Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd has come up with a new limited edition flavour for its flavoured milk range – Chocolate Caramel Flavoured Milk.
This flavoured milk is described as “Enjoy the indulgent taste of chocolate. The goodness of milk and a swirl of gloriously gooey caramel flavour. All blended together with 140 years of Dutch Dairy heritage to give your family something truly nourishing.”
Photo Credit: Minimeinsights.com
The total sugar is 8.2g per 100ml comprising 3.6g of sucrose and 4.6g of lactose. The per 100ml serving contains 130mg of calcium and 2.8g of protein.
The Dutch Lady Chocolate Caramel Flavoured Milk is packed by SIG.
11street achieves over 300 percent growth in terms of its total gross merchandising volume from 2015 to 2017, with more than 13 million product listings from over 40,000 sellers.
11street celebrates three years and customers get incredible deals during its birthday party online with prizes and giveaways worth up to RM50,000 in total.
Kuala Lumpur, 3 April 2018 – 11street (www.11street.my), is celebrating its third birthday this April and they’re commemorating it by giving their customers the best of everything in threes!
Launched in Malaysia in 2015, 11street is now a joint venture between Axiata Digital Services and South Korean e-commerce marketplace provider, SK Planet. As Malaysia’s number two online marketplace, 11street currently has more than 13 million product listings on its platform from over 40,000 sellers.
Hoseok Kim, CEO of 11street shared that over the past three years, the company has seen considerable growth in several facets of its business operations, from its products to its sellers. For instance, from 2015 to 2017, the company saw more than 300 percent growth in total gross merchandising volume (GMV).
“We are thrilled to be celebrating this milestone as we are confident that Malaysia is set to see significant advancement of its e-commerce industry in 2018, and 11street intends to be at the forefront of this industry growth as we continue to meet the needs of Malaysian online shoppers and explore ways to enhance the shoppers’ experience,” said Kim.
11street has also experienced more than 200 percent increase in the total number of sellers registered on its platform, as well as a growth of more than 160 percent in its product listings from 2015 to 2017. The top performing categories include Baby & Kids, Mobile & Tablets and Skin & Personal Care. On top of that, 11street has sold more than 500,000 food & beverage and service e-vouchers in 2017 alone. Of all the purchases made by Malaysians from the platform, the top selling products include the car cameras and photo books as well as movie and petrol vouchers.
Beyond this, 11street’s findings also revealed that in the past three years, more shoppers start to make online purchases for Automotive, Home Décor, Smartwatches & Wearables and Women Jewellery & Accessories. These categories are regarded as the fastest growing categories by the number of orders placed at 11street. Meanwhile, some of the top performing brands are namely Firefly, Laneige, Petronas, Samsung, and Unilever. Besides that, the findings also uncovered the top three countries with the best-selling products, translating into the most number of orders from Malaysian shoppers, which are China, Korea and USA.
Kim added, “We don’t plan on slowing down any time soon! But, apart from the volume of sellers registered with the online marketplace, the company has been and continues to be dedicated to improving the quality of its sellers through its seller development programs, Seller Zone and the 11street Academy – the nation’s first certified e-commerce certification programme.”
“We’re also grateful to our customers for their continued support and loyalty throughout the years. In 2018, we continue to be committed to enriching the Malaysian daily lives by bringing consumers a wide variety of products from specialty items to everyday necessities, at competitive prices.”
To mark its third birthday and all the milestones that have been achieved thus far, 11street will be sharing its success by offering its customers mind-blowing deals, exciting contests and a whole load of prizes and giveaways worth RM50,000 that are up for grabs.
From the 1st to the 13th of April, 11street is kicking off its Birthday Flash Sales that offers online shoppers products starting from RM3 and to top it all off, the platform is also launching an International Clearance Sale which offers express delivery within 7 days for all featured products from Korea. It might be 11street’s third birthday, but it’s a party for everybody!
