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Tan Ngan Lo – A Resurrection

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Mini Me Insights
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Tan Ngan Lo, loosely translated as One-Eye Man, has been a household name among the Chinese community in Malaysia for its ready-to-serve teabag medicated tea. The manufacturer of the tea is Wen Jiang Medical Industries Sdn Bhd, founded in 1963.

Despite being an early mover in the herbal tea market, the brand seems to have lost its chance to make a big splash in the ready-to-drink (RTD) herbal tea and herbal tea shop categories, losing respectively to Wong Lo Kat (now known as Jiaduobao) and Koong Woh Tong (æ­ć’Œć ‚) . Now, Tan Ngan Lo is trying to recapture lost territories and is aggressively expanding in both the packaged drink and herbal tea shop markets.

Distribution has always been a problem for Tan Ngan Lo RTD herbal tea drink. Tan Ngan Lo is not widely available in leading retail stores but things are getting positive as product presence is improving. Tan Ngan Lo does have the price advantage as it is priced at a steep discount, accounting for just 62% of the price for a six-pack Jiaduobao canned herbal tea drink.

Aeon Supermarket, Mid Valley, January 2014 (Tan Ngan Lo is on the right and Jiaduobao is on the left)

The next battle ground for Tan Ngan Lo is herbal tea shop. For this segment, it is up against Koong Woh Tong, founded in Malaysia in 1990 with outlets in most shopping malls in the country. By the way, Malaysia’s Koong Woh Tong has absolutely no direct relationship with Hong Kong’s Kung Woh Tong. The latter claims to be the oldest Guilingao or Tortoise Jelly maker in Hong Kong. However, both share the same Chinese name, thus causing confusion to consumers.

Tan Ngan Lo opened its first flagship outlet at Sunway Ginza Mall in January 2013. Since then, it has set up several stores including in Ipoh, USJ, Sunway Pyramid and Cheras Leisure Mall. Tan Ngan Lo may do well in herbal tea but the brand is still not known for its tortoise jelly, which is where Koong Woh Tong has the upper hand. Tan Ngan Lo clearly has an uphill fight against Koong Woh Tong. I personally haven’t seen a Tan Ngan Lo herbal tea shop, not even in Cheras Leisure Mall. The latest Cheras Leisure Mall directory doesn’t show the existence of Tan Ngan Lo outlet, only Koong Woh Tong. A latest visit by a friend has proved the existence of the shop but there were only few customers.

Tan Ngan Lo Sunway Pyramid Outlet – Photo taken from Tan Ngan Lo Facebook site

Mini Drinks Gaining Traction

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Mini Me Insights
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In a post befitting this blog, single-serve drinks (300ml)  have become a rage in China. The Coca-Cola Co set the trend in China back in April 2011 with the launch of 300ml Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite in select markets in the country. Single-serve drinks in mini bottle are marketed as cool, convenient and affordable. The “mini” attribute is ideal for co-branding/co-marketing activities such as with Mini Cooper, online short films and anything that is short, mini, cute and cool.
During the early days of 300ml in 2011, The Coca-Cola Co marketed it with Meters/bonwe, the local casual apparel wear company, which counts Jay Chau and other cool artistes as its brand spokespersons.

Meters/bonwe – Coca-Cola marketing, 2011
The same affordable, youthful and convenient appeals were used in the 2012 London Olympic Marketing featuring the Chinese Olympic swimmer Sun Yang. Noticed the bottle fitting nicely into the pocket, this is the imagery used in most of the mini Coke posters to demonstrate the 300ml drink is the perfect beverage companion when you are out of home.

Pocket sized drink, 2012

London Olympic marketing, 2012
The Coca-Cola Co is betting on on-the-go drinking occasion to spur greater consumption as the carbonated soft drinks market is seeing slower rate of volume growth compared with other categories due to health concerns.
The 300ml format has since become a permanent fixture for The Coca-Cola Co in China and the success of the single-serve packaging format is evident with the appearance of similar-sized products by its arch rivals PepsiCo and PepsiCo’s partner Tingyi probably in 2013. The key difference between The Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo is that PepsiCo’s comes with better value for money with the extra 30ml (330ml) volume, while sharing the same price as Coca-Cola at RMB 2 per bottle. It is no surprise since PepsiCo has always been pricing its products cheaper than The Coca-Cola Co in China due to it playing second fiddle to The Coca-Cola Co in the carbonate segment.

Extra 30ml content
Tingyi (Master Kong), the bottling partner of PepsiCo’s beverages in China, has joined the fray with mini version (330ml) of its popular ready-to-drink (RTD) tea beverages, which are usually in the 500ml PET packaging. Single-serve 350ml PET RTD tea drink is relatively common in China. The appearance of the 330ml tea drink shows Tingyi, the market leader in the RTD tea category, is aware that it needs more packaging formats to target different drinking occasions such as afternoon tea for fashionable office ladies to stimulate sales.

