Distribution punchline: Vietnam’s cosmetics market does not reward brands that pick one channel and ignore the rest. The brands gaining shelf space in 2026 are running offline and online simultaneously from day one. The retailers below have built that dual presence. Getting listed with any of them means meeting their standards on both fronts.
Vietnam’s cosmetics retail grew 18% in 2025, reaching USD 2.8 billion in total market value. Online now represents approximately 30% of cosmetics sales, up from under 10% in 2020. The shift did not kill offline channels. It changed who controls the premium customer. The retailers and distributors who survived and grew are the ones who built omnichannel capability before their competitors. If you are entering the Vietnam cosmetics market, you need partners who operate in both worlds, and increasingly, they are the same company.
1. Hasaki: the benchmark for premium cosmetics retail
Hasaki (hasaki.vn) is Vietnam’s dominant beauty specialty retailer. Over 7 million monthly online visitors, 600+ stores across Vietnam as of mid-2026. It is not just a retailer, it is a destination brand in its own right. Vietnamese beauty consumers actively search “Hasaki + [brand name]” before making purchase decisions. Getting on their shelf requires competitive pricing, a co-marketing contribution (typically USD 5,000 to 15,000 per brand per quarter for featured placement), and compliance with their product registration and authenticity documentation requirements. They are selective. They know it. And they use that selectivity as a commercial tool. For international brands entering Vietnam, a Hasaki listing is the single strongest retail credibility signal available.
2. Watsons Vietnam: the international brand gateway
Owned by the Dairy Farm Group, Watsons Vietnam operates 100+ outlets concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City. Their model is O2O: online promotions drive in-store traffic, loyalty app data informs product selection. International brands with EU or US origin credentials and documented home-market brand presence are their core acquisition target. Watsons buyers respond to brands that arrive with their international retail track record documented: revenue by market, unit sales data, and media coverage from markets they already operate in. This is a strong first door for premium Western brands who want a fast, credible entry into Vietnam’s modern beauty retail.
3. Guardian Vietnam: the everyday premium play
Guardian operates 200+ stores nationwide, also under the Dairy Farm Group umbrella. Guardian targets the everyday premium consumer, not the luxury segment. Good fit for skincare, haircare, supplements, and OTC health-adjacent beauty. Their pricing positioning sits 10 to 20% below Watsons, which actually makes them more accessible for brands that do not have established Vietnam brand awareness yet. Their Shopify-powered e-commerce platform generates meaningful supplementary traffic. For brands that cannot yet command the Watsons premium positioning, Guardian is the faster entry point with real national footprint.
4. The Gioi Skin Food: the digital-native beauty channel
The Gioi Skin Food operates with over 2 million monthly visitors and a customer base skewed toward Gen Z and younger millennial women who research extensively before purchasing. Their editorial content drives discovery for new brands, which means a brand featured in their content gets organic search traffic as a side effect of the retail relationship. For skincare and K-beauty-adjacent brands, this is one of the most effective Vietnam entry points available in 2026. Their buyers look for products with strong ingredient stories and social proof from Korean or Japanese markets.
5. Medicare Vietnam: the pharmacy channel for health-adjacent cosmetics
Medicare operates 40+ pharmacy-format retail locations focused on health supplements, dermocosmetics, and functional beauty. For brands that sit in the dermocosmetic or supplement-adjacent category, pharmacy channel access is essential because it signals clinical credibility to Vietnamese consumers. Medicare’s buyers require MOH certification and clinical documentation but move faster than hospital pharmacy channels. The margin structure is tighter (typically 25 to 35%) but the consumer trust value of pharmacy placement for health-adjacent beauty brands is significant.
6. Long Chau: pharmacy channel at scale
Long Chau has become Vietnam’s fastest-growing pharmacy chain, with 1,800+ locations as of 2026. Their health supplement and nutraceutical sections have expanded aggressively, and they are actively seeking international supplement and dermocosmetic brands with proper Vietnam MOH registration. For brands in the supplement-adjacent beauty category (collagen drinks, vitamin C serums, probiotic skincare), Long Chau offers the largest pharmacy network in Vietnam. Their onboarding timeline for documented international brands runs 6 to 10 weeks from first meeting to first order.
7. Shopee Vietnam beauty category: the volume channel
Shopee Vietnam’s beauty category generates over USD 400 million in annual GMV. The platform’s Mall section (Shopee Mall) accepts international brands with proper documentation and offers a higher trust signal than standard marketplace listings. A dedicated Shopee Mall brand store costs approximately USD 2,000 to 5,000 to set up and requires monthly promotional investment of USD 1,000 to 3,000 to maintain visibility. For brands entering Vietnam without a local distributor, Shopee Mall cross-border is the fastest way to test product-market fit before committing to full in-country registration and distributor investment.
8. TikTok Shop Vietnam: the fastest-growing cosmetics channel in 2026
TikTok Shop beauty in Vietnam grew 340% between 2023 and 2025. It is now the primary discovery channel for skincare brands targeting consumers under 35. International brands can operate TikTok Shop Vietnam either through a registered Vietnam entity or through a cross-border seller account. The content-to-commerce model means that brands who invest in creator content (typically 10 to 20 KOC collaborations per month at USD 100 to 500 per creator) generate sales that traditional e-commerce investment cannot replicate at equivalent spend. Any cosmetics brand entering Vietnam in 2026 without a TikTok Shop strategy is missing the channel where the fastest-growing consumer segment makes its purchase decisions.
