Right, let's cut through the noise. Over the past three years, "China-Plus-One" has shifted from a buzzword bandied about at trade conferences into something UK business owners are genuinely acting on — and Vietnam is the country capturing the lion's share of that manufacturing shift. But what does sourcing from Vietnam actually look like for a British brand, and is it right for your product?
This guide is for UK business owners, product managers, and brand founders who are either already sourcing from China and want to diversify, or who are starting fresh and wondering whether Vietnam should be their first port of call. We'll walk you through the UKVFTA tariff advantages, the honest cost and lead-time comparison with China, what UK compliance actually requires when you're importing from Vietnam, and how Epic Sourcing's on-the-ground team can manage the entire process on your behalf.
At Epic Sourcing, we've been sourcing products from Vietnam alongside China for years. We have a permanent team in Ho Chi Minh City, and we've seen first-hand both the genuine advantages and the pitfalls that catch UK buyers off-guard.
China-Plus-One is a procurement strategy where businesses maintain their existing China supply chain whilst simultaneously developing a second manufacturing source in another Asian country — most commonly Vietnam, India, or Thailand — to reduce concentration risk and diversify tariff exposure. For UK businesses specifically, Vietnam is the dominant "Plus-One" destination thanks to the UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which came into force on 1 January 2021 and eliminates import duties on a growing proportion of Vietnamese-origin goods entering the UK.
For decades, China has been the undisputed global manufacturing powerhouse, and for good reason — an extraordinary depth of supplier choice, highly capable factories across virtually every product category, and a logistics infrastructure built to move goods around the world at scale. But the landscape has shifted considerably, and the honest reality is that a growing number of UK business owners are no longer comfortable with single-country concentration in their supply chain.
The reasons are layered. First, there's cost. Chinese manufacturing wages have risen substantially over the past fifteen years as living standards have improved — a development that is genuinely positive for Chinese workers, but one that has eroded the cost advantage that first drew global brands there. For labour-intensive product categories like garments, footwear, and entry-level consumer goods, Vietnam now offers a meaningful cost differential. Second, there's tariff risk. The ongoing US–China trade tensions have prompted many global brands to accelerate supply chain diversification, and the knock-on effect is that Vietnam's manufacturing capacity — and sophistication — has expanded rapidly to accommodate that demand. UK businesses are increasingly aware that sole-source dependency creates commercial vulnerability.
Third, and perhaps most relevant to UK importers specifically, the UKVFTA creates a genuine financial incentive to source from Vietnam that simply doesn't exist with China. When a significant proportion of goods imported from Vietnam qualify for preferential tariff rates — in some cases zero duty — that changes the landed cost calculation materially. We'll cover this in detail in Section 4.
The result is that UK sourcing enquiries into Vietnam have grown substantially. But here's where we need to be frank: diversifying into Vietnam is not as simple as swapping one supplier list for another. It requires a proper understanding of the supplier landscape, quality standards, logistics routes, and compliance requirements. This guide covers all of it.
Vietnam's emergence as a serious global manufacturing destination is not a recent phenomenon — it has been building steadily since the mid-2000s — but the pace of development has accelerated markedly. The country has invested heavily in industrial parks, port infrastructure, and export-processing zones, particularly around Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in the south and Hanoi and Hai Phong in the north.
For UK importers, several factors make Vietnam particularly attractive. The workforce is young, increasingly skilled, and growing. The government has actively courted foreign investment, resulting in a supplier base that is now genuinely competitive across a widening range of categories. And critically, Vietnam has signed a string of major trade agreements — including the UKVFTA, the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, which the UK formally joined in December 2024) — that give Vietnamese-origin goods preferential access to the world's largest consumer markets.
Understanding Vietnam's geography matters for sourcing. Manufacturing is concentrated in clusters:
For most UK buyers sourcing physical consumer goods, the HCMC region offers the broadest supplier base and the most direct access to export-experienced factories. Products shipped from HCMC typically route through Singapore or Port Klang in Malaysia before transiting to the UK, arriving at Felixstowe or Southampton within approximately 30–35 days.
