Bihun Kekinian (Mie Bikini) has stirred up controversy in Indonesia with its eye-catchy but controversial packaging featuring a female clad in bikini. The name Mie Bikini comes from the abbreviation of Bihun Kekinian, which literally means vermicelli (bihun) and current situation (kekinian).
The word ‘Remas Aku’ (squeeze me) together with the packaging design and name has made Mie Bikini extremely controversial. The government stepped in and raided the workshop in Depok, East Java on 6 Aug. According to the authority, the noodle snack was made by a 19-year-old female at her home. Over 11,000 packs have been sold across the country mainly through social media since March 2016. The concept for this product first started as a uni project. The government is now pondering the next move.
Creator of Mie Bikini – image taken from www.maxmanroe.com
Indonesian millennials want novelties
The Mie Bikini debacle shows Indonesian millennials are keen on new novelties. They are willing to step beyond the socially-confined boundaries embracing or creating new concepts such as eating from toilet bowls, from flower pots or drinking from packaging resembling popular dishwashing liquid.
New loo-theme restaurant in Indonesia. Image from BBC.co.uk
Invariably, these novelty food and drinks are promoted through social media, a testament to the strength of social media in shaping consumer trends.
Product innovators can harness the power of social media to create buzz and create novel concept that is attuned to the aspiration of Indonesian millennials who are opened to new experiences.
Sprite wants consumers to have a clearer mind when ‘teased’ for their shortcoming whether in their sense of fashion, gadget or the way they speak English without the slang.
The key message is ‘atasinya dengan fikiran jelas’ or ‘overcome it with a clarify of mind.’
An example is a clip below about the fashionable (Mat Fesyen) challenging Mat Sprite. At the end, Mat Fesyen couldn’t get the girl because he did not want to make its leather jacket dirty and decided to walk way. Mat Sprite, in the other hand, was willing to sacrifice his jacket and turned it into something that the girl could sit on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UTv94tuW7o
The target audience is young men. Each clip features Mat Sprite (the guy who drinks Sprite) addressing each situation with the clarify of mind without losing to the one who seems to have everything. The situations faced by Mat Sprite ranged from being challenged for not having the latest gadget to confronting someone appeared to be cultured speaking in English with the UK accent.
There are four bottle designs as part of the campaign and are available at 7-Eleven.
When challenged by a male with the latest gadgets
Not just in Malaysia but in Vietnam
The message you win not because you are rich or have it all but because you are sincere is repeated in the Sprite TVC in Vietnam. In the TVC, it shows a young male driving a motorcycle competing with another male driving a sports car for a girl waiting at the bus stop. At the end, the old lady gets in the sports car, while the young lady gets a ride on the motorcycle.
In China, Snickers has brought to life a new version of the ‘hunger killing’ global positioning for the Rio Olympics. The new Snickers features seven parodical messages such as ‘all 100 shots missed the mark’ (百发不中) and ‘slippery hand’ (黄油手）.
“Slippery hands’ and ‘missing the mark’
The main message is hunger makes you the laughing stock in the sporting area. If you are competing in the rifle event and are feeling hungry, all your shots would have missed the mark.
Images from Socialbeta.com
If you are the goalkeeper, hunger would make you fail to prevent all the balls from becoming a goal for the opponent. At the end, you will be known as ‘buttery hand’ or ‘slippery hand’ (黄油手)
Images from Socialbeta.com
Other five parodical messages
The other 5 messages include ‘giving away points’ (送分童子), ‘own mistake’ (送乌龙) and ‘soft-legged crab’ (软脚蟹), which literary means namby-pamby, a person who is spineless without much determination.
‘Soft-legged crab’Soft-legged crab
Defeat your hunger, kick-ass in sports
You can kill hunger and reverse this unlucky situation by consuming Snickers, which can give you the extra energy boost.
Strong localised ‘Kill hunger’ message
Snickers’ ‘kill hunger’ message is strong and is adaptable for different situation. In early 2016, Snickers collaborated with TFBoys, a popular teenage pop band, to address the lack of energy during examination. The key message was Snickers could help you stay alert and get rid of all the things that affected your study preparation including ‘avatar devil’ (阿烦达) that made you felt ‘frustrated’ （烦).
The localised ‘hunger killing’ message has helped Snickers to resonate with Chinese consumers in areas that mattered the most including examination and staying in peak performance. This effective communication ensured success for Snickers in China.
Malaysian instant noodles are trying to penetrate China’s large instant noodle market but taste if often the key barrier in achieving mainstream appeal. In Southeast Asia, we tend to see instant noodle companies tapping into regional tastes for their premium line such as tom yum, kimchi and laksa. But this is seldom the case in China where the interest is all about local flavours plus Korean.
