Biscuit maker Munchy’s diversified into pre-packed croissants
New pre-packed croissants
Malaysia’s biggest biscuit manufacturer Munchy’s has launched 7Days pre-packed croissants in the country in collaboration with Greece’s Chipita S.A., the owner of the 7Days brand. The Greek baker currently markets the 7Days brand of flour-based products, both sweet and savoury, in 66 markets including Malaysia.
Joint venture with Chipita
The new product comes under the purview of Muchico Bakery Sdn Bhd, the joint venture between Munchy Food Industries Sdn Bhd (Munchy’s) and Chipita S.A. Muchico. The joint venture is located at Tongkang Pecah in Batu Pahat, Johor, sharing the same address as Munchy Food Industries. Munchy’s has invested RM 50 million to make available the new product in Malaysia.
Only brand to offer pre-packed croissants
Munchy’s is the only brand offering pre-packed croissants in the country. The 7Days Croissant by Munchy’s is available in three flavours – Chocolate, Caramel and Vanilla and in one format 60g. The retail price is RM 1.30, which is affordable and is priced closely to the popular cream rolls (RM 0.85) of Gardenia and Massimo.
7Days is halal
The 7Days Croissant is certified halal by JAKIM. Here is the screenshot of when the halal certification of the new products will expire.
Filling the gap of Hi-5 Conglomerate Berhad
One of the major bakery player in Malaysia, Hi-5 Conglomerate Berhad, was declared bankrupt in 2016. The company reported revenue of RM 79 million in the 12 months ending October 2013, down from RM 129 million in the same period a year ago. The departure of Hi-5 saw companies such as Fuji Bakery and Mighty White racing to fill the gap in the packaged bread market.
On-the-go option
7Days is positioned as a “convenient and affordable bakery snack that tastes like fresh-baked croissant anywhere and anytime,” said Munchy’s Group chief executive officer C.K. Tan. He said the company “has always been in a position to offer ready-to-go food, and our mission is to provide fun, ‘yummilicious’ and affordable products for every family globally, especially our own country.”
The pre-packed croissant is ideal for Malaysians who “tend to skip or even forget meals while on the move,” added Tan.
Regional biscuit companies tapping into bakery
In view of the tepid growth of the biscuit market, which largely hinges on population growth, it is timely for biscuit players to explore a new category.
According to Hup Seng executive director Kerk Chian Tung, the company’s flagship product cream cracker is growing by 2-4% a year in line with Malaysia’s population growth of 1-2% a year. The limited room for growth for the cream cracker segment means Hup Seng has to bet on new products including oat biscuits or expand the export market.
We are seeing similar things happening with Britannia Industries in India. The biggest biscuit manufacturer in India signed an MoU with Chipita in February 2017 to produce rolls, croissants, and other dough products.
The graphic below was from The Economic Times.
Scalability and compatability are the keywords for the collaboration. Britannia managing director Varun Berry told the Economic Times (ET) that there is “immense scale through this partnership, since the categories are highly scalable and are bridge products between biscuits, chocolates and fresh bakery, at competitive prices.”
What Mini Me thinks
We see synergy in Munchy’s joint venture with Chipita as both parties can make use of their strength with Munchy’s in distribution and Chipita in technology to expand the market for packaged bread in Malaysia.