The China vs Vietnam question doesn't have a single right answer — it depends on your product category, order volumes, quality requirements, and timeline. But here's a straightforward comparison based on what we actually see on the ground:
| Factor | 🇨🇳 China | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier depth | Enormous — virtually any product | Strong in specific categories (see Section 5) |
| Labour costs | Higher (risen significantly over 15 years) | Lower for labour-intensive production |
| UK import duty | Standard UK Global Tariff rates apply | UKVFTA preferential rates (often 0% for qualifying goods) |
| MOQs (typical) | 500–2,000 units depending on category | 500–1,500 units (similar; varies by factory) |
| Lead times | 30–90 days production + 25–35 days sea freight | 45–120 days production + 30–35 days sea freight |
| Language | Mandarin; strong English at export factories | Vietnamese; English improving but less widespread |
| Raw material access | Excellent — vertically integrated supply chains | Some reliance on Chinese raw materials (important for rules of origin) |
| Quality range | Very wide — entry level to premium | Mid-range to premium in core categories |
| IP protection | Improving but historically weak | Developing; smaller supplier base = somewhat lower copycat risk |
| Concentration risk | High if sole-sourcing | Lower when used as a complementary source |
| Logistics infrastructure | World-class: direct routes to Felixstowe/Southampton | Good; often transships via Singapore or Port Klang |
For UK buyers, the UKVFTA tariff advantage can make Vietnam the cheaper landed-cost option even when the ex-factory price is slightly higher than China, once you apply UK import duty to the Chinese alternative. Run the full landed cost calculation before making a decision — and always account for the UK duty rate for your specific HS commodity code.
The UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement came into force on 1 January 2021. It was one of the first major trade agreements the UK signed as an independent trading nation post-Brexit, and it provides a meaningful competitive advantage for UK businesses sourcing from Vietnam compared to sourcing the same goods from China.
Under the UKVFTA, the UK is progressively eliminating tariffs on Vietnamese-origin goods. The starting position was immediate elimination of tariffs on a substantial proportion of goods, with the remainder phased down over 7 to 10 years. By the time the agreement reaches its end state, the overwhelming majority of goods manufactured in Vietnam and exported to the UK will attract zero or near-zero import duty. For categories like garments and textiles, footwear, and furniture — where standard UK Global Tariff rates can be meaningful — the saving is material.
Here is where many UK importers get caught out. To qualify for UKVFTA preferential tariff rates, goods must meet the agreement's rules of origin requirements. These rules specify that goods must genuinely originate in Vietnam — they cannot simply be assembled in Vietnam from components made entirely elsewhere (particularly China) and claim Vietnamese origin.
The rules of origin requirements vary by product category, but the most common threshold for manufactured goods is that the product must undergo sufficient processing in Vietnam, typically defined as the goods achieving a minimum percentage of Vietnamese value addition. For garments, for example, the standard rule requires a "double transformation" — fabrics must be woven and cut in Vietnam (or the UKVFTA region) rather than simply imported ready-cut from China and stitched in Vietnam.
If your supplier is assembling finished goods in Vietnam using raw materials or components imported directly from China, those goods may not qualify for UKVFTA preferential tariff treatment. Always obtain a supplier's Certificate of Origin (Form VK) and verify their supply chain with your freight forwarder or customs broker before relying on preferential rates. Incorrectly claiming UKVFTA preferences exposes you to HMRC retrospective duty demands plus penalties.
Leather footwear (HS Chapter 64) imported from China to the UK typically attracts an import duty rate of around 3–8% depending on the specific commodity code. Under UKVFTA, properly originating Vietnamese footwear may attract a reduced or zero rate. On a shipment with a customs value of £50,000, that difference represents a saving of £1,500–£4,000 — on a single shipment. Over a year of regular ordering, the cumulative saving is significant.
For your specific products and HS codes, always verify current duty rates on the UK Trade Tariff (gov.uk/trade-tariff) and confirm preferential rates with your freight forwarder or customs broker. Tariff schedules change, and the specific rate depends on the precise commodity code of your product.
Vietnam is not a like-for-like substitute for China's full manufacturing breadth. Where China has a near-complete industrial ecosystem spanning everything from raw materials to finished goods across every conceivable category, Vietnam's export-oriented manufacturing is concentrated in a narrower set of product families. Knowing where Vietnam genuinely excels — and where it is still developing — will help you make the right sourcing decision.
| Category | Strength Level | Key Region | Notes for UK Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garments & Apparel | STRONG | HCMC, Binh Duong, Hanoi | Check UKVFTA rules of origin on fabric sourcing carefully |
| Footwear | STRONG | HCMC, Dong Nai | Vietnam is one of the world's top footwear exporters |
| Furniture & Home | STRONG | HCMC, Binh Duong, Da Nang | Excellent for wooden, rattan, and upholstered furniture |
| Bags & Accessories | STRONG | HCMC, Binh Duong | Leather and fabric bags; private label viable from mid-range |
| Electronics Assembly | GOOD | Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang | Major global brands have large plants here; SME access improving |
| Sports & Outdoor Goods | GOOD | HCMC, Dong Nai | Growing category; activewear and gym accessories strong |
| Plastic Consumer Goods | GOOD | HCMC, Binh Duong | Less deep than China; tooling costs similar |
| Metal Components | DEVELOPING | HCMC, Hanoi | Growing but China remains stronger for complex metalwork |
| Complex Electronics/Tech | LIMITED | — | China remains the better option for complex tech products |
If your product falls outside Vietnam's core strengths, China may still be the right primary source — but you can potentially use Vietnam for specific components or a subset of your range. A China-Plus-One strategy doesn't have to mean moving everything; it can mean moving the right things.
