There has been a commotion over the authenticity of Adabi Oyster Sauce in Malaysia. In response to that, Malaysia’s Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd (Adabi), the company famous for its condiment and packaged foodstuff, issued a press release on 11 March 2017 stating that it “has never produced any other seafood-based cooking preparation sauce apart from “Adabi Seafood Sauce”.
Adabi Oyster sauce made for Sri Nona Industries
The product in question is the Adabi Oyster Sauce (Sos Tiram Adabi), which has been in the market for quite sometime. Even though this oyster sauce features the iconic Adabi logo of a Malay traditional traditional stilt house, it is manufactured for Kepong-based Sri Nona Industries. The name of the manufacturer was not listed on the packaging.
Interestingly, the Kepong-based firm shares the same address as Sri Nona Food Industries Sdn Bhd and Lee Shun Hing Sauce Industries Sdn Bhd. The packaging of Lee Shun Hing (李顺兴) oyster sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce indicates that the oyster sauces are made for Lee Shun Hing Sauce Industries Sdn Bhd but without mentioning by whom.
A closer look at the ingredients reveal all three products Sri Nona Oyster Sauce, Adabi Oyster Sauce and Lee Shun Hing Oyster Sauce appear to have identical ingredients. However, the Adabi Oyster Sauce (255g – RM 4.91) is more expensive than the Sri Nona Oyster Sauce (255g – RM 3.85) even though both have the same ingredients.
All three products are distributed by DKSH Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Pending appeal cases before the Court
The court case between Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd with Sri Nona Industries Sdn Bhd, Sri Nona Food Industries Sdn Bhd and Lee Shun Hing Sauce Industries Sdn Bhd is currently on going for many years. The High Court document can be found here.
Based on the author’s understanding, Adabi (Plaintiff) entered into an agreement with Sri Nona Industries (First Defendant) in 1988 for the sale and manufacturing of oyster sauce to be marketed under the “Adabi” brand name.
According to the plaintiff, the defendant has sold its Adabi oyster sauce in Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia and registered the trademark in Singapore and Indonesia in violation of the agreement. The defendant was also found to have breached the agreement by selling flavoured oyster sauce, said the plaintiff.
The High Court Judge Datin Hajah Azizah binti Haji Nawawi delivered her verdict in favour of Adabi (plaintiff) in the document dated 13 December 2016.
Now the case is pending appeal before the Court of Appeal, Malaysia.
Adabi Seafood Sauce
In the meantime, Adabi has released the Adabi Seafood Sauce, which carries the tagline “Lebih Sedap Dari Sos Tiram” or tastier than oyster sauce.
What Mini Me thinks
This is another example of commercial dispute involving the licensee and licensor of trademark. Looking at the broader picture, the penetration of soy sauce in Malaysia has reached a saturation point where soy sauce is available in the kitchen of every household.
Unlike soy sauce, oyster sauce is a growth segment. The usage of oyster sauce is high among the Chinese population but still low among the Malays who form the majority of the population. The recent action by Adabi is seen as a move to take back the oyster sauce business as this is where the money is.
Know your tea farmers. This is what Vietnam’s Sense of Asia Company Limited (Teapins) has done with its Farmer’s Tea. The range comprises 10 authentic Vietnamese loose teas and exotic blends including 2 rare tea. The tea is hand picked and comes directly from the farmers who grow the tea in small family farms.
Image below and above from Teapins website
On the back of the packaging contains information on how to brew the tea, notes about tasting and the origin of the tea with minute detail on the exact location of the tea farm. For example, the ginger lemongrass herbal tea comes from Cong Hoa, Hai Duong Province in northern Vietnam – 21 08’56.1″N 106 23’44.0″E
Teapins ginger lemongrass herbal tea comes from this farm (image above and below)
Teapins display at Giant, Crescent Mall, Ho Chi Minh City, District 7. Image above was taken by the author
What Mini Me thinks
Teapins farmer’s tea is a perfect example of a provenance-based produce. This concept not only supports local farmers by skipping the middlemen but also justifies the tea premium positioning. Consumers also get to know about the farmers behind the tea, which adds to the product’s appeal, making it ideal as a gift.
