The global snack industry is entering a strong growth phase. According to Mordor Intelligence, the snack market surpassed USD 600 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at over 5% annually from 2025–2030. Within this picture, flavored cashew nuts—once considered a “niche product” for domestic consumption or gifting—are gradually emerging as a premium, healthy snack segment with rapid expansion potential in the US, EU, China, and Asia-Pacific.
📈 Consumption trends: Health and flavor experience
- Healthy lifestyle: Global consumers are reducing snacks high in sugar, starch, and fried oil, and shifting toward nutrient-rich nuts with high protein and low cholesterol. Flavored cashews are becoming the ideal option.
- Desire for new experiences: Beyond traditional salted, the market is expanding to flavors such as cheese & herbs, BBQ, wasabi, honey butter garlic, tomyum, and more.
- Convenience & gifting: Compact packaging (zip pouches 30–200g), premium PET jars, and mixed nut combos suit “on-the-go” lifestyles and festive gifting.
🌍 International markets: Opportunities and drivers
- US & EU: demand for healthy snacks is growing. Retail chains are increasing private-label shares for nuts and are open to importing OEM flavored cashews from Vietnam.
- China: the world’s largest snack market (over USD 100 billion/year). E-commerce and gifting culture create a strong foundation for flavored cashews.
- South Korea & Japan: consumers favor bold flavors and refined packaging—highly compatible with flavored cashew OEM/private label formats.
- Middle East: strong demand for nutrient-rich, halal-certified snacks; flavored cashews have high growth potential here.
🏭 Vietnamese companies’ capabilities – leveraging raw material strength
- Vietnam remains the world’s largest exporter of cashew kernels, supplying more than 60% of global output, ensuring stable raw material sources.
- Companies like SVC have invested in modern flavoring lines: quality controlled by X-ray and metal detectors, packaging in zip pouches, PET jars, and tin boxes, with shelf life up to 12 months.
- Products are certified BRC, HACCP, FSPCA, FDA, Halal, Kosher, making them eligible for supermarkets in the US, EU, Middle East, and Japan.
- OEM & private label capacity: SVC provides turnkey services from packaging design, labeling, packing, to export documentation and logistics.
⚠️ Challenges ahead
- Logistics costs & tariffs: may push flavored cashew retail prices above traditional snacks (potato chips, corn, sunflower seeds).
- International competition: flavored cashews compete directly with almonds, pistachios, and macadamias in the “healthy snack” segment.
- Flavor R&D & branding: many Vietnamese companies only offer 2–3 basic flavors, lacking strong marketing campaigns around “healthy lifestyle” and “Vietnamese origin”.
📈 Outlook & development strategies
- Focus on premium positioning: define flavored cashews as a premium, healthy, safe snack—avoiding direct price competition.
- Invest in international flavor R&D: from Asian-inspired (tomyum, seaweed, wasabi) to Western-style (cheese & herbs, BBQ, caramel).
- OEM & private label expansion: leverage packaging capacity and international certifications to grow in EU, South Korea, and Japan. SVC is already implementing OEM projects for European partners.
- Cross-border e-commerce: strengthen channels like Amazon, Alibaba, and TikTok Shop to reach end consumers directly.
- Brand storytelling: promote cashews as a “superfood from Vietnam,” tied to clean agriculture, sustainability, and traceability.
✅ Conclusion
Flavored cashews are moving from a “supporting role” to becoming a core snack segment in the global healthy food trend. With raw material advantages, processing technology, and international certifications, Vietnam—and companies like SVC—are fully capable of becoming leading suppliers of flavored cashew snacks worldwide. The remaining challenge lies in product innovation, branding investment, and scaling in modern retail channels.
📧 Contact for OEM & Export (Cashew): thanh@svc.vn
📱 WhatsApp: (+84) 909 432 477