Importing from Vietnam to the UK requires the same compliance infrastructure as importing from China — the country of origin doesn't change your obligations as a UK importer. Here's a practical rundown of what you need to have in place before your first shipment arrives at Felixstowe or Southampton.
An Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number is mandatory for any UK business importing goods commercially. If you don't have one, register at HMRC's website before your goods ship — it typically takes three to five business days to be issued. Your freight forwarder will need this number to clear your goods through UK customs.
All UK customs declarations are now processed through HMRC's Customs Declaration Service (CDS). Your UK customs broker or freight forwarder will handle this on your behalf, but you need to ensure they have your EORI number, the correct commodity codes for your goods, and accurate commercial invoices from your Vietnamese supplier showing the correct declared value.
UK import duty is calculated on the customs value of your goods (typically the transaction value, including insurance and freight to the UK port of entry). VAT at 20% is then applied on top of the duty-inclusive value. If you're claiming UKVFTA preferential tariff rates, ensure your supplier provides a valid Certificate of Origin (Form VK) and that the goods genuinely meet the rules of origin requirements discussed in Section 4. VAT paid on imports is typically reclaimable as input tax on your VAT return, assuming you are VAT-registered and the goods are for business use.
If your products are in a regulated category — electronics, toys, PPE, medical devices, pressure vessels, machinery, and others — they must carry the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark to be legally sold in Great Britain. This replaced CE marking for GB-market goods after the Brexit transition period. UKCA conformity assessment must be completed before your goods enter the UK market. Always confirm the current position with a compliance consultant for your specific product category, as the rules have evolved and continue to do so.
If your products contain or are made from chemicals (including textiles treated with chemicals, plastics, coatings, or similar), UK REACH regulations may apply. UK REACH is the UK's independent chemical safety regulation, separate from EU REACH since Brexit. As the importer, you may carry registration or notification obligations. This is particularly relevant for textiles, furniture with foam or coatings, and household consumer goods.
The UK Product Safety and Metrology Bill has updated the framework for general product safety in Great Britain. As the importer placing goods on the GB market, you are considered the "responsible person" for product safety — even if you didn't design or manufacture the goods. This means you must conduct appropriate due diligence on your supplier, maintain technical files, and be able to demonstrate compliance if called upon by Trading Standards.
Being the UK importer of record means you are legally responsible for your goods' compliance — not your Vietnamese supplier. If products are found to be non-compliant, it is your business that faces Trading Standards enforcement, potential product recalls, and civil liability. Do not rely solely on supplier assurances. For regulated product categories, engage a UK compliance specialist before placing your first order. Epic Sourcing's team can recommend trusted compliance consultants for your specific category.
One of the most common questions we get from UK buyers considering Vietnam is: "What does it actually cost?" The honest answer is that it depends heavily on your product category, order volume, and specification — but here's a framework that reflects what we see in practice for UK buyers sourcing from Vietnamese factories.
| Cost Element | Typical Range / Notes |
|---|---|
| Sample costs | £20–£150 per sample depending on product complexity. Often refundable against first order. |
| Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs) | 500–1,500 units for most garment and consumer goods categories. Furniture: 50–200 units. Electronics: 500–2,000 units. Negotiate — factories are often more flexible than their stated MOQ. |
| Tooling / moulds (if applicable) | £500–£8,000 depending on complexity. One-off cost, typically amortised over initial orders. |
| Sea freight (FCL 20ft container) | Rates fluctuate with market conditions. Allow £1,500–£3,500 for a 20ft container HCMC to Felixstowe/Southampton, including destination charges. Always get a live quote from your freight forwarder. |
| Sea freight transit time | Approximately 30–35 days HCMC to UK ports (via Singapore/Port Klang transshipment). Add 3–5 days for UK customs clearance and inland delivery. |
| Production lead time | 45–120 days depending on product complexity and factory workload. Simpler garments: 45–60 days. Complex products or peak season: 90–120 days. |
| UK import duty | 0%–12% depending on commodity code and UKVFTA eligibility. Check the UK Trade Tariff for your specific HS code. |
| UK VAT on import | 20% on (customs value + duty). Reclaimable as input tax for VAT-registered businesses. |
| Quality inspection | £200–£400 per pre-shipment inspection (third party). Strongly recommended for first orders and periodically thereafter. |
For a first order from Vietnam, allow a realistic end-to-end timeline:
Finding Vietnam suppliers as a UK buyer presents different challenges to finding Chinese factories. The Chinese supplier ecosystem is extensively mapped on platforms like Alibaba and Made-in-China.com. Vietnam's supplier landscape is less digitally accessible — many of the best factories don't maintain sophisticated English-language online presences and rely on agent introductions and trade show contacts for international business.