Mini Tingyi Master Kong RTD Tea for Afternoon Tea
Single-serve drinks will continue to a key trend in China as they are extremely affordable (RMB 2) and ideal for consumers who want watch their diet and control their soft drink consumption. For marketers, opportunities for the single-serve format are immense. It can be used to meet the needs of the different consumption occasions whether it is for office snacking or for a leisurely stroll.

Greek Yogurt No More?

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Mini Me Insights
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Nestle Greek Yogurt, launched in early 2013, seems to have left the Malaysian market. That was the initial impression I had when I couldn’t find it in the usual big hypermarket chain in the suburb, only Sunglo Greek Yogurt was available. During a visit to Mid Valley few days ago, I was surprised to find Nestle Greek Yogurt was still alive and well and was in Aeon Big, Cold Storage and Aeon, stores that are frequented by expats, tourists, office workers and shoppers.

The fact that Nestle Greek Yogurt is not available in most stores shows that Malaysian consumers are not willing to pay a premium for a product that tastes and look rather similar to ordinary yogurt. Moreover, many still do not know what Greek Yogurt is all about apart from the Greek icons on the packaging. Nestle removed the Greek Santorini image from the packaging design, while retaining the blue and white colour scheme in the latest packaging. What the company failed to demonstrate through the Greek Yogurt packaging is stronger presentation of the indulgence, smooth, creamy and low fat attributes of the product. Perhaps a better packaging design may help revive the interest in Greek yogurt.

By the way, Aeon Big at Mid Valley is having a promo for the Nestle Greek Yogurt. The promo price is RM 1.85.

Fat Free
Greek Yogurt old packaging  
Greek Yogurt new packaging   
  Yogurt, January 2014
Gram
RM
RM/KG
Fage Fruyo 0% Fat Strawberry Greek Yogurt
170
11.90
70.00
Tamar Valley Greek Style Yogurt
230
14.59
63.43
Emmi Swiss Premium Yogurt Grapefruit/Plain/Raspberry
100
2.99
29.90
Nestle Greek Yogurt
135
3.90
28.89
Farmers Union European Style Greek Yogurt
500
10.90
21.80
Sunglo Low Fat Greek Yogurt
135
3.10
22.15
Nestle Yogurt Fat Free Strawberry/Peach/Natural
135
1.79
14.74
Anlene Yogurt Natural/Strawberry
220*
3.30
13.59
Sunglo Fresh Yogurt
370
5.50
13.49
Farm Fresh “Skinny” Low Fat Natural Yogurt
400
5.39
13.48
Marigold Aloe Vera/Blueberry/Natural 0% Fat
135
1.65
11.78
Dutch Lady Low Fat Natural
500
5.85
11.78
Nutrigen Lite Yo Low Fat Yogurt Blueberry
135
1.45
10.74
Dutch Lady Mixed Berries/Blueberry/Natural Low Fat
140
1.65
10.14
   Store check: Aeon Supermarket, Mid Valley, January 2014  * 2x110g

Strong Halal Opportunities in Restive Xinjiang

By
Mini Me Insights
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ACE soft drinks being sold in an Uyghur-owned grocery store in Turpan
During a recent trip to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in December 2013, I was amazed to find a number of Malaysian FMCG products in Xinjiang. Among the Malaysian products found in one Uyghur-owned grocery store in Turpan were ACE soft drinks, Alicafe RTD coffee drink and Drinho Asian drinks. Also popular in Xinjiang are Turkish products including from the leading brand Ülker.

Despite a growing number of halal-certified products from other regions in China, it seems Uyghur consumers have shown stronger confidence in the halal certification issued by Malaysian and Turkish authorities. The distrust shown on the certification issued by China’s state-run Islamic body by Muslim consumers has resulted in some mainland companies mislabeling their products as coming from countries like Malaysia, which has a strict halal certification regime, in a bid to improve their market access into Xinjiang, according to Radio Free Asia. Such practices will be detrimental to Malaysian and Turkish exporters in the long run unless steps are taken to eradicate such practices.

 “One company contacted by RFA Uyghur Service, Tianren International Ltd., admitted it had been producing food products domestically and mislabeling them as certified halal goods from Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country” link
In addition to the stricter halal certification, Malaysia and Turkey are perceived as friendlier towards the Uyghur communities due to their shared Islamic heritage.With the ethnic tension and violence still on going in Xinjiang, the consumption of products imported from Muslim countries can be interpreted as an act of defiance among the Uyghur communities against ethnic Han rule. Such sentiment bodes well for exporters from Malaysia and Turkey to tap into the Xinjiang market with about 9.5mn Uyghur consumers.
 Ülker graces the entrance of Ihlas Supermarket in Urumqi.

