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Brands taking up environmental challenge to lower plastic waste

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Growing urbanisation and government failure to stem pollution has meant environmental degradation has not be effectively tackled in the Asia-Pacific region. The private sector is taking up the initiative to help stem the rising tide of waste, while gaining public recognition and brownie points in the eyes of consumers and governments.

Plastic waste becomes insurmountable problem

Plastic waste is a mounting issue in the region. The growing use of plastic bottles, which tap into convenience and on-the-go consumption, has led to the overflowing of plastic waste. Governments are ill-equipped to deal with this issue due to limited resources and low consumer awareness on waste separation and recycling.

Coca-Cola lowers plastic use by 40%

In Indonesia, The Coca-Cola Company invested USD 21 million into an affordable Small Sparkling Package (ASSP) production line, the second in the world for sparkling soft drinks after the one in India. The line is able to lower the company’s plastic usage by more than 800 tons a year or up to 40% as part of the company’s sustainability commitment to the environment.

The production line in Cikedokan, West Java will produce high-quality, lighter bottles at a capacity of 188,000 bottles an hour.

Philippines bottled water companies committed to waste reduction

Image above was photographed by the author in Manila in August 2017

In the Philippines, the major bottled water companies – Philippine Spring Water Resources (Nature’s Spring) and LT Group (Absolute and Summit) have introduced bottles that are more eco-friendly offering low carbon footprint.

The following is the amount of plastic reduced per bottle by packaging size for Absolute.

  • 500ml – 20% less plastic use
  • 1000ml – 14% less plastic use
  • 5000ml – 14% less plastic use

What Mini Me thinks

Eco-friendly theme resonates with millennial consumers (18-34-years-old) who holds the key to growth in developing countries The green generation, exposed to sustainability and environmentalism, will encourage brands to instill eco-friendly into their brand DNA going forward.

 

Le Minerale mountain water goes to the Philippines

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Another Indonesian brand has entered the Philippine fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. This time, Mayora Indah, the producer of Kopiko 3-in-1 coffee, has launched the Le Minerale bottled mineral water to capture a slice of the fast-growing packaged water market.

The Philippines packaged water market is dominated by The Coca-Cola Company (Wilkins), Philippine Spring Water Resources (Nature’s Spring) and LT Group (Absolute and Summit). 

Le Minerale was first launched in Indonesia in 2015. In 2016, the bottled water saw its sales volume in Indonesia surging by 283.4% and volume up by 252.5%, according to the data from Nielsen. The strong performance of Le Minerale can be attributed to its low base in 2015.

Mountain mineral water

Le Minerale comes with the tagline “taste the freshness of mountain mineral water,” the same positioning as the one adopted in the home market in Indonesia. Mountain mineral water is known as “air mineral pegunungan” in Bahasa Indonesia.

Featuring a replica mountain to strengthen brand message

The Le Minerale in-store display unit at the Robinsons Supermarket in Robinsons Galleria shows a replica of a mountain to emphasise the natural source of the mineral water from the mountain.

The television commercial of Le Minerale in the Philippines features a man with a Caucasian face. He is known as the “Le Minerale expert” surveying the mountain and checking the quality of the mountain water. The next clip sees the water passes through a multi-stage filtration to produce safe and clean water for consumers.

Le Minerale is available in 330ml (PHP 8.75) and 600ml (PHP 11.00).

What Mini Me thinks

Indonesian FMCG companies such as Kalbe Farma, Mayora Indah and Nippon Indosari Corpindo are actively growing their presence in the Philippines. The attraction of the Philippines for Indonesian companies is due to the fact that both countries have similar consumption environment with traditional market dominating the retail landscape. There is also a large upwardly mobile aspiration consumers attaching preference to affordability, convenience and quality.

Le Minerale represents an affordable option with mineral water quality from the mountain, pitting itself with Summit Water from LT Group.