One interesting thing about the latest Tingyi’s Master Kong black pepper beef noodle and white pepper pork rib noodle is the use of Malaysian peppers. The use of the Malaysian pepper ingredient serves to provide provenance, an important marketing tool to improve quality perception.
The marketing is supported by a trip to Malaysia to discover the origin to the pepper.
1 millionboxes sold in one month
Tingyi said in its Q1 2016 earnings report it sold 1 million boxes of Master Kong black pepper beef noodle and white pepper pork rib noodle within one month. The pepper series were launched during the Spring Festival in 2016. It claims the ‘pepper flavor series detonated the domestic market instantly.’
From an ingredient perceptive, the Malaysian Pepper Board would be extremely happy to see the wider use of pepper within food and drinks. Even though Malaysian distinctive flavours such as laksa and prawn noodle have not made it big in China, at least pepper is a good start.
The new Dowan Kopi Tarik is bombarding the social media with a pre-launch teaser. The new kopi tarik, Malaysians commonly refer it as teh tarik (literally “pulled tea”), is ‘proud’ to be the number two kopi tarik after Asahi’s Wonda Kopi Tarik.
Targeting Malaysiakini.com users
The teaser has attracted the attention of many readers of Malaysiakini.com, a hugely popular alternative media website. Whenever readers go into the Malaysiakini.com website, especially on the mobile site, the first ad they would see is the funny Dowan video. However, quite a number of readers find this irritating, especially after it becomes apparent that you have to skip this ad every time you visit the website.
Malaysiakini.com is the 21st most widely accessed website in Malaysia and the second most popular in the news and media category, according to SimilarWeb Rank.
Despite the intrusiveness of the advertisement, it has served its goal of creating a buzz and hunger for the product.
But is Dowan Kopi Tarik real or a hoax?
Now comes Cafe Nasty
Yesterday (24 August 2016), an advertisement appeared once again on Malaysiakini.com introducing the new Cafe Nasty Kopi Tarik. It paid homage to the existing Wonda Kopi Tarik.
The clip featured the CCO (Copy Cat Officer) of Cafe Nasty who sounded like a ‘Chinaman’ The video showed Cafe Nasty was actually Wonda Kopi Tarik but with a new sticker.
Lots of ‘competitors’ but all serve to highlight the impeccable quality of Wonda Coffee
From Dowan Coffee (proud to be number 2) to Cafe Nasty (copy cat), they are all about highlighting Wonda Kopi Tarik as simply the best kopi tarik in the market. No copy cats or wannabes can ever beat it.
Don’t expect Cafe Nasty or Dowan Coffee to be out in the market ‘real soon’ as they are fictional products.
Wonda finally revealed it all
Last installment of a three-part marketing campaign – image taken on 26 Aug 2016
Etika has done it again with this self-directed, self-praising three-part creative advertisement that caught many people by surprise. Some people are still eagerly anticipating the launch of Dowan and Cafe Nasty. It would do no harm to bring the two kopi tarik to life, wouldn’t it?
Apparently, not. Dowan Kopi Tarik and Cafe Nasty have decided not to go ahead with their ‘launch.’ This marks the conclusion of this viral marketing by what the author believes as none other than Wonda Coffee.
Mamee Cool Tea is now in China for the hot summer. Japan’s DyDo Drinco, which has a 49% stake in the beverage arm of Malaysia’s Mamee Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd, has introduced the RTD herbal tea in China. This shows the synergy achieved through the JV to bring what’s best from Malaysia to new markets (ie. China) and from Japan to Malaysia and other markets where Mamee has a strong presence.
From 1 August 2016, Mamee Cool Tea is available at over 2,000 Kedi and Alldays convenience stores in China as well as on Tmall Chaoshi (Tmall’s B2C supermarket).
Kedi and Alldays are tired looking
Unfortunately, the choice of Kedi and Alldays does not appear to be good. Even though there are over 2,000 Kedi and Alldays outlets in China, these shops are small, unexciting and staff by elderly folks. The fresher looking and modern convenience stores are the 7-Elevens, Lawsons and FamilyMarts frequented by urban professionals and young consumers. These should be the convenience stores Mamee Cool Tea should seek to enter.
Competing in a crowded herbal tea market
Image from DyDo Tmall Chaoshi site
Cool Tea is competing in a market dominated by the two herbal tea behemoths Wang Lao Ji and Jia Duo Bao (JDB). All the herbal teas are positioned as drink companion to hot and spicy food including the ubiquitous hot pot.