Brazilian Power

By
Mini Me Insights
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Since writing about Recca (é»‘ćĄïŒ‰ in early 2012, many things have changed. At first, it was a challenge getting hold of Recca functional beverages made from Brazilian ingredients eg guarana, acai and acerola in China. Now, during my travels in China, i was amazed to find Recca products in northeast China (Harbin, Shenyang and Changchun) and even as far as Urumqi and Turpan in Xinjiang. Guangzhou Recca Refrigerantes (ćčżć·žé»‘ćĄé„źæ–™æœ‰é™ć…Źćž)  has done an amazing job in expanding its distribution reach to most of the country from mom-and-pop stores to large hypermarket chains.
Guangzhou Recca, founded in 2006, sell functional and energy drinks made from Brazilian ingredients. It claims to have a Brazilian partner in the form of Manaus-headquartered IMEX IndĂșstria ComĂ©rcioe Serviços Ltda, which provides the brand license and technology. I failed to find information about IMEX on the Internet. Perhaps Recca is trying to use the ‘Brazilian’ company to give it a Brazilian credential, often helpful given the perception of Brazil as energetic (football and samba) and natural (Amazon rainforest).
The most popular product is Recca 6 Hours Energy Drink. What differentiates Recca from Red Bull and other energy drinks in the market is the use of the PET bottle and guarana as an active ingredient. Guarana, perceived as more natural, thanks to its association with Brazil (rainforest), sets Recca apart from Red Bull, which uses taurine as its key ingredient. The PET bottle is smaller and robust, ideal for repeated use.
The success of Recca has opened the floodgate to new competitors. It will not be a surprise to see similar products filling store shelve going forward, all marketing with reference to Brazil such as Amazon and Amazon parrot.
“Healthy Energy- Amazon” from Hong Kong Amazon Group

 

Anyone heard of Pran?

By
Mini Me Insights
-
Pran, Bangladesh’s biggest fruit and vegetable processor, is increasingly making its presence felt in Malaysia. A search on Jobstreet.com.my shows the company is recruiting 13 full-time sales executives to market Pran range of products in the general and modern trade establishments including highway rest areas, school, college and army canteens, cafeterias, petrol pumps and universities and restaurants.The company is also looking for merchandisers (promoters) to do sampling and merchandising in supermarkets, hypermarkets, minimarts, hotels and education institutions.

I first stumbled upon Pran juices and energy drink yesterday at a mom-and-pop grocery store in Pudu. A visit to Tesco and Aeon Big reveals Pran is occupying prominent position as promotional items in store shelves to tell the world that Pran has arrived. The 260g Pran mango juice (20% juice content) is selling at Aeon Big for RM 1.30. At Tesco, the apple and mango juice is selling at a normal price of RM 1.80. Pran juice drink is competing in the same category with Tropicana Twister, the number one juice drink in Malaysia.

As a newcomer, Pran does have an advantage as the brand can tap into the sizable number of Bangladesh workers in Malaysia who already have prior knowledge about the brand in their home country.

Product ML RM RM/L
PRAN Mango Juice Drink 260 1.80 6.92
PRAN Mango Juice Drink (Promotion price) 260 1.30 5.00
Tropicana Twister Juice Drink 355 2.29 6.45

What happened to My Cola marketing?

By
Mini Me Insights
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F&N launched its own cola flavoured carbonated soft drinks My Cola in peninsular Malaysia in 2013. F&N ceased to be the bottler of The Coca-Cola Company in Malaysia in 2011, thus losing a major source of revenue. Now, F&N is back with a vengeance to take on Coca-Cola. Both MyCola and Coca-Cola come in red. MyCola is selling at RM 0.10 cheaper than Coca-Cola for the PET version. The two have similar taste.

Looking at My Cola marketing and packaging design, I can’t help but wonder why the pack design gives the impression that it is “cheap” with a private label feel to it. The name My Cola, as in Malaysian Cola, also doesn’t sound exciting. Driving in KL, you can’t help by notice the boring banners at eateries promoting the new drink in town.

Look at our neighbour Thailand. Serm Suk’s Est Cola, the Pepsi-lookalike, has all the success ingredients. The name is hype and the use of handsome celebrities makes Est Cola looks cool. The three spokespersons are singers Pakin ”Tono” Kumwilaisuk from The Star Season 6, Sukrit ”Bee” Wisetkaew from GMM Grammy and Pirat ‘”Mike'” Nitipaisalkul’. So there is still much to learn from Est Cola if My Cola wants to successfully compete with the giant Coca-Cola.