The Anlene Sakto pack has been released by New Zealand’s dairy company Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited in the Philippines. Anlene Sakto is a practical 30gm single-serve pack for people on-the-go. The suggested retail price is PHP 15.50. The Anlene Gold has 2x the Calcium, 5x the Vitamin D, and 6x lower in fat than regular adult milk.
Anlene 180g
Fonterra earlier introduced a similar Anlene Gold Plain in 180g with a suggested retail price of PHP 99, which is more affordable than the previous price.
What Mini Me thinks
Anlene is embracing smaller pack to reduce the price point to a more affordable level to improve usage and penetration. The lowering of the price of the 180g pack also serves the same purpose of increasing consumption of milk by adults.
New Zealand’s Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited has launched MoveMax in Indonesia in March 2017. MoveMax is all about moving with dynamism, flexibility and strength so that you can move as young as you feel.
MoveMax was introduced in Malaysia in May 2016. The new formulation is now available in Indonesia. The MoveMax marketing in Indonesia focuses on the theme “tetap bisa,” literally translated in English as “still can” or still being able to move actively for oneself and for the ones you love (#TetapBisa bergerak aktif untuk diri sendiri dan orang yang kamu sayangi).
Story of a drummer
The advertising of Anlene MoveMax focuses on the story of Titi Rajo Bintang, a 36-year-old celebrity who is famous for her drumming skills. Her wish is to continue to play the drum until she grows old. However, would she be able to do that when she is old?
A challenged is thrown to her, which requires her to wear an “age suit.” The suit limits her ability to move and mimics how her body feels when she becomes old.
She initially thinks she can play the drum well even while wearing the suit but actually she struggles with both her hand and leg movements.
A scene later appears showing a mobility expert claiming how the suit is stimulating how her bones, joints and muscles will be when she is old.
Titi even ‘fell’ on the floor when she tried to pick up the drumming stick.
The message is one has to better take care of oneself before it gets too late. So start acting now!
Fonterra is shifting its positioning to the concept of full mobility (live young), which can be achieved only after the person has taken care of their bones, joints and muscles. The MoveMax marketing also touches the heart of modern female consumers.
Unlike the older generation who devotes most of their time to their family, new generation of consumers wish to achieve a balance between family, work and life. They wish to continue to be actively fit to engage in activities they like such as travelling even when they grow old. This is how MoveMax comes into play with a product that enables female consumers to take preventive measures so that when they become old they can still move as young as you feel.
As a modern parent with a baby, we want food that is good for them but also convenient to prepare. While visiting Ho Chi Minh City in March 2017, I found an interesting baby porridge in pouch Cháo Tươi (fresh porridge), which represents a complete meal for the baby. All you need to do is to reheat the pouch with hot water or microwave before serving.
The Cháo Tươi is made by Saigon Food Joint Stock Company (Công Ty Cổ Phần Sài Gòn Food) and is meant for babies aged 10+. They come in five variants such as chicken & carrot (gà cà rốt) and salmon & spinach (cá hồi, cải bó xôi), eel & green bean (lươn, đậu xanh) and beef, peas & carrot (bò, đậu hà lan, cà rốt). The price starts from VND 17,000 (USD 0.75) each.
The fresh porridge is made from 100% fresh ingredients, is a good source of fibre supplement and is free from preservatives (chất bảo quản).
Here is a picture of the SG Food Baby Cháo Tươi bought for my baby.
I see potential for this product in Malaysia as rice porridge is commonly given to babies. The fact that it can be eaten straight from the pouch without having to add water is a big plus point in terms of convenience. The good thing is there is nothing similar in Malaysia at the moment.