Similar ingredients
Mamee Cool Tea shares a lot of similarity with JDB in terms of the ingredients. This can be explained by the fact that herbal tea is originated from southern China and most of the Malaysian Chinese originally came from southern China. The migrants brought with them similar recipes for herbal tea. The Mamee Cool Tea taste may suit Chinese consumers who are accustomed to Wang Lao Ji and JDB.
1.6 times more expensive
The price for a 300ml imported Mamee Cool Tea is RMB 7.90 (USD 1.20 or RM 4.75). In Malaysia, a similar product is sold at Tesco at RM 1.80 and the price difference is 1.6 times compared to the same product selling in China.
In China, a 310ml can of Wang Lao Ji is RMB 3.00, while a 310ml can of JDB is RMB 4.50. The price difference between Mamee Cool Tea and Wang Lao Ji in China is also 1.6 times.
Future outlook for Mamee Cool Tea in China
Mamee Cool Tea has to seek shelf placement in the happening convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart but this would mean higher placement fee and sacrificing margins.
There is also an opportunity to cross sell Mamee Cool Tea with Mister Potato chips. At the moment, Mister Potato Chips are available in China and are usually place in the imported section.
Taste is important for herbal tea. It would be interesting to know if mainland consumers like the taste of Mamee Cool Tea. Early results show some find it too ‘mild’ and one said ‘it is not as good as Wang Lao Ji’, while others liked it.
Mamee Nutrigen cultured milk is now in the 700ml format. The existing 800ml, in what I called the ‘bulging waistline’ bottle (700ml + 100ml free) is to be replaced by the standard 700ml bottle. The new 700ml packaging does look nicer compared to the 800ml bottle. The 700ml format is also the same as the one used by Betagen in Thailand.
In Thailand, Betagen has the following packaging sizes: 700ml, 400ml, 300ml, 140ml and 85ml. In Malaysia, Nutrigen’s packages sizes comprise 700ml, 300ml and 125ml.
Nestle’s Maggi Royale journey continues with the latest Thai White Seafood Tom Yum. The premium Royale range currently comprises Asian noodle dishes from the region including Malaysia (Peanang Seafood Curry, Johor Seafood Laksa and Sarawak Sambal Laksa), Korea (Korean Spicy Braised Beef) and Thailand (Thai White Seafood Tum Yum).
Co-created by Thai Cuisine Master
The new Maggi Royale Thai White Seafood Tum Yum is ‘co-created by Chef Wandee Na Songkhla, a Thai Cuisine Master, who is recognized by His Majesty the King of Thailand’. This is the first time the Royale range is turning to a chef to come up with a co-creation to improve the noodle’s authenticity. Maggi’s competitor Mamee has already turned to local Chef Ismail for its Chef Gold Recipe featuring the Mi Tarik technology to provide the noodle with a better texture.
This is how the new Maggi Thai White Seafood Tom Yam actually looks like on the shelf.
Improve authenticity using Thai language in social media postMaggi did something unique on its Malaysia Facebook page by introducing the new Thai noodle in Thai.
‘You Buy, We Cook’
The same approach of ‘You But, We Cook’ is employed to promote the new noodle in store. Buy purchasing a pack of the new noodle, Maggi will cook it in store with fresh premium ingredients.
Premium pricing
The new Maggi Thai Seafood Tum Yum is priced above the RM 8 level with the 4x88g pack priced at RM 8.25 (USD 2). As a comparison, the Maggi Royale Penang Seafood Curry comes with a price tag of RM 8.31 per 4x91g and RM 8.31 for the Maggi Royale Korea Spicy Beef per 4x82g.
Nestle Bliss has launched a surprising attack on Calpis by claiming ‘Not all drinks have real goodness of live cultures and real fruit juice like Nestle Bliss.’
Even though Nestle did not name the competitor but from the look of the bottle, it does resemble Asahi’s Calpis. Most of the people who left messages on Nestle Bliss Facebook site saw the obvious connection.
Some netizens have blasted the latest campaign by Nestle Bliss as ‘childish,’ while some have defended the move as ‘cheeky marketing’ with a positive aim of improving the competitive landscape in the name of ‘competitive advertising.’ Several people who left messages on social media said Nestle should name Calpis instead of showing the white bottle where everyone knows it is Calpis.
Few things that come up in this heated debate are ingredients (live cultures), sugar, taste and price. Few people were actually concerned about live cultures. One reader mentioned in Japan, Calpis has live cultures but in Malaysia it is just ‘water and flavouring’ with no live cultures. Another doubted whether live cultures can be kept in bottle form and wanted Nestle Bliss to proof this.