*Images: Le Minerale displayed at Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City, Manila. Photographed by the author

Mister Potato back with limited-edition red curry flavour

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Mister Potato is back with a new flavour – Curry Kick (Kari Kick) to add the extra spicy to the potato crisps. The new limited-edition flavour celebrates Malaysian-ness with the red curry flavour as the country’s Independence Day is just around the corner (31 August 2017).

The previous limited-edition flavours included wasabi and fiery chicken.

All out with Mister Potato Purple Sweet Potato Crisps

The key highlight for the Mister Potato brand is the purple sweet potato (ubi keledek) crisps, which first appeared in Malaysia at the end of 2016 and in Thailand and the Philippines at an even earlier date in 2016.

Here is a funny commercial for the purple sweet potato crisps as part of Hari Raya celebration in Malaysia. It is called the ‘wrong cut,’ a reference to circumcision. This funny commercial has received 3.4 million views, 77,000 likes and 12,520 shares as of 9 August 2017.

https://www.facebook.com/misterpotatocrisps/videos/1453889627965484/

The purple sweet potato crisps comes with natural purple colour with a taste that has the best of both sweet potato and potato. It is made using 100% imported sweet potatoes.

The key ingredients are purple sweet potato powder, dehydrated potato flakes, palm olein [(contains permitted antioxidant (E320)], tapioca starch, sweet flavour [(sugar, beet red (E162), salt, flavour enhancer (E621), anticaking agent (E551), flavouring], sugar and salt.

Social media admin working hard to bring laughter to everyone

One unique thing about Mister Potato Malaysia Facebook site is the administrator replies each and every comment. This is appreciated by most readers and improves the brand-customer interaction. The admin, representing the amigo with the moustache, sombrero and poncho, also knows how to interact with Malay users with witty replies that resonates with their sense of humour.

Here is the case study of how Mamee, through, humanizing Mister Potato, has achieved an increase in sales and awareness.

I wonder who is behind the face of Mister Potato?

What Mini Me thinks

The success of the brand does not only mean having the best flavour or packaging but the most crucial element is it is backed by strong marketing with local relevance.

SF Coffee ‘spills the bean’ on its new look

By
Tan Heng Hong
-
Envictus International Chairman Dato’ Jaya J.B Tan and Koo Sue San, General Manager of SF Coffee Sdn. Bhd., spill the bean on SF Coffee new look

8 August 2017

Having served Top-of-the-Crop coffees for almost two decades SF Coffee, or San Francisco Coffee as most of us know it, has served up a freshly brewed look for its outlets that combines cool ambiance with décor that has been perked up with works by home-grown artists.

“The rebranding of SF Coffee presents a new yet familiar name and logo that encompasses the whole corporate identity of the brand, with one of the most visible aspects being the different interior design concepts of each outlet as well as improvements of the overall ambience for the enjoyment of our customers,” said Envictus International Chairman Dato’ Jaya J.B Tan.

The new outlets are designed to act as mood modulators for customers once they step in by satisfying the five senses and creating a pleasing experience.

“Our outlets now feature a fresh look and cozy ambiance for our consumers to enjoy our great coffee, which is the one thing that remains consistent. We will never compromise on the quality of coffee that SF Coffee serves,“ said Ms. Koo Sue San, General Manager of SF Coffee Sdn. Bhd. at the unveiling of its new logo and concept store, located at The Envictus in Petaling Jaya.

Roughly 1,600 square feet in size, the outlet at The Envictus is decorated in cozy bold colours with wood elements although other refurbished SF Coffee outlets will carry their own identities depending on location. Every new outlet will also have a space to feature works by home-grown artists. This particular outlet features the work of DuDu de Doodle, a coffee loving artist who draws to spread positivity, loves to doodle and first began doing it in a café.

SF Coffee currently has 37 differently themed outlets, which are located throughout the Klang Valley, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang and has started to explore the East Malaysian market with plans to have a presence there in 2018.