Functional bottled water delivering stronger health claims has become a new trend for the packaged water industry. Marketers are now moving beyond alkaline water (pH 8-9) to embrace new concepts such as silica rich water.
ACILIS by Spritzer natural silica water
Spritzer, Malaysia’s top mineral water producer, introduced its latest ACILIS by Spritzer Natural Silica Water in the UK in February 2017.
Removes neurotixic aluminium
According to the company, ACILIS by Spritzer Natural Silica Water claims to remove neurotixic aluminium from the human body. It also helps maintain soft skin, shiny hair, strong nails and supple joints. The ACILIS by Spritzer has a high silica content of 55mgL compared to other bottled waters.
The other ingredients found in ACILIS by Spritzer include Potassium 3.1; Calcium 36; Magnesium 3.7; Bicarbonate 93; Sulphate 22.1; Chloride 0.78; Total dissolved solids 198; pH 7.10
Donating to support Alzheimer’s disease research
The company is donating 10% of the net price of every bottle of ACILIS by Spritzer sold in the UK to support ongoing clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease at Keele University. Professor Chrisopher Exley of Keele University claims aluminium poisoning may trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
More info about ACILIS by Spritzer can be found here.
Evergrande Spring water with H2SiO3
In China, Evergrande Spring (恒大冰泉) is back in the limelight. This time, the company announced the launching of a mid-to high-end mineral water (恒大冰泉偏硅酸型中高端天然矿泉水) in Hong Kong in February 2017 containing Metasilicic acid (H2SiO3).
The Evergrande Spring draws its water from Changbai Mountain in northeast China. The water contains 50.7-78.6 mg/L of H2SiO3, which is higher than Evian’s 18 mg/L, Perrier 13.1 mg/L and Kunlun 9 mg/L. The benefits of drinking water with H2SiO3 include improving skin elasticity, revering the hardening of arteries and promoting bone growth.
About Evergrande Spring
Evergrande Spring, a unit of Evergrande Group, reported losses of CNY 552 million in 2013, CNY 2.84 billion in 2014 and CNY 555 million in the first five months of 2015. Cumulative sales from 2013 to the end of May 2015 stood at CNY 1.29 billion. Evergrade Spring is an attempt by the property developer to diversify into other businesses.
What Mini Me thinks
Package water is an industry that thrives on trend and concept. The longevity of the silica water trend ultimately depends on the how brands educate their consumers and whether other competitors start to embrace the concept, which would result in increased product availability thus helping to sustain consumer interest.
David Chmelař, Co-Founder and CEO of iPrice Group introduces the iEMA Awards at the eTail Asia Conference
Malaysia, March 9th, 2017— Malaysian based BloomThis, BMS Organics, Livlola alongside 23 e-commerce merchants in Southeast Asia were honored at the inaugural iPrice E-Commerce Merchant Awards (iEMA) 2016 at the eTail Asia Conference in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Voted and nominated by tens of thousands of consumers across Southeast Asia, the awards were organized by iPrice Group in partnership with eTail Asia, Trusted Company and UseInsider, with the aim to celebrate and honor the efforts of Southeast Asia’s top e-commerce merchants in the booming industry.
With the assistance of Trusted Company, each vote was validated and allowed to be casted only once. The voting and nomination period began on 15th November 2016 and ended on 31st January 2017. All merchants in Southeast Asia were automatically enlisted and qualified for the voting session.
Winners of the inaugural iEMA included BloomThis, winning the regional iPrice Special Awards while Livlola, won the Quality Award for Malaysia and Lazada won Popularity Award for Malaysia. Present to receive the awards were Giden Lim, Co-founder and CEO of BloomThis for the iPrice Special Award category.
“We are thrilled to be selected as the winner of the iEMA Special Award. I cannot be more grateful to the entire BloomThis team that has worked fervently to uphold the highest standards. This award is indeed an honor because it is validation that our commitment to excellence and high quality is appreciated and recognized. It drives us as a team to do more and keep raising our standards for our consumers” said Lim.
