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Asahi alters Japanese lactic acid drink Calpis to suit Malaysian palate

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Mini Me Insights
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Following the introduction of Wonda coffee in Malaysia in early 2014, Asahi’s second product, Calpis lactic acid drink, saw its debut in December 2015. Calpis has been in Indonesia since 1995 and is trading under the name Calpico. It is only after 20 years before Calpis is finally officially launched in neighbouring Malaysia. Calpis is manufactured locally by the PepsiCo official bottler Permanis Sdn Bhd, a company Asahi acquired in 2011.
Since 1919 – First ever cultured milk in Japan – Fat fee
“First ever cultured milk brand in Japan”, “since 1919″,”fat free” and “good for the tummy” are cues  to promote the new 500ml and 1L Calpis. The two flavours are original and mango. The company has made Calpis sweeter and sourer to cater to the local market, according to a report by Nikkei Asian Review on 28 December 2015. Malaysians simply love sweet drinks! The “fat free” claim, on the other hand, will appeal to female consumers looking for permissible indulgence.

Placed alongside cultured milk/yoghurt 

The new Calpis (top right) is sold in the chilled section and is displayed along with other gut-benefiting yoghurt and cultured drink (Vitagen and Yakult). Even though the Calpis does not need to be refrigerated, placing it in the cultured milk/yoghurt aisle does give Calpis a healthy credential.

Aeon Big, MidValley, December 2015

The 500ml Calpis is retailed for a price of RM 2.50 (USD 0.39) per bottle.

Low sugar
Calpis has the lowest sugar content per 100ml serving compared with Yeo’s Yeogurt Yoghurt Drink (shelf stable) and Mamee Nutrigen Cultured Drink (chilled). Nutrigen is by far the highest in sodium, energy, sugar, carbohydrate and protein.What’s next

After Wonda and Calpis, what will be next NPD for Asahi in Malaysia? my guess is RTD tea for its healthy positioning and a well developed consumer base looking for innovation in flavour and taste.

Greenfield Milk run out of fresh milk quota, a look at the tariff-rate quota system

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Mini Me Insights
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Greenfield Milk, which has high hopes to double sales in Malaysia to 2mn litres of milk worth RM18 million by the end of 2015, has apparently run out of fresh milk quota. As a result, its milk is currently not available in the country. Greenfield Milk entered the Malaysian market in October 2013.

Here is the official explanation given to a reader on the Greenfield Milk official Facebook site.

The 2 million litre target obviously has to take into account the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) imposed by the Malaysian government from April 2008 on liquid milk with the heading HS 040110, 040120 and 040130. The TRQ is aimed at protecting the local industry from foreign imports.

Here is the TRQ for Most Favoured Nation (MFN):

TRQ for the Malaysia – Australia FTA (MAFTA) 

TRQ for the Malaysia-New Zealand FTA (MNZFTA)

TRQ for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)

New Zealand has the biggest TRQ allocation under the MNZFTA, which is rightly so as New Zealand is a key source of liquid milk either in retail pack or for processing but this has been surpassed by Australia in the first 10 months of 2015.

Below is the summary of HS 0401 imports by country for 2013 to 2014 and the first 10 months of 2015 by import value (RM):

Total liquid milk imported from Indonesia for the first 10 months of 2015 stood at RM 3.4 million, down compared with RM 6 million for the whole of 2014. The lack of TRQ must have impacted liquid milk exports by Greenfield Milk into Malaysia.

Under the TPP, additional 3.3 million litres of liquid milk TRQ have been allocated to TPP signatories for export into Malaysia. The key beneficiaries are TPP members such as the USA and Canada, which do not have existing FTAs with Malaysia. Organic Valley Milk, which used to be available in Malaysia, might have used up its liquid milk allocation for 2015 or exited the market due to unfavorable foreign exchange. With TPP, it is likely more liquid milk from TPP member countries will enrich the Malaysian dairy market scene.

Potential new beverage products launching in Indonesia in 2016 – Ito En, Haji Cola, Cielo, Dellos

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Mini Me Insights
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With 2016 just a few days away, here are some of the potential new beverage products that will likely be appearing in Indonesia in 2016.

