There’s a unique magic to stepping into a Vietnamese market. It’s a full-on sensory experience, the vibrant colors of hand-dyed silks, the rich, earthy aroma of freshly ground coffee and star anise, the cheerful symphony of vendors and shoppers. Your eyes dart from one stall to the next, each one overflowing with potential treasures. Faced with this beautiful chaos, the question isn’t if you’ll find something to buy, but rather, what are the truly special things to get in Vietnam that will serve as a lasting memory of your journey?
Navigating the world of Vietnamese shopping is like embarking on a grand culinary tour. There are quick, delicious “street food” snacks (simple, fun souvenirs) and there are elaborate, multi-course “banquets” (high-end, investment-worthy crafts). You need a menu, a guide to help you discover the most authentic and flavorful dishes.
This is that menu. We will guide you through the must-have items, from the culturally iconic to the deliciously edible. But we’ll also look a little deeper. You’ll discover that many of these wonderful souvenirs are just the tip of the iceberg, the artisanal expression of massive, world-class industries.
So, whether your goal is to fill your suitcase with beautiful gifts or to spark an idea for your next big business venture, let’s begin our journey and discover the incredible products Vietnam has to offer.
The Appetizers: Small, Packable & Full of Flavor
These are the essential tastes and scents of Vietnam that you can easily pack and bring home to share.
Vietnamese Coffee & The Phin Filter
You simply cannot leave Vietnam without buying coffee. It is the nation’s lifeblood, a daily ritual, and a globally renowned export.
- What It Is: Vietnam is the world’s leading producer of Robusta coffee, known for its strong, bold, and chocolatey flavor profile. This is what gives the famous cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk) its signature punch. The secret to its unique taste is the brewing method, using a small, metal drip filter called a phin.
- What to Get: A bag of high-quality, whole-bean Robusta from a brand like Trung Nguyen Legend is a must. Even more essential is the phin filter itself. It’s lightweight, incredibly cheap, and allows you to perfectly replicate the Vietnamese coffee experience back home.
- The Business Perspective: That single bag of coffee is a taste of one of the world’s largest coffee industries. For entrepreneurs, Vietnam offers immense opportunities to source high-quality green beans for roasting, or even to partner with producers to create a private-label coffee brand for export.
Aromatic Spices
The heart of Vietnamese cuisine lies in its fresh herbs and aromatic spices. While you can’t bring the fresh herbs home, you can certainly pack the essential dry spices.
- What It Is: Vietnam is a spice paradise. Two standouts are Phu Quoc black pepper, known for its incredible aroma and potent heat, and Vietnamese “Saigon” cinnamon, which is intensely sweet and spicy, prized by chefs worldwide.
- What to Get: Always buy whole peppercorns and whole cinnamon sticks (or bark) for maximum freshness. You can find them in any local market.
- The Business Perspective: Vietnam is a major global supplier of spices. For any business in the food industry, establishing a connection with a Vietnamese spice exporter means access to a consistent source of high-quality, flavorful, and cost-effective ingredients.
Gourmet Chocolate
For a more modern but equally Vietnamese flavor, look to the country’s burgeoning craft chocolate scene.
- What It Is: Brands like the world-renowned Marou, Faiseurs de Chocolat have proven that Vietnamese cacao beans are among the best in the world. They create single-origin dark chocolate bars where each bar tells the story of the specific province the beans came from.
- What to Get: A selection of Marou’s beautifully packaged bars makes for a sophisticated and delicious gift.
- The Business Perspective: The success of craft chocolate highlights the premium quality of Vietnam’s raw agricultural ingredients. This opens doors for businesses in the high-end food sector to source not just cacao, but also cashews, vanilla, and other ingredients for gourmet products.
The Main Course: Substantial & Signature Crafts
These are the items that showcase the deep-rooted skills of Vietnamese artisans and can become statement pieces in your home or wardrobe.
Custom-Tailored Clothing
Getting clothing custom-made is one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences you can have in Vietnam.
- What It Is: The ancient town of Hoi An is the world’s capital of fast, affordable, high-quality tailoring. You can walk into a shop, choose a design for a suit, dress, or shirt, select your fabric, get measured, and have the finished, perfectly-fitted garment in your hands in as little as 24-48 hours.
- What to Get: A custom-made suit or a formal dress offers incredible value. For a more traditional piece, having an Áo Dài (the elegant national tunic) made is a perfect choice.