Wonderful Pistachios

By
Mini Me Insights
-
Wonderful pistachios from the US have finally arrived in Malaysia in time for the Chinese New Year. The product is distributed by Sangla Foods Sdn Bhd. Ethnic Chinese in Malaysia love to having pistachios during Chinese New Year as pistachios is also known as “Happy Nut” in Mandarin. So, the timing is right for Wonderful to make an appearance in the local market to tap the festive demand.
As a fully-imported product, Wonderful pistachios is priced at the mid-level based on the current promotion price of RM 13.98 per 168g pack. The normal price is about RM 16. US-made Sunkist is is the most premium pistachios in the market.
  Product Gram RM RM/KG
Sunkist In-shell Pistachios Lime & Chilli 150 15.89 105.93
Non-promo Wonderful Pistachios Pepper & Garlic 168 16.00+ 95.24
KISE Salted Pistachios 160 14.50 90.63
Camel Natural Pistachios 150 13.39 89.27
Promo Wonderful Pistachios Pepper & Garlic 168 13.98 83.21
Tai Sun California Pistachios 130 9.40 72.31
Tong Garden Salted Pistachios 180 12.00 66.67
N.O.I. Salted Pistachios 128 8.45 66.02
Store check: Nov-Dec 2013 in Aeon Big, Aeon Supermarket, Econsave & Giant hypermarket/supermarket, KL
Wonderful can clearly differentiate from the pack by making a splash in the market with a red packaging for Chinese New Year instead of having it in the purple-black scheme. The red packaging will make it stand out as a festive gift during Chinese New Year.
By the way, at a promotion price of RM 13.98, it is cheaper than China.  In China, the same product is sold online through Yihaodian.com, the country’s top online supermarket, at a price of RMB 43.9 (RM 23.77). So it is cheaper to buy Wonderful in Malaysia than in China.

Tortilla with a Mission

By
Mini Me Insights
-
Mondelez’s Chacho’s has found a new rival – A tortilla with a mission. Mission Foods, a unit of US-based Gruma Corp, has started filling store shelves in Malaysia with its Mission Tortilla Chips. The Mission Tortilla Chips can now be found in leading supermarkets/hypermarkets such as Aeon and Tesco as well as in minimarket chains like KK Mart.
Malaysian consumers are very familiar with Chacho’s but what about Mission? From the picture above, it looks like both have the same packaging size but behold, Chacho’s is better value for money. Weighing at 80g, with a retail price of RM 3.00 at Tesco and RM 2.90 at Aeon, Chacho’s is cheaper with a per unit price of RM 0.036 per gram compared with Mission, which weighs 65g with a price of RM 2.70 at Tesco and Aeon. The per unit price of Mission is RM 0.042 per gram. Mission is priced at a slight premium over Chacho’s as it is made in Shanghai, China, while Nacho’s is locally manufactured in Malaysia, both employing imported ingredients.
Taste wise, Mission tortilla chips are less salty than Chacho’s. This can be a good thing as consumers now want to cut down on their sodium intake.
The Mission Tortola Chips claims to contains 30% less oil than potato chips and is 100% made from real corn. So it seems Mission is promoting itself as a healthier snack to potato chips, the most popular snack category. Can Mission continue to make inroad into Malaysia? It depends very much on getting the products into more stores, making consumers familiarise with the new kid in town and differentiating itself as the true tortilla corn chips in consumers’ mind. However, it will be a tough fight against Mondelez, which has a strong distribution network and enjoys the first mover advantage in the niche tortilla segment.

Grilled KFC?

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Mini Me Insights
-
 It seems KFC, famous for its fried chicken, is looking at ways to broaden the appeal of its food in Asia with seemingly healthier food that is grilled, not fried. This comes as rival McDonald’s has started introducing vegetarian options in North America with the new Mediterranean Veggie and Santa Fe Veggie wraps.
In Malaysia, KFC rolled out the Golden Wrap chicken in January 2013. The chicken “consists of kam heong marinated quarter-cut chicken on a bed of sweet corn kernels and sliced button mushrooms all wrapped in a special paper, then deep-fried to perfection. Kam heong, which means golden fragrance in Cantonese, blends spices with pepper.” (NST: 25 January 2013) To me, the picture seems to suggest the chicken is grilled or baked. The use of special wrapping paper in the preparation of chicken is usually used in the making of beggar’s chicken, a Chinese delicacy.
In Indonesia, it is called grilled chicken.  Launched in March 2013, the grilled chicken is prepared using New Orleans Marinade. In South Korea, KFC launched a similar grilled option in August 2013. All of these products are offered on a limited basis. I haven’t tried these limited-edition KFC grilled chicken as I still find the original KFC fried chicken the best. KFC = fried chicken.
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