Vinamilk
Score 2024
Score
Score
Important:
The research findings regarding companies’ performance in this Index are based on information shared by companies or gathered by service providers, in addition to information that is available in the public domain.
The level of detail and comprehensiveness of information shared by companies and gathered through external service providers varied. In the case of limited or no engagement by companies, this Index may not represent the full extent of their efforts. Similarly, in the case of limited data collected by service providers, the findings of this Index may not provide a comprehensive representation of company practices.
ATNI’s research and Indexes do not assess compliance with local regulations or laws, but rather assess private sector performance against international standards and guidance.
BMS Country Studies
Score
The Country Studies component of the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 evaluates the extent to which a company’s marketing practices align with specific provisions of the WHO Code (not against local Code-related regulations). The main marketing channels assessed in the Country Studies for the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 are online points-of-sale, traditional and online media outlets, and product labels which were all assessed according to the NetCode protocol. Vinamilk only sells BMS products in Viet Nam, one of the five countries selected for the assessment, which represents 100% of Vinamilk’s estimated global BMS sales. The Country Studies results for Vinamilk are summarized below for Viet Nam across each marketing channel.
Country Studies overview
| Vinamilk | Country assessments | BMS market | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total incidences of non-compliance across online, traditional media, and product labels | Number of product labels assessed | Company brands found | BMS market share | Proportion of Vinamilk's global BMS sales | |
| CHINA | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| GERMANY | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| INDONESIA | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| US | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| VIET NAM | 44 | 18 | Dielac Optimum Gold | 18% | 100% |
(0 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 100%)
(>0-10 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 66%)
(>10-20 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 33%)
(> 20 incidences of Code non-compliance corresponding to a country score of 0%)
• In Viet Nam, Vinamilk's holds approximately 18% of the country's BMS market share, while it represents 100% of the company’s global BMS sales. A total of 44 incidences of non-compliant marketing practices for Vinamilk BMS products were found, which included 25 non-compliant advertisements or promotions on online media channels, one non-compliant TV advertisement and all of the18 product labels assessed contained at least one incidence of non-compliance.
Observed incidences of non-compliance with the Code per country
Main in-country findings
The total number of incidences of non-compliant marketing practices for Vinamilk that were found in Viet Nam was 44. The majority of incidences of non-compliant marketing practices for Vinamilk were identified through the social listening of online platforms (25 out of 44). The incidences of non-compliance found online and traditional media were largely concerning growing-up milks and non-compliant labels found across all types of BMS.
Online findings
• Among the total of 25 incidences of non-compliances found online, 10 were point-of-sale promotions. Despite ATNI's request for Vinamilk to verify any contractual relationship with the retailers monitored, confirmation could not be obtained from the company. Promotions found on online retailer platforms had an average of two incidences of non-compliance per promotion found. Along with the advertisements identified, which are non-compliances with Article 5.1 of the Code, discounts were also identified. One of the promotions was for infant formula, one for follow-up formula and the other eight for growing-up milks.
• The remaining 15 online media observations were found on the company’s in-country websites and social media platforms (Facebook and YouTube) as well as parenting sites. An average of three incidences of non-compliance were identified per observation. Apart from advertising BMS – a non-compliance with the Code in itself – other common instances found with those advertisements included various incentives for product purchase, such as gifts, as well as company provision of information and educational materials on infant and young child feeding which are actions that do not comply with the Code. Furthermore, all the adverts contained at least one type of claim (nutritional, health and/ or marketing claim).
Traditional media findings
One advertisement was identified on television in Viet Nam for a Vinamilk BMS product, concerning a growing-up milk. The advertisement included a discount and contained a health claim.
BMS product label
• All the 18 Vinamilk BMS product labels assessed contained at least one incident of Code non-compliance, with an average of 5 incidences of non-compliance per product label.
• All the labels assessed included nutritional, health and/ or marketing claims. All of the labels with clear images were missing a statement on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and continued breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond. Of all products, 12 out of 18 included a text that makes a comparison to breastmilk for example “prebiotics with a similar structure to nutrients found in breast milk “. Other common observations classified as non-compliant with the Code included absence of a clearly legible statement that the product should be used only on the advice of a health worker, and of warning against the health hazards of inappropriate preparation and usage.
• It is worth noting that ATNI did not have the resources to collect products from the different markets and take pictures of their labels. In this iteration, ATNI’s research was based on product label images from an external provider. For some products, images were not clear enough or did not show all parts of the package, thus ATNI asked the respective companies to provide images of the labels. As Vinamilk did not respond to ATNI during the verification phase, the company had not provided images of product labels as requested by ATNI. Therefore, incomplete assessments remained for a total of 10 products. If at least one incidence of non-compliance was identified from the existing images, these labels were counted as a non-compliant observation.