Ito En RTD Tea

Ito En will be introducing the Oi Ocha Unsweetened Green Tea with its local partner Ultrajaya, according to information obtained at SIAL Interfood 2015. This will mark the entry of a leading RTD tea company in the unsweetened green tea space, a segment that is still uncontested.

Oi Ocha Unsweetened Green Tea at SIAL Interfood 2015

The key consumer of RTD tea for out of home occasion is teens (25%), soft drink is for young adults (30%) and drinking water is adults (25%), according to the Kantar Worldpanel November 2015 – FMCG Monitor based on value share for the 52 weeks ending 8 November 2015. The unsweetened variant is aimed at the young adult and adult segments looking to switch to better-for-you beverages.

Also likely to be launched in 2016 is the Ito En Matcha Green Tea. Matcha green tea is already trending in Indonesia and it is not surprising to see more NPDs revolving around matcha tea.

Ito En Matcha Green Tea at SIAL Interfood 2015


Haji Cola

PT Tirta Amarta, the local distributor of Haji Cola, will enter the modern trade channel in the first quarter of 2016. The kurma flavoured soft drink is available at over 70,000 outlets as of the end of 2015. Haji Cola is the first kurma flavoured soft drink in Indonesia. The drink taps into the growing Islamisation and the increasing awareness of the sunnah diet where kurma or date is promoted for its health benefits.

The company pays 2.5% of the sales proceeds in the form of zakat for charitable causes. In 2016, the company plans to use the profit sharing model to get students and at home moms to sell Haji products.

The company said it will bring Sunkist branded Carbonated Softdrinks and Flavoured Tea in Indonesia in 2016 following the signing of an exclusive agreement with Sunkist Growers Inc. It is interesting to see which Sunkist flavoured tea Tirta Amarta will bring to Indonesia.

Dellos

Dellos at SIAL Interfood 2015

The South Korean juice company plans to enter Indonesia in early 2016 but this is subject to the performance of rupiah.

AJE

The company behind the highly successful Big Cola brand plans to introduce Cielo water in 2016. 

Trade show report: 11th Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo (First Edition)

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Mini Me Insights
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Part one of Tastefully Food & Beverage Expo, Malaysia’s biggest food and beverage expo, ended on 20 December 2015. The turnout was huge as shoppers turned out in trove for the bargains. The prices of the food and beverage products were exceptionally cheap. For example, seven Popmie cup noodles were only selling for a dirt cheap price of RM5. Unlike the formal trade show, Tastefully is a platform for brands to reach out directly to consumers. The expo attracted a predominately Chinese audience. There was even one stall selling Chinese sausage made from pork therefore halal was not the main concern, which you will not find in other trade shows.

The key themes at the 11th edition of Tastefully are:
– Convenience: ready to eat pasta, cooking sauce and paste, instant dessert (Bean & Beans)
– Ginger:  Local Bentong ginger and Taiwanese ginger tea
– Good for you: virgin coconut oil, oat milk, sesame, hazelnut and millet milk powder, organic food, gluten free, tea seed oil (苦茶油)
– Coconut: ice cream and coconut water
– Coffee: Different types of white coffee (durian flavoured, peppermint & stevia-sweetened – Papparich white coffee)
– Honey: Functional honey, honey drink

– Juice: Nutmeg, 100% fruit juice smoothie

Here are some of the interesting products at Tastefully.

Bean & Beans 
– Instant dessert

NeuVco Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil Toothpaste
– Free from fluroide, saccharine, parabens, tricolosan and is suitable for vegetarian.

LOHAS Korean Kimchi
– Imported and distributed by Eco Action Sdn Bhd. Ingredients – Chinese cabbage, chilli, cayenne pepper, fructose, sea salt, rice vinegar and black sesame oil. Notice, there is no fish sauce.

LOHAS Beetroot Oat Milk
– Imported and distributed by Eco Action Sdn Bhd.

Nourish Asia
– millet milk powder, walnut & hazelnut power, brown rice and herbs, 5 grains powder etc.

Borggardens Pasta
– Can be microwave. Made in Italy. Now available in leading supermarkets.