The primary sourcing events for UK buyers interested in Vietnam include Vietnam EXPO (held annually in Hanoi) and the Ho Chi Minh City International Sourcing Show. For garments specifically, Saigon Tex and VietnamSource exhibitions attract international buyers. That said, UK buyers rarely travel to Vietnam for initial sourcing — it's most practical to work with a sourcing agent who already has an established supplier network on the ground.
Platforms such as Global Sources, VCCI's business database, and TradeMap can provide starting points for supplier discovery. However, Vietnamese factories on these platforms are often larger export-focused manufacturers — the mid-tier and smaller specialist factories that may be a better fit for a growing UK brand are typically not well-represented online. Direct referrals and ground-level relationships remain the most effective route to the right Vietnamese supplier.
Before placing any order with a Vietnamese factory, conduct thorough due diligence:
Quality control in Vietnam follows the same fundamental principles as QC in China, but with some nuances. Vietnamese factories generally have good quality management systems in the categories they specialise in — a well-established HCMC garment factory supplying global fashion brands will have robust internal QC processes. However, the overall consistency of QC rigour across the supplier base is more variable than in China's most developed manufacturing corridors.
This is where most UK buyers who attempt to source independently from Vietnam run into problems. Without someone physically present to oversee production and conduct pre-shipment inspections, issues that would have been caught in-factory can result in an entire shipment arriving at Felixstowe with defects that are costly to remedy after the fact.
A pre-shipment inspection, conducted by an independent third-party inspector when production is 80–100% complete, is the single most effective quality control measure for UK importers. The inspector checks a statistically significant sample of the production batch against your approved samples and specifications, and produces a written report with photographs. If issues are found, you have the opportunity to require remediation before the goods are loaded. The cost of a PSI — typically £200–£400 — is a fraction of the cost of a rejected shipment or a customer service disaster.
For larger orders or complex products, a during-production inspection at the 30–50% completion stage catches process issues early enough to correct them without holding up the shipment. This is particularly valuable for first orders with a new factory.
Social compliance audits (checking working conditions, hours, wages, and environmental practices) are increasingly required by UK retailers and are good practice regardless of where you source. Major certification bodies including Bureau Veritas, SGS, and Intertek all operate in Vietnam. Epic Sourcing can arrange independent audits through our Vietnamese team.
Free Consultation
Book a free 30-minute consultation with Epic Sourcing UK. We'll review your product, assess whether Vietnam is the right fit, and give you an honest view of costs, lead times, and UKVFTA eligibility.
Book Your Free ConsultationAt Epic Sourcing, we've been on the ground in Vietnam for years. Our team in Ho Chi Minh City maintains relationships with vetted factories across the core manufacturing categories, handles supplier negotiations in Vietnamese, conducts factory audits, manages quality control, and co-ordinates logistics to UK ports. We're not a directory or a platform — we're an active sourcing partner that does the legwork so you don't have to.
We work with UK businesses across three service tiers, designed to match your stage of growth and what you're trying to achieve:
Source existing Vietnam-manufactured products and brand them with your label. Ideal for businesses testing a new category or wanting to move quickly without product development investment.
Develop and manufacture your own branded product specifications in Vietnam. We handle design development, factory negotiation, sample approvals, and quality management end-to-end.
Full end-to-end sourcing, development, and supply chain management for businesses building a serious brand from Vietnam. Includes NDA protection, IP strategy, and ongoing order management.
Already have Vietnam suppliers but need on-ground support? Our HCMC team provides factory audits, quality inspections, supplier negotiations, and logistics co-ordination for businesses managing their own sourcing.
The reality is that Vietnam sourcing done properly requires relationships, language skills, and physical presence. Buying directly from a factory you found on an online directory — without verification, without a sample approval process, without pre-shipment inspection — is how UK businesses end up with containers of unusable stock at Southampton. Our team exists so you don't have to learn that lesson the expensive way.
We're based at 71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ, with permanent teams in Vietnam and China. Every client relationship starts with a frank conversation about whether Vietnam is the right fit for their product.