Giden Lim (R), Co-founder and CEO of BloomThis’ receives the iPrice Special Award from Danny Levy (L), General Manager at Worldwide Business Research
The iPrice Special Award category was created to recognize startups, or notable business efforts that made a significant impact in the e-commerce sector. Founded with his wife Penny Choo, the inception of BloomThis was the result of the couple’s passion to help others create beautiful moments with flowers. The startup entered into the e-commerce space with an ambition to make flower gifting accessible and convenient for consumers.
When asked about their future plans, Lim explained that the floral industry has been slow to adopt e-commerce in the past decade. “Our plans in the pipeline is to further refine the technological aspect of BloomThis and offer a greater experience to more consumers. The gap we observed with the flower gifting experience is still big and we intend to bridge that by leveraging e-commerce to ensure that it remains a joyful experience for your loved ones”
First runner up to the special award was Althea, an e-commerce company which was founded to make Korean beauty products accessible and affordable to consumers across the Southeast Asia region. The award’s panel of judges chose Althea as they have established themselves as great role model displaying how e-commerce can be an effective tool to meet specific consumer needs with a niche product.
Malaysian based, BMS Organics, was selected for the second runner up position for their efforts to encourage the consumption of organic food and healthy living in an affordable manner. Combining both their online and offline assets, BMS Organics has been instrumental in educating consumers on organic food, environmental protection and dietary knowledge across Malaysia.
The Absolute Winner of iEMA 2016 Awards
Bukalapak, a C2C e-commerce platform was declared the overall winner of iEMA 2016, garnering the highest number of overall votes in Southeast Asia. The startup began their operations in their garage with the passion to create a marketplace that is reliable and trusted by consumers today. When asked what made them successful Evi Andarini, PR Manager of Bukalapak mentioned that they constantly find ways to be creative and innovative in meeting their customers’ needs.
Receiving the Quality Award was Livlola, an e-commerce retailing luxurious bag at an affordable price. With the highest number of five-star rating by consumers, Livlola was loved by consumers not just for their high-quality products but also for their efficient and friendly service. Meanwhile Lazada received the Popularity Award as they were highly regarded as a wholesome shopping experience by customers.
The full list of winners:
The Absolute Winner of iEMA 2016:
Bukalapak
iPrice Special Award
BloomThis (Winner)
Althea (1st Runner Up)
BMS Organics (2nd Runner Up)
Quality Award – Country Winners
Malaysia : Livlola
Indonesia : Mazaya
Philippines : Starmobile
Singapore : Tech2Cool
Thailand : Advice
Vietnam : Alovendor
Popularity Award – Country Winners
Malaysia : Lazada
Indonesia : Bukalapak
Philippines : Lazada
Singapore : Tech2Cool
Thailand : Advice
Vietnam : Alovendor
The Absolute Winner and iPrice Special Award of iEMA 2016 were presented a special trophy while other winners and finalists received a certificate and an e-badge for their e-commerce platforms. In addition to this, products from all winners and finalists of all categories will be given a special highlight on all iPrice websites across Southeast Asia.
Further details such as list panel of experts, rules and regulations can be found at the iEMA 2016 microsite.
About iPrice Group
iPrice is Southeast Asia’s leading Meta-Search platform, connecting consumers with hundreds of e-commerce merchants through a great shopping experience. Since October 2014, the platform has established itself as the fastest growing in its segment across seven markets: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong.
iPrice currently operates three business lines: price comparison for electronics and health & beauty; product discovery for fashion and home & living; and coupons across all verticals.