“SF Coffee has been in Malaysia for almost two decades now and this transformation is to cater to the evolving needs of our customers, and the many reasons they enjoy our brand so that they can continue to treat themselves as we provide the freshest coffee, best service and an even more enjoyable experience,” said Koo.

“We source our beans from the best coffee farms around the world and look for the extraordinary. To deliver a SF Coffee experience, we roast our coffee locally to ensure the utmost freshness and train our baristas to personify our belief in excellence as we are very particular about the brewing process for every cup of coffee which begins from sourcing, roasting, and cupping the beans,” she added.

Kellogg’s promotes granola for breakfast occasion, rose granola for China

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Kellogg’s Malaysia has unveiled the new Crunchy Oat Granola in July 2017. It is available in three variants – Fruity Delight (real fruits), Almond Treat (real nuts) and Chocolate Sensation (Belgian chocolate). The new product is marketed as “a tasty and nutritious way to start your day right“.

Rising interest in granola

Google Trends 5-year data reveals a rising interest in granola among Malaysian Internet users especially starting from mid-2016. This can be partly explained by the growing availability of granola in supermarket shelves and awareness about its benefits.

Each 380g pack is priced at RM 20.99 (discounted price of RM 19.99 at Giant). It comes with a resealable pack.

The granola can be consumed with milk or yogurt.

Kellogg’s granola available in China since 2016

A similar product was made available by Kellogg’s (家乐氏) in China in 2016. The Kellogg’s Tasty Delight Granola (谷兰诺拉) comes in individual sachets and is available in peach and mixed fruits. Similar to the Kellogg’s Crunchy Oat Granola in Malaysia, the targeted occasion is breakfast.

New Kellogg’s rose variant

There is also a new rose variant (家乐氏谷兰诺拉恋香玫瑰什锦), which has just been released. The new granola contains rose petals, rice, wheat, maize, oat and raisins. Clearly, this is aimed at office ladies.

The Tasty Delight Granola Rose conveys the message of providing the consumer with a beautiful day. The sachet can easily fit into the handbag and can be consumed together with yogurt in style in a transparent cup.

The iPhone is used as a comparison to give consumers a sense of the size of the sachet.

The company highlights the high nutritional contents of Kellogg’s Tasty Delight by comprising it with other common breakfast items in China like bread and steamed bun.

Click here for more information on Kellogg’s Tasty Delight Rose

What Mini Me thinks

Clearly, beautiful packaging, commonly described as 颜值 (yanzhi) or face (颜) value (值), plays a vital role in marketing a product in China. A person or a thing with a very high-valued face is called 高颜值 (gao yanzhi). There is a strong need to create a buzz through novel idea such as adding rose petal when targeting the female audience.

In Malaysia, brand owners behave differently. The focus is more on a neutral, contemporary design with less flowery use of colours.

 

Yarra Farm available in milk carton

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

New Yarra Farm in milk carton

Farm Fresh Milk Sdn Bhd has added 1L milk in carton packaging for its Yarra Farm range in Malaysia. The existing Yarra Farm Australian pasteurised cow’s milk is sold in a plastic bottle packaging and was first seen by the author in early 2017.

New Yarra Farm in milk carton on the left. Existing Yarra Farm in plastic packaging in the middle. Farm Fresh low fat pasteurised milk on the right. Photograph taken at Cold Storage.

Milk carton supplied by Evergreen Packaging

The most interesting thing about the new Yarra Farm in milk carton is unlike other companies which go for Tetra Pak or SIG Combibloc, Farm Fresh picked the lesser known US-based Evergreen Packaging as its milk carton supplier. In Asia, Evergreen Packaging offices are located in Shanghai, Taipei and Ansan in South Korea.

Cheaper than Farm Fresh with local milk

The Yarra Farm low-fat milk (RM 6.99) is made from 100% imported Australian cow’s milk whereas the Farm Fresh low-fat milk is made from 100% fresh cow’s milk (RM 7.79). Interestingly, Yarra Farm with is Australian milk credential is cheaper than Farm Fresh with 100% fresh cow’s milk.