Not necessarily — it depends on the product category and what you're comparing. For labour-intensive products like garments, footwear, and hand-assembled goods, Vietnam's factory labour costs are generally lower than in China's most developed manufacturing regions. However, Vietnam doesn't have the same depth of raw material supply chains, so material costs can sometimes be higher, and the ex-factory price may be comparable to China or only marginally lower.
The more significant cost advantage for UK buyers is the UKVFTA import duty reduction. If goods qualifying for preferential tariff treatment can be imported at a lower duty rate than equivalent Chinese-origin goods, the total landed cost in the UK may be materially lower from Vietnam even if the ex-factory price is similar. Always calculate the full landed cost — including freight, duty, VAT, and inspection — for both origins before drawing conclusions.
For products where China has a clear industrial advantage — complex electronics, intricate metalwork, highly technical components — China will typically still be the more cost-effective source regardless of the duty difference.
Vietnam has established genuine manufacturing strength in a specific set of categories where it competes effectively on a global basis: garments and apparel, footwear, furniture (particularly wooden, rattan, and upholstered), bags and leather accessories, and increasingly consumer electronics assembly. These are the categories where Vietnam has built deep supplier ecosystems with capable, export-experienced factories.
If your product falls outside these core categories, particularly if it requires complex tooling, precision components, or raw materials that Vietnam doesn't produce domestically, China will likely remain the stronger sourcing option. A good rule of thumb: if your product is labour-intensive and doesn't require highly specialised machinery or materials, Vietnam is worth serious consideration. If your product is technically complex or requires a deep component supply chain, start with China.
Many of our UK clients ultimately source some product lines from Vietnam and others from China, combining the two markets to get the best outcome across their range.
In practice, claiming UKVFTA preferential tariff treatment requires your Vietnamese supplier to provide a Certificate of Origin (Form VK) for each shipment. This document certifies that the goods meet the agreement's rules of origin requirements — meaning they genuinely originated in Vietnam to the required degree of processing or value addition. Your UK customs broker will declare the preferential tariff basis on the customs entry, referencing the certificate of origin.
It is important to verify before placing your order that your supplier can legitimately issue this certificate for your specific product. Ask them directly about their supply chain for the raw materials and components in your product, and whether they have previously supplied UKVFTA certificates to other buyers. If they cannot clearly explain their rules of origin compliance, do not assume the preferential rate applies.
HMRC has the power to retrospectively challenge preferential tariff claims, and if it determines that goods did not qualify, you will owe the standard duty rate plus potential penalties. The risk of getting this wrong is the importer's, not the supplier's — so do your due diligence properly.
For a first order from scratch, allow a realistic end-to-end timeline of four to seven months from beginning supplier research to receiving goods at your UK warehouse. This includes two to four weeks for supplier identification and shortlisting, three to six weeks for sampling, one to two weeks for sample approval and order negotiation, six to twelve weeks for production, and approximately five to six weeks for sea freight and UK customs clearance.
The sampling stage is where most of the time variability occurs — if initial samples require revisions, the process elongates. Working with a sourcing partner who has established factory relationships can compress the supplier identification and initial negotiation stages meaningfully, and experienced partners know which factories produce accurate first samples versus those that require multiple rounds.
Once your supply chain is established and you've built a relationship with your Vietnamese factory, reorder timelines are shorter. Many UK businesses running established Vietnam supply chains work on ten to fourteen week production and shipping cycles for reorders, allowing them to plan stock effectively.
In the early days of overseas sourcing, visiting factories in person was considered near-essential for building supplier relationships and assessing quality. Today, the vast majority of UK businesses source successfully from Vietnam without ever visiting the country, provided they work with a sourcing partner or agent who has a physical presence and established relationships on the ground.
That said, visiting Vietnam — particularly Ho Chi Minh City — can be genuinely valuable if you're planning to build a significant, long-term supply chain there. Walking a factory floor, meeting the people who will be making your products, and seeing the quality of the equipment tells you things that video calls and photographs cannot. If you're moving substantial volumes or building a proprietary product, we'd recommend at least one visit in the first twelve to eighteen months of the relationship.
For businesses who want the experience of visiting Vietnamese factories without the logistical burden of organising it independently, Epic Sourcing can arrange guided factory visits, handling factory selection, translation, transport, and follow-up for you. Get in touch to discuss what a sourcing visit might look like for your business.
Whether you're diversifying away from China, starting fresh, or looking for a competitive UKVFTA tariff advantage, Epic Sourcing's UK and Vietnam teams are ready to help you build a supply chain that works.
Epic Sourcing UK — 71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ
hello@epicsourcing.co.uk