About eTail Asia
eTail Asia is a one-stop shop for everything multichannel and E-Commerce; an event where business owners and entrepreneurs have opportunities to learn, be inspired, find innovative solutions for their businesses, and build lasting professional relationships. The annual eTail Asia conference aims to provide unrivalled networking opportunities, high quality content guided by research and experts conducted at top tier resorts. First organized by Worldwide Business Research LLC (WBR) in 1999, the conference production company now runs over 80 industry conferences and networking events on a worldwide scale.
About Trusted Company
Trusted Company is a review platform for e-commerce businesses in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and India. Motivated with the goal of educating businesses and consumers to facilitate good e-commerce practice, Trusted Company aims to be the most transparent go-to-place for business reviews. As the current state of emerging e-commerce in the Southeast Asia Region holds tremendous opportunities for solutions that tackle scam, fraud, and other types of abuse, Trusted Company strongly believes that creating trust through third-party verified reviews is the best manner to overcome these issues.
Farm Fresh, the dairy brand of the Malaysia-based The Holstein Milk Company Sdn Bhd, has launched a series of online campaigns to promote the freshness of its milk. In the short video clip posted on its official Facebook/Youtube accounts in February 2017, Farm Fresh poses the question “is imported fresh milk really that fresh?” The video clip is available in three languages – English, Malay and Mandarin to reach out to all consumers in Malaysia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36xszOqMw34
Farm Fresh has essentially upped the ante and threw a challenge to fresh milk, which the brand claims is “usually imported from Australia.”
The clip illustrates the long process of getting the milk from Australia to the supermarket in Malaysia. It casts a doubt on the “freshness” of imported Australian milk. The milk is described as being transported overland and through sea and being processed twice, first in Australia and then in Malaysia.
Farm Fresh then shows an alternative that would cut back the time between farm and shelve to just 48 hours or 2 days. The solution is importing Australian cows and breeding them in Malaysia.
The Holstein Milk Company has a farm in the southern state of Johor. The locally-produced milk from the Australian dairy herds ensures the milk is the freshest ever.
Kids know best
The company has also produced another clip this time asking if children know where milk comes from. The children are then shown videos of how the fresh milk is squeezed from dairy cows.
The children are then asked to taste milk from fresh milk and powdered milk and to describe what they think about them. Powdered milk is described by some of the kids as “sweeter” and tastes like”honey.” The video shows the children prefer fresh milk because it tastes “fresh,” “tastier” and “nice.”
Here is the video clip
What Mini Me thinks
We are seeing dairy companies, both in Malaysia and Thailand, with access to local milk supply emphasising the freshness of their milk source to differentiate against their competitors. In Thailand, DPO has recently rolled out a creative TV commercial to demonstrate the freshness of its milk. In Malaysia, Farm Fresh uses a more straight forward, educational approach to make consumers aware its products are made from fresh milk in a bid to compete against imported milk.
Universal Robina Corp (URC), the leading branded snackfood and beverage company in the Philippines, has teamed up with Hong Kong’s Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd in a joint venture to promote “high-quality, nutritious and sustainable food and beverage products”. The joint venture will provide “sustainable plant-based beverages to the Filipino community,” said Vitasoy Group Chief Executive Officer Roberto Guidetti.
Note, there is no mentioning of soya milk in the press release but generally, it is believed the joint venture will include soya milk as Vitasoy is know for its soy milk beverages.
Vitasoy currently has manufacturing operations in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia and Singapore, and sells to more than 40 markets globally.
Thailand’s Vitamilk is currently number 1 in the Philippines
Thailand’s Vitamilk has the biggest share of the soy milk drink market in the Philippines. The soy milk drink is produced by Green Spot and is exclusively distributed by Asia Brewery since 2011. Asia Brewery is a unit of LT Group.
According to LT Group’s 2015 annual report, Vitamilk’s market share in the soy milk drink category stood at over 80%. In the 2014 annual report, it was stated that the market share of Vitamilk was 86%, up from 70% as reported in the 2013 annual report.