- The Business Perspective: The tailor shop is a small window into Vietnam’s massive garment manufacturing industry. This is the country’s largest export sector, producing clothing for nearly every major global fashion brand. For an apparel brand, partnering with a Vietnamese factory offers the same skill seen in Hoi An, but at an industrial and scalable level.
Silk Products
Silk weaving is an ancient art in Vietnam, and its products are a touch of affordable luxury.
- What It Is: From lightweight, colorful scarves to elegant men’s ties, pyjamas, and embroidered robes, Vietnamese silk is both beautiful and high-quality.
- What to Get: A hand-painted silk scarf is a classic and beautiful gift. For something more substantial, consider a silk robe or a set of embroidered pillowcases. Be sure to buy from a reputable boutique to ensure you’re getting real silk, not polyester.
- The Business Perspective: Vietnam’s modern textile industry is highly capable. Businesses can source everything from raw silk fabric to finished goods like high-end bedding for hotels or fashion accessories for retail.
Lacquerware
This is a uniquely Vietnamese art form that requires incredible patience and skill.
- What It Is: Lacquerware involves applying dozens of layers of lacquer resin onto a wooden base, often with stunning mother-of-pearl or eggshell inlays. Each piece is a durable, waterproof work of art.
- What to Get: Look for decorative boxes, bowls, trays, or even wall art. A high-quality piece will have a deep, flawless, mirror-like shine.
- The Business Perspective: The same meticulous skills are applied to create high-end home decor for a global market. For a business in the home goods or interior design sector, sourcing Vietnamese lacquerware offers a unique, high-margin product that cannot be easily replicated.
The Side Dishes: Iconic & Cultural Items
These are the items that are instantly recognizable symbols of Vietnam.
The Conical Hat (Nón Lá)
This is the quintessential image of Vietnam. The Nón Lá is a perfect piece of functional design, lightweight, waterproof, and providing excellent shade from the sun. It’s an incredibly cheap and authentic souvenir that also makes for great wall decor.
Propaganda Art
For a unique piece of art and history, consider a reproduction of a Vietnamese propaganda poster. These posters, with their bold graphics and powerful imagery, are a fascinating window into the country’s 20th-century history and a great conversation piece.
Bamboo & Rattan Goods
Vietnamese artisans are masters of weaving with natural fibers. You can find beautifully crafted bamboo and rattan baskets, placemats, coasters, lampshades, and trays. These items are sustainable, lightweight, and add a touch of natural, rustic charm to any home.
Hand-Embroidered Items
The skill of Vietnamese hand embroidery is simply breathtaking. Look for tablecloths, pillowcases, or framed pictures with incredibly detailed, hand-stitched scenes of Vietnamese life, flora, and fauna. A small, framed piece is a work of art that is easy to pack.
From Your Suitcase to a Supply Chain: The VALO Vietnam Advantage
As you’ve journeyed through this list, perhaps a spark has been lit. That perfectly tailored shirt makes you think about launching your clothing line. That delicious coffee makes you dream of starting your brand. That beautiful rattan bag inspires a collection of sustainable fashion accessories.
This is how many great businesses begin. But leaping from buying one sample in a market to producing thousands of units from a factory is a massive challenge. It requires expertise in sourcing, vetting, quality control, and logistics.
This is precisely where our expertise at VALO Vietnam becomes your essential bridge. Our entire purpose is to help entrepreneurs and businesses like yours take that spark of inspiration and turn it into a scalable, successful reality.
- We Connect You with the Right Factories: Whether you’re inspired by the textiles, the handicrafts, the food products, or the homewares, we have a curated network of vetted, high-quality Vietnamese factories that specialize in those exact products.
- We Manage the Entire Process: From helping you create a professional tech pack and managing the sampling process to implementing rigorous quality control and handling logistics, we act as your on-the-ground team.
- We Turn Your Vision into a Business: We help you navigate the complexities of production, allowing you to focus on what you do best, building your brand and selling your product.
Conclusion: The Treasures of Vietnam
The things to get in Vietnam are more than just objects. They are stories, a connection to a rich culture, and a testament to the skill of the Vietnamese people. Whether you bring home a simple phin filter or a complex piece of lacquerware, you are bringing home a piece of this country’s dynamic spirit.
So enjoy the treasure hunt, savor the experience, and if you find that a small souvenir has planted the seed of a big idea, know that a world of opportunity and a trusted partner are here, ready to help you grow it.
Inspired by the incredible products of Vietnam and thinking about launching your product line? Let us help you take the next step.
Contact VALO Vietnam to turn your inspiration into a reality today!