The price difference comes from the freshness guarantee of Farm Fresh where the milk is delivered fresh from farm to the store within 48 hours.

Nutrition facts

The only difference in the nutrition fact is Yarra Farm has a slightly higher energy at 51kcal per 100ml compared with Farm Fresh with 47kcal.

What Mini Me thinks

The Yarra Farm brand is still a mystery. Consumers who failed to look at the fine print at the back will not know it is a product by Farm Fresh. However, the unique selling points for Yarra Farm are low price and Australian milk origin.

There is no mentioning of Yarra Farm in the official Farm Fresh Milk Malaysia Facebook site, which shows the company is trying to disassociate itself from the new brand.

De-stress and positively relaxed with TranQuini

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

TranQuini, the premium relaxation drink from Austria, is spreading its wings in Asia with the launch in India and Singapore in 2016 and in Indonesia in 2017. Functional relaxation drink is a new category in most markets in Asia including in Indonesia.

Suntory Good Mood drink, launched in Indonesia in the first half of 2017, is nothing like TranQuini, which comes with specific ingredients that claim to help you to tackle stress and unwind. The key ingredients are:

  • Green tea extract containing natural theanine.
  • Herbal blend of lemon balm, chamomile, lavender.
  • Vitamin B12.

TranQuini is distributed in Indonesia by PT Dima Indonesia, which focuses on distributing premium alcoholic beverages (Guinness and Smirnoff), wine and non-alcoholic drinks and food (Pokka, Julie’s and Prendjak).

Trademark registered in August 2015

As early as 2015, TranQuini Gmbh has already registered the TranQuini logo with the Indonesian authority in August. Click here for the link. TranQuini was first launched in April 2015 and already had an ambitious plan to enter 50 countries by the end of 2016.

What Mini Me thinks

Consumers need to de-stress and positively relaxed from the hectic life. The high price points means TranQuini’s availability is restricted to premium retailers such as Foodhall within reach of white-collar workers.

Guinness Bright Bar opens for business

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

The new Guinness Bright Bar is now open for business in four locations in Peninsular Malaysia. The pop-up bars are operated by aspiring bar owners living their dreams while they compete for RM10,000 (USD 2,335).

Mono by Miranda: http://bit.ly/2tM6FRe
Bunker Camp 57 by Thash: http://bit.ly/2gPdxMG
HA!HA!HA! by Eduardo: http://bit.ly/2vHAcNn

Visitors can enjoy 1 complimentary Guinness Bright at any of the three pop-up bars (Jaya One, Penang and Skudai) and the official Guinness Bright sampling pop-up bar at Rooftop Bar, Ipoh, courtesy of Heineken Malaysia Bhd.

About Guinness Bright 

Guinness Bright was developed in partnership between brewers at Heineken Malaysia Berhad and Guinness’ Open Gate Brewery in Dublin. It is crafted specially for Malaysia to introduce non-stout drinkers to Guinness. The new alcoholic drink, launched in May 2017, is infused with invigorating coffee, ginger, and lemongrass extracts.

The sampling pop-up bar at Rooftop Bar in Ipoh comes with the unique Guinness Bright livery and colours. This and the other pop-up bars open from 9pm. During the day, the MONO pop-up bar operated by Miranda looks like this.

What Mini Me thinks

The unique thing about the pop-up bar concept is not only serves as a sampling venue but also a way to cultivate a new generation of bar owners, while making their dreams of owning a bar come true.

* all images come from Guinness Malaysia except for the last one, which was photographed by the author.

Improve your knowledge with new Lay’s cheese snack

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

The Lay’s smile campaign has evolved from smiley face to focusing on the head. Never mind if you have short hair, spiky hair or no hair, you always have a reason to buy Lay’s potato crisps to change the way you think.