Many talked about sugar with more negative remarks about high sugar content directed at Nestle Bliss than at Calpis. Several readers did mention both are sweet and one said both drinks could cause diabetes, while another asked for ‘less sugar or no sugar version.‘ One requested Nestle Bliss to reveal its ‘nutrition facts,’ which could possibly give a more quantifiable proof to the claims.
Taste wise, more readers thought Calpis has better taste and comes with a more competitive price.
It all comes down to perception – that is Nestle Bliss is possibly losing sales. Here are some comments related to such a perception.
‘Your sales down huh’?
‘Obviously Nestle’s ground is affected much by Calpis’
‘Lost confidence on ur own brand‘
Finally, the attack on Calpis may have backfired with some readers saying
Nestle Bliss’ initial approach was about reminding consumers to choose ‘real goodness’ (live cultures and real fruit juice) but at the end of the day, consumers were more concerned about sugar, taste, price and the way the advertising was done. Essentially, the functional aspect of yoghurt drink is still not strong in people’s mind. Vitagen and Yakult still has the top of the mind when it comes to the probiotic message.
belVita Breakfast biscuit is now in Malaysia as part of Mondelez’s roll out of belVita across the world. belVita is now in over 50 countries worldwide with the US, the UK, France, Brazil and Russia as its biggest markets. In the Asia-Pacific region, belVita made its debut in China in 2015. The launch in Indonesia occurred in early 2016. The belVita sold in Indonesia is made in Malaysia.
belVita chalked up USD 550 million sales worldwide
belVita has been a success story for Mondelez with USD 550 million revenue in 2015, growing over 20% annually over the past few years, according to the belVita fact sheet.
All about breakfast
It is all about breakfast for belVita in its marketing message for Malaysia. The biscuit offers ‘tasty and nutritious breakfast to start your day’ and ‘full of spirit for your morning.’ The pack claims the biscuits are developed by belVita nutritionists and provide a balanced breakfast with 8 important vitamins and minerals featuring whole grains. belVita is also likely to be the first biscuit brand in Malaysia to associate itself with the breakfast occasion.
Image from belVita FB page
On the belVita Malaysia FB page, the company encourages consumers to eat 5 belVita biscuits, 1 serving of fruit, 1 cup of plain yoghurt and 1 cup of tea or coffee for a balanced breakfast.
Breakfast on the go
To link belVita as the perfect breakfast for busy commuters, Mondelez launched a marketing activity by making available belVita biscuits and coffee at selected train stations in the month of August 2016.
The belVita TV commercial features two adults with the female rushing to work. She was given a pack of belVita to start the day as a convenient, healthy portable breakfast by her husband. The message is clear, busy urban dwellers are the key target for belVita.
An interesting thing about this TV commercial is it is the same commercial used in Indonesia. The ad features the famous celebrity couple Bunga Citra Lestari from Indonesia and Ashraf Sinclair from Malaysia, which means audiences from both countries will be able to connect with them.
How belVita is displayed in store
At Giant Hypermarket, Spectrum Shopping Mall Ampang, belVita is placed next to cookies (indulgence) and oat biscuits (healthy). Competing against belVita are products like Quaker Oat Biscuit, Munchy’s Oat Krunch, Julie’s Oat 25, Chips Ahoy! and Hershey’s cookies.
Opposite belVita are mainly crackers including Mondelez’s very own Jacob’s.
Cracker growing slow
Crackers are popularly consumed in Malaysia for breakfast by topping it with toppings, dunking it in Milo or coffee or dipping it in spreads. However, the matured cracker category is growing very slow. According to Hup Seng, its cracker sales is growing at 2-4% a year in tandem with population growth of 1-2%. It is now betting on oat cookies to propel growth.
For Munchy’s to grow in the matured cracker category, it requires innovation such through dip-sized cream crackers by positioning Munchy’s Cream Cracker as Kawan Cawan Anda (your cup’s best friend. This simple innovation helped Munchy’s to grow its cracker sales by 18%, according to Campaign Asia, March 2012.
Sweet spot for oat biscuit
Oat biscuit is growing faster than cracker. This places belVita, which is made from whole grains (20%), in a sweet spot tapping into demand for biscuit that is perceived to be healthy, convenient, offers energy and yet indulgent.
belVita comes in Milk & Cereal and Honey & Chocolate in 160g and 80g packs.
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Maggi did something unique on its Malaysia Facebook page by introducing the new Thai noodle in Thai.