11street is a trustworthy and convenient online marketplace that offers a great variety of products at competitive prices. It strives to revolutionise today’s consumers’ online shopping experience by making it more personalised and engaging. 11street has a diverse selection of product categories which are tagged on Fashion, Electronics, Groceries, Health & Beauty, Kids & Baby, Leisure & Sports, Home & Living, and Books & Services including deal offerings like E-vouchers. 11street is also an optimised marketplace where its merchandising ecosystem, education and training programs can fully support sellers regardless of the size of their businesses. Established in Korea since 2008, 11street is now one of the top global e-commerce marketplace providers with 400,000 sellers serving over 30 million consumers worldwide. 11street also has a presence in Turkey and Thailand, known as n11 and 11street respectively. For more information, please visit http://www.11street.my.
Indonesia is a bright spot for the Thai RTD tea company Ichitan Group PLC. The company announced in its Opportunity Day Year 2017 Performance presentation deck that the contribution from the export segment (primarily Indonesia) jumped to 27% of total revenue in 2017, up from a mere 1.8% a year ago.
Revenue of the export business represented around THB 1,536 million (USD 49 million) in 2017, up from THB 96 million in 2016. Most the revenue in 2016-2017 came from Indonesia, following the highly successful millionaire program (“Mendadak Jutawan“) in 2017, which saw 30 lucky winners each taking home IDR 300 million (USD 22,500). The program has been re-launched in 2018.
Ichitan sold 1.7 million bottles in 2017?
In Indonesia, PT Ichi Tan Indonesia Director Sintorn Santitorn said to Surya Online that the company sold 1.7 million bottles in 2017. The goal for 2018 is to achieve a higher sales target of 3.8 million bottles.
surabaya.tribunnews.com
It is not clear if the sale volume refers to Ichitan’s Thai Tea or overall sales. However, the headline does suggest it refers to Thai Tea pending further clarification.
Assuming the 1.7 million figure refers to overall sales volume, calculating using the retail price of Ichitan Honey Lemon Flavour at Indomaret of IDR 5,400 on 3 April 2018, the company’s sales revenue in 2017 at current retail price will only amount to IDR 9.18 billion (USD 667,000). This figure does not match the sales data (ex-factory price and inclusive of Cambodia) released by Ichitan. There is a possibility the number should be higher looking at the region of 17 million bottles instead of 1.7 million bottles.
Sintorn also added most of the sales in Indonesia came from the modern trade at 80% but the company is working to improve penetration in traditional trade through the placement of chillers and signage.
Share of lost in investment in joint venture widened
At the current stage, the Indonesia business is bleeding money as the main thing now is to capture market share. As a result, the share of lost in investment in joint venture rose 50.8% to THB 144.3 million in 2017 compared with a year ago. The millionaire program in 2017 alone cost around USD 675,000 in prize money.
RTD tea market in Thailand sliding
The outlook of the Thai RTD tea market is not promising as the market has been falling since 2013 citing Nielsen data. Ichitan is losing share to its closest rival Oishi. The growth of the export business has helped to compensate Ichitan’s poor performance in the home market and the company intends to enlarge its pie in the Indonesian RTD market.
100Plus, the market leader in isotonic drink in Myanmar, is now available in a smaller 390ml PET bottle in the country. The beverage was showcased during the “Keep Hydrating During Summer with 100PLUS” campaign in March 2018 in Mahabandoola Park with special guest – actor, screenwriter and singer Zenn Kyi.
With the onset of the summer month, the sports drink will organise similar roadshows in March and April 2018 to hydrate consumers throughout the country.
New summer TV commercial
As part of the summer campaign, 100Plus has also released a new TV commercial featuring Zenn Kyi, Miss Grand Myanmar Htar Htet Htet and the Myanmar National Football team on how 100Plus can help consumers stay rehydrated, reenergized and refreshed.
F&N has high hopes for 100Plus as it reckoned in its annual report 2016 that the isotonic drink market has the potential to grow at a double-digit CAGR from 2016 to 2021.
