the stocking and sale of medically approved products. Furthermore, the presence of pharmacists helps consumers seek advice, which is an added advantage. For example, according to India's 2024 E-pharmaceutical Market Opportunities Outlook, India currently has more than 850,000 independent retail pharmacies serving only 60% of the total domestic demand. The supply gap is expected to present a lucrative opportunity for more drug stores to support demand for various baby products. (Baby Drinks Market Size, 2020).

The turnover of the market of products and services for children in Vietnam has been predicted to reach a scale of 7 billion USD, with a growth rate of 30-40%.

Besides, according to Nielsen, the sales of baby and child-specific products are still expected to rise by a healthy 7% in 2021 in 2020 constant value terms, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The lasting impact of COVID-19 is expected to be linked to the economy, with the pandemic impacting macroeconomic stability and growth.

As the country with the highest proportion of young families in Southeast Asia with 12 percent of households having babies under one year of age, and over 30% of households having kids under two years old. With rising incomes and improved education, parents are becoming more willing to pay a premium for high-quality products that can serve their children well. Between 2018 and 2011, retail sales of baby and maternity products in Vietnam grew at an average annual rate of 15%.

The quality and origin of products are the two most important factors in the Vietnamese baby product market. Parents wanting high-quality products for their babies prefer international brands. Currently, these brands have the highest market share, while consumer trust in domestic products is not high. Vietnam is considered as a promising market for mother and baby care products and the booming market with opportunities for foreign brand. In order to write the article, consulting several sources such as books, newspapers, magazines, reports as well as other articles was necessary. Analysis, statistic, prediction, the application is the essential methods which were used to express the topic. The authors used the SWOT analysis method to evaluate the consumers’ decisions in purchasing the children syrup products in Vietnam. Some recommendations for developing strategies of children syrup products have been proposed from the above analysis. The article consists of four main factors and they are: firstly, the Vietnamese social; secondly, the psychological of Vietnamese customers; thirdly, the customers’ personal; and lastly is the Cadila Pharmaceuticals marketing actions. Relating to the consumers’ decision in purchasing, the article will reflect the considerable factors of the Vietnamese customers or children syrup products market surveying during Vietnam in the period from 01st Feb 2021 to 02nd April 2021.