Pandora's $150M Vietnam Plant Adds 50% Capacity, Shifts Supply Chain

For supply chain and procurement leaders, Pandora's decision to open a second major Asian manufacturing hub is a case study in resilience-driven diversification. After 37 years concentrating production in Thailand, the Danish jeweler is splitting risk and adding 50% capacity at a new 7,000-worker Vietnam site. Location factors include skilled artisans, infrastructure, and direct access to renewable energy — signals that ESG considerations are now core site-selection criteria.

Pandora's opening of a $150 million jewelry crafting facility in Ho Chi Minh City marks a dual inflection point for global jewelry manufacturing: a major capacity expansion and an explicit bet that renewable energy and recycled metals can underpin mass-market production. The facility, described as the world's largest fine-jewelry crafting site, will employ 7,000 workers and produce up to 60 million pieces annually, lifting Pandora's overall manufacturing capacity by 50%. It is powered entirely by renewable electricity — from rooftop solar panels and planned agreements with local solar farms — and uses 100% recycled gold and silver. CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier framed the investment as leadership for the industry: 'We are leading the way and we really hope that the rest follow.' The company says the new plant will cut its carbon footprint by 17%.

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Denmark's ambassador to Vietnam, Lina Gandløse Hansen, added that access to renewable energy infrastructure is increasingly an 'important factor' for Pandora and other Danish companies.

The move is as much about supply chain resilience as sustainability. Pandora has manufactured in Thailand for 37 years, and the company chose Vietnam to diversify its manufacturing base, increase flexibility, and strengthen supply-chain resilience. Pablos-Barbier cited Vietnam's skilled artisans, business environment, and strong infrastructure as decisive factors. Denmark's ambassador to Vietnam, Lina Gandløse Hansen, added that access to renewable energy infrastructure is increasingly an 'important factor' for Pandora and other Danish companies. The location is telling: the Pandora facility sits across the road from the $1 billion factory Lego opened in 2025, which aims to make toys without adding planet-warming gases to the atmosphere. Together they signal Vietnam's emergence as a corridor for clean industrial production.

For the jewelry industry, the factory highlights a structural challenge. Precious metals carry heavy environmental and social costs, and using recycled gold and silver can reduce demand for newly mined metals. But experts caution that the shift requires reliable supply chains and greater transparency. Pandora's stated use of 100% recycled gold and silver is a significant circular-economy claim, yet it also raises verification questions: recycled content must be traceable, segregated from newly mined material, and audited to avoid greenwashing. The company's 17% carbon-footprint reduction is meaningful but not a full decarbonization; the remaining footprint likely sits elsewhere in the value chain, from raw-material processing to logistics and retail.

The Vietnamese energy context strengthens the business case. Vietnam has rapidly expanded renewable energy and had Southeast Asia's largest installed solar and wind capacity at the end of 2024. For manufacturers under pressure to report Scope 2 emissions, on-site solar and local renewable procurement can directly reduce electricity-related emissions. Pandora's decision to locate in Ho Chi Minh City shows that clean power is becoming a competitive site-selection variable, not just a public-relations afterthought.