However in 2017, the market was not favourable. The company explains in its 2017 annual report saying the market was impacted by ‘the effect of unfavourable weather conditions, socio-economic instabilities, and an increasing competitive landscape in Myanmar have impacted disposable income and weakened consumer sentiment. Accordingly, this has led to a weakening of the carbonated soft drinks and isotonic segments in Myanmar.’
390ml priced at MMK 300
The 390ml 100Plus is priced at MMK300 (USD 0.23) in a convenience store. When i was there in February 2018, the 100Plus Active in 500ml PET bottle was selling at MMK 550 and the 325ml 100Plus in can was selling at MMK 400 in a convenience store. The 390ml PET bottle improves 100Plus accessible with a more attractive price point.
Thailand’s Asiatic Agro has recently introduced Cocomax Smoothie made from a blend of coconut water and coconut milk. For most coconut milk beverage producers, flavour such as chocolate or mango is used to improve the taste and consumer acceptance of coconut milk beverage.
For Cocomax, the unique selling point of Cocomax Smoothie is once it refrigerated it can be turned into coconut iced dessert, tapping into the popularity of coconut shaved ice.
Photo Credit: Cocomax
We have also seen carbonated soft drink innovating around frozen drink with Mirinda Mix-It is to be frozen and then shake resulting in a Slurpee-like drink.
Cocomax Smoothie is currently only available in Thailand.
The Daebak Korean ramen is now in Malaysia. In January 2018, Mamee-Double Decker (M) Sdn. Bhd first publicized its new Daebak ramen instant noodle in Seoul at a press conference on the company’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics’ halal kitchen. Back then, Mamee Director of Corporate Strategy and Finance Vuitton Pang Hee Cheah said the new noodle would be officially launched in Malaysia in April 2018 with a soft launch in March 2018. Deabak (대박) means ‘awesome’ or ‘the best’.
Premium pricing, Korean quality, certified halal
The day has finally come for Daebak to meet Malaysian consumers. This made-in Malaysia Korean ramen is now available at selected retailers in the country. As a product of the Shinsegae-Mamee joint venture, Daebak is priced at a premium at RM 19.93 for a 4x147g pack of Spicy Kimchi soup noodle and RM 19.93 for a 4x159g pack of Spicy Fried Chicken dry noodle.
Photo Credit: Minimeinsights.com
Both halal-certified products are made in Malaysia by Pacific Food Products Sdn Bhd at the Ayeh Keroh factory in Malacca. Daebak will be exported to Singapore and Brunei as well.
Daebak is priced at the middle range of the RM 25 to RM 56/KG premium price fetched by imported Korean instant noodles in the country.
Each pack of Daebak weighs between 147g and 159g, making it the largest pack size among all Korean instant noodles. The usual size of an imported Korean instant noodle is 120g for a single pack with a few weighing between 130g and 145g. However, Deabak only has four pieces of noodles compared with five for most of the imported Korean counterparts.
As Daebak is huge, the large size makes it hard to display or retrieve from the narrow rack, potentially resulting in product damage when forcefully removed as was the case at Cold Storage.
Photo Credit: Minimeinsights.coms
Premiumising Mamee noodles
With Daebak through the joint venture with Korea’s Shinsegae, Mamee has successfully premiumised its noodle portfolio on par with imported Korean noodles, thus giving the company a pie of the lucrative business.
Tapping into growth segment
In recent years, Malaysian instant noodle eaters such as millennial who are adventurous and less brand loyal, are upgrading to better quality noodles. Instead of eating more, they are willing to pay a higher price to eat less but higher quality noodles to satisfy their craving and curiosity. South Korean instant noodles meet the criteria. Information about the latest imported noodles is obtained mainly from social media and through word of mouth.
