Foreign tourists visiting Vietnam buying up local sweets by the suitcase-load—a “snack haul” is spreading on TikTok. Videos of bulk sweet-buying tagged “#snackvietnam” have spread. Prices of just a few thousand dong per piece and the abundant variety are driving travelers to buy in bulk.
“#snackvietnam” spreading on TikTok
The spark is TikTok. Videos showing foreigners collecting sweets got tagged “#snackvietnam” and spread. Unlike freshly made storefront food, bagged and individually wrapped sweets you can take away are the stars, and being able to enjoy them after returning home is what draws support. Convenience stores, supermarkets, shops in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, and stalls near schools have become shopping spots.
1か月で約4万円分を買い込む例も
Danica Refe, who visited from the Philippines, spent 7 million dong (about 40,000 yen) on sweets in a month. Her friends each spent over 10 million dong (about 57,000 yen). Street-corner sweets are 5,000–20,000 dong (about 29–114 yen) apiece. The table below sums up popular sweets and a sense of their prices.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Where it spread | TikTok「#snackvietnam」 |
| Street-corner sweet prices | 5,000–20,000 dong per piece (about 29–114 yen) |
| Purchase example (one month) | About 7 million dong (about 40,000 yen) / a friend over 10 million dong |
| Where to buy | Convenience stores, supermarkets, Old Quarter shops, stalls |
| Popular sweets | Baked coconut cookies, com (young green rice) products, o mai, and more |
The lineup of local sweets being bought
Gaining popularity is a wide range—baked coconut cookies, instant noodles, instant coffee, mochi, ice cream, and candy using young green rice “com,” fried banana snacks, rice-paper rolled snacks, the malt-syrup sweet “keo chi,” shaved ice with fruit syrup, spicy chips, and the candied-fruit “o mai.” Sweets with distinctly Vietnamese ingredients and methods are being chosen as souvenirs.
“The surprise of buying it for a few dozen yen”—local voices
Danica Refe says, “I never get tired of baked coconut cookies even after eating a whole bag.” Shop owner Thuy says, “Some customers are surprised to learn these sweets can be bought for around a few tens of thousands of dong (= under a few hundred yen).” Nguyen Tien Dat of the tourism authority stated, “Food plays an important role in promoting tourism.” The price gap—a tapioca tea that costs about 160,000 dong (about $6) in New Zealand goes for about 20,000 dong in Vietnam—also helped fuel the talk.
“Food souvenirs” move tourism
Behind it is the rise in visitors to Vietnam. In 2025, international arrivals through June rose 23% year on year. Cheap, abundant sweets are easy to try several of and give as souvenirs, and they’re social-media-friendly too. From snacking on street food to buying up local sweets you can take away—a way of enjoying travel centered on food is spreading.
Summary
The “#snackvietnam” haul spread as cheapness, abundant variety, and good compatibility with social media overlapped. Regional sweets—baked coconut cookies, com products, o mai—are filling foreign tourists’ suitcases. It’s a phenomenon showing the trend of food souvenirs becoming a motivation for tourism.
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Source:VnExpress / Tourists leave Vietnam with suitcases full of snacks / VnExpress International / Food & Recipes