The key marketing approach for Vitamilk is similar to the C2 RTD tea and that is to emphasise the health benefits. For Vitamilk, it is the benefits of soya beans, said Asia Brewery VP Joseph “Chay” Cruel.
Competitive landscape – Thailand as the key supplier
Thailand is now the biggest supplier of soya milk drink to the Philippines. Thailand’s share of import rose significantly following Asia Brewery’s exclusive contract with Thailand’s Green Spot in 2011. Previously, Malaysia was the top exporter of soya milk drink and is still the second largest but the country now accounted for only 7% of value in 2016 as opposed to 89% for Thailand.
Hong Kong is fourth in import value in 2016, accounting for a mere 1%. The US is the third biggest source of soya milk drink, contributing 2% in 2016.
Data above was compiled by Mini Me Insights from Philippines Statistical Authority (PSA)
The market as reflected by the import value appeared to be plateauing in 2016 with value growing by a mere 3.7% in USD terms or up by 6.5% in local currency terms. The slow growth can be largely explained by the commissioning of the Asia Brewery’s Vitamilk factory in the second half of 2016, which means import statistics will no longer be a good proxy to understand the total value of the soya milk drink market in the Philippines.
What Mini Me thinks
Soy milk is seeing strong sales potential not only in the Philippines but also in Indonesia. The key driver is health, a positioning Vitamilk has embraced to promote its soy milk. “Vitamilk benefits” is the key related query when searching for Vitamilk, according to Google Trends.
Penetration of soy milk is still low, which means there is still ample of space to accommodate new competitors including Vitasoy. The interest for Vitamilk currently lies predominately in the urban areas of Central Luzon and Metro Manila and has yet to reach the semi-urban and rural areas.
Search for Vitamilk in Google Trends (image above)
As Vitamilk is currently selling in glass bottles, Vitasoy can differentiate by introducing soy milk in Tetra Pak for convenience and portability.
Photo (2nd from left): Marketing General Manager of 7-Eleven Malaysia, Mr. Ronan Lee; Chairman of Sincere Care Home, Mdm. Danapakiyam Arumugam (3rd from right) with volunteers from 7-Eleven Malaysia and NGO Hub.
KAJANG – 7-Eleven Malaysia brought upon festive cheer at a charity home in collaboration with its start-up, NGO Hub Asia. The team journeyed to Sincere Care Home in Kajang as part of their CSR initiative recently.
Founded in 2002, Sincere Care Home is a home dedicated to the elderly, mentally ill and less fortunate since its establishment by Mdm. Danapakiyam Arumugam. Till date, the home has taken care of more than 65 of its residents; most that were brought in either by hospitals, abandoned by families or had been living on the streets. Besides providing food, shelter, and clothing, Sincere Care Home has helped uplift the lives of the community with warmth and loving care.
As part of the project, 7-Eleven contributed financial assistance to support the home’s operational expenses and conducted a spring cleaning session with the volunteers to beautify and liven up the environment. The volunteers also handed out goodie bags containing daily necessities and spent time chit-chatting with the residents.
Mdm. Dana, the Chairman of Sincere Care Home said, “Thank you for your help. We are truly grateful for all the contributions we have received.” When asked about the home’s future, she said, “We have big plans, and we would love to have a building of our own to provide better and more facilities for the residents as well as being able to support more of the less fortunate.”
7-Eleven Malaysia General Manager of Marketing, Mr. Ronan Lee said, “During the festive season, the residents would appreciate having company, knowing that there are people looking out for them. We are pleased to be able to make a difference, no matter how small to those that are less fortunate or marginalized by society as at 7-Eleven Malaysia, we always believe in giving back to the society that we operate in as well as striving to Always Be There For You.”
For more information, please log on to www.7eleven.com.my or follow 7ElevenMalaysia on Facebook.
Kuala Lumpur, 10 September 2024 – AIA PUBLIC Takaful Bhd. (AIA PUBLIC Takaful) has announced a surplus distribution of RM70.7 million for the financial...
