Hanoi (VNA) – The market for offerings ahead of the Vu Lan Festival in Hanoi is entering its peak, with abundant supplies and growing demand for vegetarian food, ready-made offerings and online delivery services.
Held annually on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, which falls on August 27 this year, Vu Lan is a major traditional Buddhist holiday in Vietnam that honours filial piety and ancestors.
To prepare for the occasion, markets and food shops across Hanoi have increased supplies of fruits, flowers, meat, sticky rice, sweets and vegetarian food for the occasion. Prices of some items have edged up as demand rises, but no shortages have been reported.
Vegetarian offerings are drawing increasing interest, with products ranging from vegetarian spring rolls and mushroom-based sausage to ready-made dishes. Full vegetarian offering trays are also available, typically costing several hundred thousand VND, while more elaborate sets can exceed 1 million VND (38.25 USD).
Businesses said customers are increasingly looking for moderate-sized trays with attractive presentation, good ingredients and timely delivery, rather than simply seeking low prices.
The Vu Lan market is also expanding rapidly online. Consumers can order everything from flowers, fruit and sticky rice to vegetarian food and complete offering trays through social media and online sales channels.
The trend is particularly popular among young people, office workers and families with limited time for preparation. However, online food purchases also raise concerns over product origins, processing conditions and food safety.
Consumers are advised to check sellers’ addresses, ingredients, production dates and expiry dates, and to be cautious of unusually low prices or sellers providing insufficient product information.
Hanoi’s market surveillance authorities said the local market remained broadly stable in July, but violations involving counterfeit, smuggled goods and untraceable products, particularly on e-commerce platforms, remained complex.
Last month, authorities inspected and handled 12 e-commerce-related cases in July, imposing fines totalling nearly 497 million VND. In food safety-related cases, 20 violations were handled, with fines exceeding 703 million VND.
As demand rises around the Vu Lan Festival, authorities are strengthening checks on food, fruit and other items, focusing on product origins, invoices, labels and food safety requirements, said Duong Manh Hung, deputy head of Hanoi's market surveillance branch.
The market trend reflects changing consumer habits, with people increasingly favouring moderate offerings, quality, clear origins and convenience. At the same time, the growth of vegetarian food and online services is creating new business opportunities while requiring greater transparency and stronger consumer protection./.