Recommendations
• Given the high number of incidences of non-compliant marketing practices observed in Viet Nam, Vinamilk is strongly encouraged to strengthen its responsible BMS marketing policies and ensure their full alignment with the recommendations of the Code and all subsequent relevant resolutions, including the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9. ATNI has developed a model company policy on the responsible marketing of BMS which can guide the company on how to incorporate Code provisions and align with the latest public health requirements in practice.
• Vinamilk is urged to restrict the advertising and promotion of all types of BMS products and brands on all forms of media platforms. The company should also refrain from offering educational materials on infant and young child feeding and incentivizing the purchase of those products by offering gifts.
• Vinamilk is strongly encouraged to take responsibility for monitoring its marketing practices beyond local regulations, according to the principles and the aim of the Code and subsequent relevant resolutions, and to take steps to ensure this includes online media channels.
• Vinamilk is encouraged to engage with its industry associations, retailers and/or regulators to ensure that there are no promotions of BMS products in the retail environment, and see that products are appropriately marketed in line with the Code.
• Given that each of the labels assessed were found to be non-compliant with the Code requirements in at least one aspect, Vinamilk is encouraged to focus on improving labeling practices across all markets to ensure full compliance with the Code and all subsequent relevant resolutions, including the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9. This includes ensuring that the product contains a statement promoting the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond, a statement that the product should be used only on the advice of a health worker, and that labels do not include health or nutrition claims, except if specifically provided for in national legislation.
• Clear evidence was found of Vinamilk applying point-of-sale promotions for growing-up milks and promoting these on online platforms, which is contrary to the requirements of the Code, specifically the guidance supported by WHA resolution 69.9 that extended the scope of the Code to growing-up milks. Therefore, ATNI urges Vinamilk to ensure its commitments are extended to include growing-up milks in all markets.
• Vinamilk is strongly encouraged to cooperate fully with any future independent third-party assessments by providing clear and comprehensive product label images. Incomplete assessments can lead to inaccurate evaluations and hinder efforts to address incidences of non-compliance effectively.
• ATNI is calling on Vinamilk to review all incidences of non-compliance identified across all marketing channels, which were shared in detail with the company, and to take corrective action.
BMS Corporate Profile
Score
The Corporate Profile component of the BMS and CF Marketing Indexes 2024 evaluates the extent to which a company’s policies align with various provisions of the Code, the effectiveness of its related management systems as well as the company’s level of disclosure on commitments relating to BMS marketing. Vinamilk’s BMS marketing commitments were assessed across 11 topics that cover different aspects of the Code on which the company scored an average of 0.52%. This score is equivalent to the company’s initial overall Corporate Profile score before a geographic penalty (if applicable) is applied to each BMS product type. The final Corporate Profile score considers how the company’s BMS marketing commitments are applied for the different BMS product types sold by the company, and across different markets. As Vinamilk sells infant formula, follow-up formula, and growing-up milks, the company’s application of BMS commitments was evaluated for each product type, as shown in the next section on ‘Geographic application of BMS commitments by product type’. The scores and findings on each topic are described in further detail in the section below on ‘BMS Commitments by Topic’.
Geographic application by Vinamilk of BMS commitments by product type
The table below shows the percentage of product sales where commitments are upheld and the geographic penalty applied to each type of BMS. The penalty ranges from 0% up to 90% depending on whether a company fully upholds its BMS marketing commitments in all or none of the countries in which it operates, respectively, where national Code regulations are absent or less stringent than the company’s policies and standards.
|
Corporate Profile score before penalty |
Product type |
Percentage of Vinamilk’s global sales from markets where BMS commitments are upheld |
Geographic penalty applied |
Final Corporate Profile score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% |
Infant formula |
0% | 90% | 0.1% |
|
Follow-up formula |
0% | 90% | ||
|
Growing-up milk |
0% | 90% |
No information was found in the public domain nor shared by the company describing how BMS marketing commitments are upheld for each product type and in which markets. Therefore, the corresponding geographic penalty for each product type (infant formula, follow-up formula, and growing-up milk) is the maximum of 90% and the final Corporate Profile score is 0.05%.
Infant formula
The corresponding geographic penalty for this product type is the maximum of 90%.
Follow-up formula
The corresponding geographic penalty for this product type is the maximum of 90%.
Growing-up milk
The corresponding geographic penalty for this product type is the maximum of 90%.
ATNI calls on Vinamilk to develop and/or publish a BMS marketing policy that fully aligns with the wording of the Code, in addition to upholding the relevant national regulations in Viet Nam. The policy should also cover all milks that are specifically marketed for feeding infants and young children from birth up to the age of three years, and it should be applied in all markets in which the company operates in.
Topics Overview
BMS commitments by topic
Most topics include assessments on both policy commitments and management systems, except for the topic on ‘Implementation and Monitoring’, which mostly considers management systems, and the topic ‘Overarching Commitments’, which considers policy commitments only. A separate topic assesses the level of disclosure and transparency practiced by companies on the different aspects of the Code.