Source: Malaysia External Trade Statistics Online (METS Online) compiled by Minimeinsights.com. % Breakdown of Malaysia’s instant noodle import value (RM) by country of origin, 2013-2017. HS Code: 190230400
Indonesian instant noodles continue to dominate the import scene but are fast losing share to other countries (eg South Korea, China and Thailand) as they are now seen as unexciting.
Imported Korean instant noodles take up a sizable shelf space in modern retailers. They are also the star highlights at specialty retailers such as MiX, which has over 10 outlets in the Klang Valley, Ipoh and Penang serving mainly ethnic Chinese shoppers.
Photo Credit: Minimeinsights.com
Not the first time Mamee has kimchi noodle
In fact, Mamee’s kimchi noodle has always been around but not in Malaysia. The K-Mee Kimchi flavour – pack (70g) and cup is available in Myanmar for several years now.
We have seen the recent move by Maggi in Malaysia to offer insanely spicy noodle, the Maggi Pedas Giler!! with a local price but with an extremely spicy experience to counter Samyang’s spicy ramen. In Indonesia, Pop Mie Pedes Dower is taking this route as well.
Now, the new Daebak draws upon Shinsegae, the Korean joint venture partner’s heritage, to move into the super premium imported Korean instant noodle segment. Deabak will also play in the spicy segment since its products are spicy kimchi and spicy fried chicken.
Both approaches are aimed at shoring up the competitiveness of the local players in face of strong competition from foreign players and to boost interest in a category that is seeing a decline in consumption.
Lay’s in Thailand has always been spearheading innovation in the snack category in the Southeast Asia region and beyond. The snack brand of PepsiCo has recently introduced Lay’s Bowl – Bag (เลย์ โบว์ล แบ็ค) in Thailand.
First introduced in the UK
The bowl bag format was first launched by PepsiCo in the UK in 2016 and was claimed as the world’s first for sharing snacks. The Walkers Tear ‘n’ Share is described as coming “in a unique bag that turns into a bowl so you can open, share and enjoy right from the pack with your friends and family.” The product also comes with a thicker cut crisps.
Photo credit: Walkers – PepsiCo UK website
A similar product was launched by Lay’s Nordic in 2017.
Photo Credit: Lay’s Nordic
In Thailand, bowl-bag comes in three flavours including nori seaweed and is priced at THB 39 per pack. Just tear the top packaging to enjoy and share it with friends and family.
Lay’s has been innovating with packaging in Thailand including having the resealable option for family pack and smiley face. The bowl-bag is seen as a continuation of the brand’s innovation in packaging to make Lay’s relevant to Thai consumers.
Lay’s family pack with Sealstrip. Photo Credit: Minimeinsights.com
Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. has introduced Yakult Light in Thailand in March 2018. Thailand and Indonesia are a handful of the markets where the low sugar option was previously not available. The Yakult Light will have 1.75% sugar content.
In China, Yakult introduced its low sugar Yakult Light in January 2016 with 70% less sugar (4.5g per 100ml bottle) than the normal Yakult and with added calcium and vitamin D. Yakult China announced a revision of its suggested retail price in January 2018 raising the price to RMB 12 (5x100ml) for Yakult from RMB 11 and to RMB 13 (5x100ml) for Yakult Light from RMB 12.
Yakult Thailand’s performance has been mediocre in the past few years. The key competitor is Betagen.
(from left to right) Mr Mohamad Bin Yaacob, Director of Sistem Latihan Dual Nasional; Mr Nidzam Kamarulzaman, Director-General, Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources; Mr Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD.; Mr Poh Ying Loo, Executive Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD.; Mr Hiroyuki Kotera, Executive Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD.; and AEON Bakery School Class of 2018 students at the launch of the AEON Bakery School programme
Government-supported AEON programme offers job opportunities for Malaysians who are interested in a career in the baking industry
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 March 2018 – AEON CO. (M) BHD. becomes one of the leading retailers in Malaysia to introduce the AEON Bakery School programme, an initiative that grooms and trains individuals to become certified bakers. Students who successfully complete the programme will be offered employment opportunities by AEON at their outlets nationwide.