Juice Bank
– By Sofresh Marketing Sdn Bhd. Comprising 100% fresh juice – orange, soursop, mango and nutmeg drink (Penang specialty)

Nutmeg drink

 Nourishe (100% juice smoothie)
– www.nourishe.com.my

Pure Heaven Juice

Laverland Crunch Korean Seaweed Snack
– By Manjun distributed by KMT Trading Sdn Bhd. Made in Korea

Yummi House Bee Drop Drink
– From Singapore. Made from natural wild honey

Farm Fresh new Junior cultured milk 
– Made from fresh milk. Also comes in low sugar variety

New Zealand Sheep Milk Co Milk Powder
– Made for NZ Sheep Milk Co by Blue River Dairy LP – http://nzsheepmilk.co.nz/

Moo Cow Fresh Yogurt Drink

Image from Sunshinekelly.com

Bifido Probiotic Gummy
– From Taiwan and distributed by Bao Thye Sdn Bhd

Cheffaro authentic Malaysian cuisine paste
– By Es FoodBentong ginger
– Alpine Ginger Malaysia Sdn Bhd
– Ginger powder and Gingerlab anti-hair loss
Its new products include Traditional Handmade Ginger Golden Nuggets (Ready to eat delicious natural healthy snack that helps reduce bloated stomach wind), Ginger King Black Soy Powder ( 2 in 1 special blend consist of our famous Ginger King Powder & fresh roasted ground Black Soy bringing all the natural goodness of Bentong ginger plus Black soybean benefits kidney and spleen), Alpine Dried Ginger Slice (Convenient, easy to store, long lasting dried Bentong gingers. Ideal for busy people, it’s fast & easy just soak it then add into your cooking such as steaming, stew, boiling soup & stir fry) and Traditional Handmade Alpine Ginger Garlic Herbal Tonic (Prevention & treatment of cardiovascular& cerebrovascular diseases).

Bentong Ginger Honey
– Distributed by Borneo Acacia (www.borneoacacia.com)

Taiwanese ginger tea (姜母茶)
– Very popular lately and all imported from Taiwan.

Coconut ice cream 
– Sangkaya – 31 outlets in Malaysia

Freuzts ice cream
 – ‘Taste of real fruit’
– Watermelon, banana and orange flavour

Coconut water
– Karta

– Cowa– Malee Tropica CoconutBaby food and cereal bar

– Xongdur Baby and Grainny cereal bar from Thailand

True Lemon drink
– Crystallised lemon for tea, water and recipe from the US.

Football to revitalise Isomax isotonic drink

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Mini Me Insights
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Ace Canning Corporation Sdn Bhd (Lam Soon Group) has introduced a new isotonic drink Umbro Isotonic Drink. The drink is from Isomax, Ace Canning’s existing isotonic drink, but with the Umbro global sports brand under license from Iconix Luxembourg Holdings SARL.

Here is a bit about Umbro from Wikipedia:

Umbro is an English sportswear and fotball equipment supplier based in Manchester. Umbro designs, sources, and markets football-related apparel, footwear, and equipment. Its products are sold in over 90 countries worldwide.

The taste is like F&N’s 100Plus. Below is a comparison between Umbro Isotonic Drink powered by Isomax and F&N 100Plus. The nutritional composition looks very similar except Umbro has added vitamin C. Umbro uses cane sugar as sweetener, while 100Plus has sucrose (table sugar) and glucose.

The original Isomax

The Umbro Isotonic Drink powered by Isomax seeks to differentiate by affiliating with football. Umbro is strongly tied to football with the Umbro brand being the sporting kit for English football clubs as well as Team England with the latter until 2013. The brand provided the strips in which Manchester United won 18 trophies.

Everton uses Umbro

Umbro Isotonic Drink is competing head on with 100Plus in the football arena. F&N 100Plus “Stay Thirsty” campaign saw legend PelĂ© and rising football star Oscar endorsing the brand. Umbro will appeal to football fans who have a greater awareness of the brand whereas 100Plus has a broader appeal as Pele is well known even among non-football fans. The Umbro Isotonic Drink retails at Aeon for RM 1.60 for a 325ml can.

Coffee companies and Vespa marketing

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Mini Me Insights
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The small Italian scooter Vespa establishes itself as a symbol of romance and a carefree lifestyle among the young generation. In Vietnam, it is a symbol of status symbol in a country with 35 million scooters on the street. In Malaysia, Vespa is seeing increasing popularity especially among the young who are embracing the scooter as a lifestyle statement.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – ‘Bean on Vespa’ social media contest

Coffee companies in Malaysia are tapping into Vespa’s popularity for marketing purposes. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf launched the ‘Bean on Vespa’ social media contest on 3 June 2015 for four consecutive weekends. A lucky winner would stand a chance to walk home with one Vespa LT15.

