Japanese confectionery producer, Fujiya has started the production of its Country Ma’am soft cookies at a factory in southern Vietnam and plans to export the products to 12 markets, including Japan, by the end of June 2026.
Operating under its subsidiary Fujiya Vietnam, the company commenced production at a plant in the southern province of Tay Ninh, and it is also the company’s first overseas production base for the Country Ma’am brand with an annual capacity of 3,600 tonnes, equivalent to about 500 million cookies.
Sales of Vietnam-made Country Ma’am cookies are scheduled to start in Thailand in March, with exports to South Korea and Taiwan to follow.
By the end of June 2026, products from the plant are set to be shipped to major Southeast and South Asian economies including Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh.
Prior to the establishment of this plant, Country Ma’am cookies were mainly exported from Fujiya’s Hadano factory in Japan.
Of the 12 export markets planned from Vietnam, 9 currently import the product from Japan. Fujiya plans to gradually shift supply for overlapping markets to its Vietnam facility.
Fujiya, which has operated in Japan for more than 100 years, manufactures and retails cakes, cookies, candy, chocolate and beverages, and operates more than 1,000 stores nationwide.
In 2025, the company achieved an 8% annual growth in consolidated sales turnover to Yen 120 billion yen (US$761 million).
According to Yuki Higashiuwatoko, Head of Fujiya Vietnam, the consumption of soft cookies in Japan tends to increase as the economy grows, and it expects similar trend in Vietnam and other countries. Fujiya adopts localisation of its cookies based on individual market taste preferences. For example, the sweetness level of Country Ma’am cookies has been reduced in Vietnam to align with health-conscious trends and lighter taste preferences while in South Korea, the product has a richer and sweeter flavor profile.
Fujiya Vietnam highlighted that its Tay Ninh factory has ample capacity and land for expansion and potential manufacturing of other confectionery products.
Vietnam has attracted substantial investments from Japanese companies like Ajinomoto and Kewpie due to its low labor, raw materials and land cost. Despite these significant advantages, Vietnamese factories are able to churn out products of equivalent quality to its Japanese counterparts.
As an example, Fujiya Vietnam sources its flour and sugar locally but it still imports some ingredients such as chocolate. Due to Vietnam’s multilateral trade agreements, Fujiya is able to import such ingredients at a relatively low cost.