The AEON Bakery School aims to further AEON’s efforts to continue grooming the young talents from various family backgrounds, as well as provide an opportunity for Malaysians with a knack for baking or for those who want to acquire a new skill. This is in line with AEON Basic Philosophy, which always emphasizes on Peace, People and Community.
Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD., Shinobu Washizawa said: “This initiative to provide guaranteed employment in AEON is our endeavour to support a niche division of the food segment in the country. With breads and other baked goods fast becoming a staple in our diet, we want to equip the industry with qualified bakers who are able to meet this demand. We believe that this programme can provide individuals, especially those who have high passion in bakery or desire to develop new skills the necessary training and support to secure a future in the industry.”
Endorsed and supported by the Department of Skills Development under the Ministry of Human Resource, the programme will be conducted by qualified professionals with over 22 years of working experience under AEON’s Merchandising Bakery team and AEON Food Processing Centre. These divisions are responsible for providing trainings to new bakers, creating new recipes as well as managing the production, preparation, handling and transportation of raw materials and ingredients to each outlet respectively.
To ensure that this programme is in line with Malaysian education standards, the format used for AEON Bakery School is similar to the skill training centre programme, in which it places a 20 percent emphasis on baking theories and 80 percent on industrial training. For a period of eight months, students begin their two-and-a-half-month theory class at AEON’s very own bakery school in AEON MALL Metro Prima, before continuing a five-and-a-half month industrial training at one of the five registered AEON outlets located at Bandar Utama, Metro Prima, Mid Valley, Taman Maluri and Wangsa Maju.
The programme currently offers 2 intakes yearly, with up to 25 students per intake. Students are given a monthly allowance throughout the duration of the course, and will receive insurance coverage. Transportation and accommodation are also provided during the programme. Upon graduation, they will be awarded with the Malaysian Skills Certificate (Level 2) from the Department of Skills Development, and thereon absorbed as permanent employee of AEON as an in-house baker at any selected AEON Bakery.
Applications to the AEON Bakery School programme is open to all Malaysian citizens and selected AEON employees aged between 18 to 27 years old. Applicants must have either the academic qualification Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). AEON employees who have been in full-time service in any department for more than six months are also eligible to apply.
“Through this pilot project, we hope for AEON to lead the way in cultivating talents in the baking industry and produce bakers with international standards. One day, we also hope for these talents to go out and make us proud by winning accolades from renowned establishments after having learnt the very basics from AEON Bakery School,” concluded Washizawa.
The event was officiated by Mr Nidzam Kamarulzaman, Director-General Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources in the presence of Washizawa. Following that was the unveiling of AEON Bakery School logo and a tour around the school.
Students from AEON Bakery School Programme giving Mr Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD. and Mr Nidzam Kamarulzaman, Director-General, Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources a preview of their training module
After the opening speech by Mr Shinobu Washizawa, the first batch of AEON Bakery School students were presented with their offer letters from AEON CO. (M) BHD. Washizawa also received the Training Centre and Company Accreditation Certificate and the Induction Course Certificate on behalf of the school from Mr Nidzam Kamarulzaman.
Interested applicants who wish to enrol for this programme can obtain the registration forms from the Customer Service counter at any AEON outlets nationwide, or contact 012-771 3405 for further information.
About AEON CO. (M) BHD
AEON CO. (M) BHD. is a leading General Merchandise Stores (GMS) cum supermarket chain in Malaysia, with 26 AEON Malls, 34 AEON Outlets, 2 MaxValu and 3 MaxValu Prime Supermarkets across the country. In the spirit of the name AEON, which means eternity in Latin, AEON’s goal is to work together endlessly with its customers, suppliers, business partners, shareholders and the community to create a future of limitless promises. Incorporated in 1984 in response to the Malaysian Government’s invitation to help modernize the country’s retailing industry, AEON’s chain of stores strive to satisfy the ever changing needs and desires of consumers. Guided by its “Customer First” philosophy, the company’s acute understanding of the target market needs, aided by optimal product-mix, AEON surpasses consumer expectations and enhances their experience every time they shop. All this is encapsulated in the tagline “AEON Enriching Your Lifestyle”.