In 2015, Nestle offered a Vespa Scooter LT150 as the grand prize for its Gawai Festival and Tadau Ka’amatan (Harvest Festival) with the purchase of any two Nescafe ready-to-drink coffee.

Nescafe teamed up with Tesco to give away two Vespa Primavera 150 3V 1.e to the lucky shoppers who bought one pouch of Nescafe Latte Caramel (20 sticks) from participating Tesco outlets in Peninsular Malaysia. The contest period runs from 1-31 December 2015.

 

ChekHup, another homegrown coffee company, gave away a Vespa Primavera as the grand prize for a contest, which ended 15 December 2015.

OldTown is also offering three Vespas as part of its ‘Classic Drink Vintage Ride’ contest from 1 November 2015 to 31 December 2015. The key difference compared with other Vespa contests is OldTown has made available limited-edition collectible cans featuring vintage Vespa.

Coffee companies are using Vespa for marketing purposes as the Italian scooter is popular with young urban consumers most of whom are their target demographics. Vespa also symbolises a carefree lifestyle, which suits the positioning of coffee as a relaxing lifestyle drink.

* all images from the web

Nestle Mi Kolo + Sup undergoing test marketing in East Malaysia and Brunei

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Mini Me Insights
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In November 2015, Nestle launched a premium instant noodle for sale only in Brunei and East Malaysia – Sabah and Sarawak. The Big Combo 2 in 1 Mi Kolo + Sup retails at a price of RM 7.15 for a pack of four (4x119g). As a comparison, the new premium Maggi Royale Johor is selling for RM 8.25 (4x99g). Mi Kolo also known as Mi Kolok is a combination of dry noodle and soup and is famous in Sarawak.

It took Maggi one year to come up with the right blend of flavours, said Ivy Tan, Nestle Malaysia, Maggi Business Development manager for East Malaysia. East Malaysia and Brunei will be the test bed for Mi Kolo + Sup. Therefore, there are no plans to launch it in West Malaysia at the moment. Launching a new product specifically for East Malaysia only is an interesting development. Normally, West Malaysia would serve as the launch pad for new product development before introducing the new product in East Malaysia.

FMCG companies are now going online to gauge the reception of their new products. In 2015, Nestle exclusively launched Nescafe Mountain Wash decaffeinated coffee on Tesco Malaysia and other online stores before making it available in brick-and-mortar stores. In India, online has become an important channel to introduce new products, thanks to the greater reach of e-commerce compared to physical stores. It is also a low-cost approach and is able to reach the young Internet population. The same is happening in China where FMCG companies are bypassing hypermarkets, which requires listing fees, by going straight to e-commerce (ie Tmall).

Hopefully, Nestle will use the same low-cost approach of making available Mi Kolo through the Internet for consumers in West Malaysia to taste the new innovation.

* All the images from Maggi website.

CocoJoy made debut through 7-Eleven

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Mini Me Insights
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The 100% natural coconut water Coco Joy has entered Malaysia and is available at 7-Eleven. Apart from this 250ml coconut water in slim can, FAL Food and Beverages has also introduced Coco Joy Natural and Flavored Coconut Milk, which makes it likely the first coconut milk-based flavoured drink in the country. CocoJoy is a product of Vietnam. The 250ml drink costs RM 2.70.

In the US/European market, the coconut milk NPDs are moving away from coconut drink to coconut milk-based drink as an alternative to dairy. In Malaysia, coconut milk NPDs are still in the nascent stage of developing a taste for packaged coconut water.

Coco Joy Flavoured Coconut Milk

There has been an uptick in the demand for coconut water, thanks to its natural health positioning and as the essential drink for dengue patient. Malaysia is facing a dengue outbreak with fatalities at 293 cases out of the 107,079 reported case as of 21 November 2015. Coconut water is recommended to replace lost electrolytes and minerals for people suffering from dengue.

In terms of marketing, CocoJoy is taking part in the 7-Eleven latest Supahiro Bear promotion.At the moment, not all the 7-Elevens are carrying CocoJoy Pure Coconut Water. Even if they have CocoJoy Pure Coconut Water, CocoJoy Pure Coconut Milk is no where to be seen as of the time of writing.