9. Specialized cosmetics importers and distributors
Beyond retail chains, Vietnam has 30 to 40 specialized cosmetics and beauty importers operating as true distribution intermediaries. They hold retail relationships across multiple chains, manage MOH registration, and run their own field sales teams. The most capable operators in this category typically distribute 5 to 12 international brands simultaneously. They are harder to find than the retail chains above because they do not advertise, but they are often the fastest path to simultaneous multi-chain coverage. Asia Pro’s Vietnam network includes direct relationships with 8 of these operators across HCMC and Hanoi.
Case study: Korean skincare brand gets listed in Hasaki and Watsons within 6 months
A Korean skincare brand with strong home-market presence and 3 years of Thailand modern trade sales approached Asia Pro in early 2025 wanting simultaneous Hasaki and Watsons listings within 6 months. We ran the process in three phases. First, Vietnam MOH notification (completed in 8 weeks via a Hanoi regulatory partner). Second, distributor selection: we identified a HCMC-based cosmetics importer with existing buyer relationships at both chains. Third, commercial preparation: a Vietnamese product kit, a competitive margin structure leaving 38% for the distributor, and a co-marketing budget of USD 12,000 committed upfront for the first quarter.
Result: Hasaki listing confirmed at week 18, Watsons at week 22. First reorder from Hasaki came at week 28. By month 8, the brand was in 180 Hasaki locations and 34 Watsons outlets. Year-one Vietnam revenue hit USD 280,000.
The lesson: speed in Vietnam cosmetics retail comes from preparation, not urgency. The brands that get listed fast are the ones who did the regulatory, commercial, and marketing homework before the first buyer meeting.
Case study: European natural cosmetics brand lists too early and loses the Hasaki opportunity
A European natural cosmetics brand (certified organic, strong brand equity in France and Germany) approached Hasaki directly in 2023 without MOH notification completed, without Vietnamese-language labeling, and without a local distribution partner. Hasaki declined. The brand then approached Guardian, who also declined citing the missing MOH documentation. The brand spent USD 18,000 on a Vietnam trade fair presence and a Vietnam “market entry” consultant who produced a 60-page market report and zero commercial results.
They came to Asia Pro 14 months after their first Vietnam attempt. With proper preparation (MOH notification, Vietnamese label redesign, a qualified importer partner), they achieved a Guardian listing within 5 months and a Hasaki pilot in 20 Hasaki stores within 9 months. All of the groundwork they should have done in 2023 was done in 2025 at the same cost it would have cost them originally.
The lesson: Vietnamese cosmetics retailers will not make exceptions for good products with incomplete compliance documentation. The market entry cost is not optional. Skipping it delays your entry by 12 to 18 months, not saves it.
What KOLs and social media say about Vietnam cosmetics retail
Vietnamese beauty influencers (KOLs) on TikTok and Instagram are the real retail arbiters in 2026. A product reviewed positively by a mid-tier Vietnamese beauty KOL (100,000 to 500,000 followers) generates sell-through at Hasaki and Watsons within days of publication. Retailers have started tracking KOL mention velocity as a metric when deciding which international brands to onboard. A brand arriving with documented Vietnamese KOL content already published has a measurably faster retail listing conversation.
On YouTube, Vietnamese beauty content creators in the “da lieu” (dermatology) niche have built significant audiences for ingredient-focused content. International skincare brands with strong active ingredient stories (retinol, niacinamide, peptides) are consistently featured in this content, and these creators have close retail referral relationships with Long Chau and Medicare pharmacy channels.
Facebook groups dedicated to Vietnamese beauty consumers (the largest have 200,000 to 800,000 members) generate word-of-mouth that retailers actively monitor. Brands with organic positive mentions in these communities get inbound inquiries from distributors. Brands mentioned negatively face distributor reluctance regardless of their international credentials.
FAQ: Vietnam cosmetics distribution
What is the minimum budget to enter Vietnam’s cosmetics retail market properly?
Budget for USD 40,000 to 80,000 for a real first-year entry covering MOH notification (USD 3,000 to 6,000), Vietnamese label production (USD 1,500 to 3,000), initial product samples (USD 2,000 to 5,000), co-marketing investment for first retail listing (USD 10,000 to 20,000), KOL activation (USD 8,000 to 15,000), and distributor support costs. Brands that try to enter on USD 10,000 to 15,000 total achieve either a market test with no commercial result or a failed listing attempt they then have to restart.
Do I need MOH registration before approaching Vietnamese cosmetics retailers?
For most cosmetics categories, you need a MOH cosmetics notification (not a full registration, but a formal notification submission with confirmed receipt). Without it, no serious retailer in Vietnam will take a first meeting beyond an initial introduction. The notification costs USD 500 to 1,500 per product and takes 4 to 8 weeks through a qualified local regulatory consultancy. Start it before you approach any retailer or distributor.
Is it better to enter Vietnam cosmetics through a retailer directly or through a distributor first?
Through a distributor first. Retail buyers in Vietnam want to see that a brand already has a committed local partner before they invest their own listing process. A qualified cosmetics importer or distributor with existing retail relationships gets your brand in front of Hasaki or Watsons buyers as a warm introduction rather than a cold brand inquiry. The listing timeline through a distributor introduction is typically 4 to 8 weeks faster than direct brand-to-retail outreach.
How important is TikTok Shop for cosmetics brands entering Vietnam?
Very important for brands targeting consumers under 35, which is most of Vietnam’s cosmetics growth segment. TikTok Shop’s beauty category grew faster than any other channel in 2025. Brands that launch on TikTok Shop simultaneously with offline retail listing generate 20 to 40% more total first-year sales than brands that launch offline-only. The content investment required is real: 8 to 15 creator collaborations per month for the first 6 months. But the return on that investment in brand awareness and sell-through outperforms equivalent traditional media spend consistently.
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