AEON also strongly supports environmental sustainability by championing various recycling, energy conservation and tree planting causes, by engaging and encouraging various parties, including staff, customers, NGOs, government agencies and the community at large to participate.
In 2015, AEON introduced the ‘Do Mall’ initiative as part of its rebranding exercise to rebrand AEON Shopping Centres to AEON Mall. The initiative marks a next step in product innovation whilst maintaining customers’ favourites, year-long activities to enhance shopping experience and a new refreshed AEON Mall with more offerings from food and entertainment to fashion and community events.
AEON has been awarded the Gold in Retail category by Putra Brand Award for 7 consecutive years since 2011. AEON was also awarded Green Leadership by Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards in 2010 and 2011. In recognition’s of AEON’s CSR initiative, the Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Associations (FAPRA) awarded AEON the Regional Award for “Best Efforts in Social Responsibility” in 2017. To date, AEON has planted more than 500,000 trees within Malaysia and the Malaysian AEON Foundation (MAF) has donated more than RM9 million to charity causes.
CP-Meiji Co., Ltd., the joint venture between Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group and Meiji Co., Ltd.—Japan’s market leader in pasteurized milk industry, has unveiled Meiji Start, a pasteurised milk drink with riceberry. This will likely mark the first use of riceberry by CP-Meiji in its dairy products.
Rice berry was created by the RiceScience Center at Thailand’s Kasetsart University. According to Wikipedia, rice berry is a cross-breed of Jao Hom Nin (JHN), a local non-glutinous purple rice, and Khoa Dawk Mali 105 (hom mali rice).
5,000mg of fibre and lower sugar
Meiji Start contains 5,000mg of fibre, 15g of protein per 330ml and 46% less sugar, thus gaining the Healthier Choice logo from the Minister of Public Health.
Competitor Dutch Mill previously launched its riceberry soymilk drink in 2017 under the DNA label. The soy bean milk range includes almond milk, corn milk and black sesame.
Positive reviews
Meiji Start is described by reviewers as healthy, energy giving, filling and a choice for people on a diet. Consumers also get the best nutrients from milk and riceberry.
Pursue your dream
CP-Meiji is maximising the potential of the word “start” as the key theme in its marketing message to encourage consumers to start pursuing their dream.
In the TVC, the lethargic dairy cow in the usual black and spots (ordinary) is compared against an extraordinary cow in purple. Purple is the rice of the colour of rice berry. This purple cow is a symbol of success. He is featured in In Talk (aka Ted Talk), is a co-founder, a famous photographer (cotographer), works in a co-working space, does cover music, appears to have a Korean girlfriend and seeks adventure. All these are symbols of success for young millennials.
By consuming Meiji Start, the ordinary cow is transformed into the purple cow. The advertisement implies adding riceberry (purple) into the milk has made the milk extraordinary.
What Mini Me thinks
Dairy companies are no longer limiting themselves to just dairy but is embracing plant-based protein eg rice berry, pea and almond in addition to soy as consumers are moving into non-animal source of protein.
Ribena Is Now More Than Just Blackcurrants – Taste the Refreshing Goodness of Strawberries!
Kuala Lumpur, 23 March 2022 – If you’re craving an exciting...
Revenue of the export business represented around THB 1,536 million (USD 49 million) in 2017, up from THB 96 million in 2016. Most the revenue in 2016-2017 came from Indonesia, following the highly successful millionaire program (“Mendadak Jutawan“) in 2017, which saw 30 lucky winners each taking home IDR 300 million (USD 22,500). The program has been re-launched in 2018.