One thing strange is the Cocojoy I bought on 13 December 2015 was made one year ago on 10 Dec 2014. The product has a two-year shelf life.

A picture of CocoJoy taken by the author at 7-Eleven

Ichitan RTD tea meant for Indonesia found selling in Malaysia (updated)

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Mini Me Insights
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Ichitan RTD tea, which was recently launched in Indonesia, was spotted in Malaysia’s My Hero Supermarket. The retail price is RM 1.90 for a 420ml bottle. In Indonesia, the same product sells at a slightly lower price of RM 1.50 (IDR 4,900). The RTE Tea is meant for the Indonesian market as the text on the packaging is in Bahasa Indonesia.

In Bahasa Indonesia.

The Ichitan Tea is sold alongside other popular Indonesian food and drinks such as Mizone, Calpico, C1000 and Pocari Sweat at My Hero at Taman Dagang in the state of Selangor. Most of the products on the shelf are imported by Aksi Unggul Sdn Bhd.

Ichitan on the second rack counting from the top

Below are two more shelves of Indonesian products. Among the products on the racks are Richeese Nabati Cheese Wafer, Deka Crepes, Genji Pie Sand, Stico, Oreo Kejucake, Rebo Sunflower Seeds, UBM Wafer Cream, Dua Kelinci Tic Tac Snack and Papatonk Indonesian Premium Shrimp Crackers.

There has been an increase in the richness of Indonesian F&B products in Malaysia. Not just the popular Indomie and Wings Food Mie Sedaap instant noodles, we are seeing snacks, biscuits and beverages taking up shelf space in Malaysian retail outlets.

Teh Botol in a vending machine at Aeon Cheras Selatan

Foreign companies are also using its Indonesian factory to export into Malaysia. One example is Arnotts Shape from Campbell Soup. The made-in-Indonesia biscuit has just been launched in Malaysia.

Arnotts Shape newly launched in Malaysia

The large population of Indonesians in Malaysia with some estimated running into millions, including illegals, serve as a ready market for Indonesian products. However, another factor is Indonesian products, particularly snacks (ie peanuts, biscuits, wafer, coffee candy etc), are well received in Malaysia as the taste is mainstream. With the AEC 2015, there will likely be more Indonesian products arriving on the shores of Malaysia.

Updated: Destocking

Buy one get one free at Hero Supermarket as of 24 July 2016
Buy one get one free at Hero Supermarket as of 24 July 2016

Apparently, demand for the Ichitan RTD tea was not good as reflected by the buy one get one free promotion at Hero Supermarket as of 24 July 2016.

New Quaker Crunch targeting children breakfast eating occasion with something more palatable

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Mini Me Insights
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PepsiCo’s Quaker has up the ante with the introduction of the Quaker Crunch range of breakfast cereals in the Malaysia market. The new Quaker Crunch (Chocolate and Golden Honey flavours) is manufactured locally for PepsiCo (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and is distributed by DKSH Malaysia Sdn Bhd in West Malaysia, Moh Heng Company Sdn Bhd in East Malaysia and Pepsi-Cola Far East Trade Dev. Co., Inc. in the Philippines.

Quaker Crunch is made with whole grains and Quaker oats. It has fibre, protein, calcium 9 vitamins and 2 minerals. Children and the morning breakfast occasion are the key targets. The Chocolate and Golden Honey flavours make it appealing to kids.

The price is also more affordable compared to the imported Quaker cereal. The Quaker Oatmeal Squares (412g) is selling for a price of RM 13.77 (RM 33.4 per kg), while the Quaker Crunch (300g) is  retailed at RM 8.99 (RM 30 per kg). Compared with its competitors Kellogg’s (300g) and Nestle (330g), Quaker Crunch (300g) is the cheapest.

Imported Quaker cereals

However, Quaker Crunch does not have the best shelf placement on the rack. At Giant, it is placed on the bottom rack.

Photo taken at Giant at The Mines

Conclusion
The Quaker oatmeal is healthy but it can be too plain for kids. The new Quaker Crunch is seen as a move by PepsiCo to capture a share of the children morning breakfast eating occasion with something that is more palatable for kids – golden honey and chocolate flavours.

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