PepsiCo China describes the marketing of the Lay’s new headgear packaging (头顶乐事包) as “change the brain” (换脑子) to “improve your knowledge” (涨点芝士，整点乐事).

The word “knowledge” in Mandarin shares the same sound as “cheese” in Mandarin (芝士). Therefore eating cheese could help to improve your knowledge. The focus on the head coincides with the new cheese flavour, the highlight of the new range.

In one of the clips, it shows a university lecturer asking his student apart from being a physicist, what is the other profession of Albert Einstein.

The protagonist panicked.

After wearing the new Lay’s cheese flavoured crisps featuring the hairstyle of Albert Einstein, he seems to have achieved the eureka moment.

The answer to the lecturer’s question is Albert Einstein is also an artist. The message is there are many sides to a person and the most important thing is uncovering them. Improve your knowledge (cheese) by eating Lay’s.

Click here for the commercial.

The second clip shows a person has a gravity setback (Newton’s apple moment) and acting cool as though nothing has happened. Click here for the clip.

Partners with popular variety show

Lay’s has partnered with the popular variety show Mars Intelligence Agency (火星情报局) on Youku to increase awareness.

Giving away limited-edition Lay’s robot

On 28 July 2017, PepsiCo  had an exclusive Super Brand Day on Tmall giving away 14 packs of Lay’s crisps plus a limited-edition robot for RMB 99. The robot can interact with the user by cracking jokes.

Click here for PepsiCo’s Tmall store.

What Mini Me thinks

The marketing content is suitable for mainland Chinese audience who understood the nuances and context.

From pet food, cashless vending in Malaysia to staff-less retail in China

By
Tan Heng Hong
-
Image from the web

Staff-less retail concept booming in China

Staff-less retail (无人商店） is taking off in China ranging from BingoBox 缤果盒子 by Sun Art Retail to F5 Future Store (F5 未来商店). With no humans running the store, all it takes to ensure everything is running smoothly is technology and China has the ecosystem – technology and consumers – to support the new retail concept.

Expects strong growth potential

iiMediaResearch (艾媒集团), the China-based consultancy in mobile internet research, expects staff-less retail transaction in China to reach RMB 459.2 billion (USD 68 billion) by 2020, which seems on the high side but plausible given the rapid change in the industry.

China’s top vending player bought by Fujian supermarket chain

Another major news from China, which strikes a chord with the Malaysian retail scene, is the acquisition of China’s top vending machine operator Beijing Ubox Online Technology Corp. (友宝在线) by Fujian-based New Hua Du Supercenter Co. Ltd. (新华都) through an equity swap agreement.  New Hua Du operates 124 supermarkets and 9 department stores mainly in Fujian.

Ubox’s revenue reached RMB 1.6 billion in 2016, up from RMB 1.2 billion in 2015 and RMB 0.82 billion in 2014. The company runs a network of 57,000 vending machines in 2016 (including franchise), up from 31,000 in 2015.

The acquisition is seen as a move by New Hua Du to enter into staff-less retail and other new business models.

Vending machines selling pet food in Malaysia

Closer to home, Malaysian retailers are focusing on vending machines first rather than the sophisticated and futuristic AI-powered staff-less retail in China. The online community for pets Petster recently unveiled pet food vending machine at M3 Mall in Kuala Lumpur, reported Discoverkl.com. The vending machine sells pet food for dog, cat, hamster and rabbit. There is also a RM 1 corner selling affordable meal for stray animals. It is claimed that this is the first pet food vending machine in KL.

Vending machines to go cashless

Another interesting news was the announcement on 25 July 2017 of a new cash-less vending machine where products can be paid for by using the Touch ‘n Go card.

“The machines, introduced by Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd (TNGSB) in collaboration with Ventaserv Sdn Bhd (Ventaserv) and Coca Cola Refreshments (M) Sdn Bhd (Coca Cola) are available in public areas in the Klang Valley including hospitals, recreation parks, shopping malls, and office buildings,” said the press release.

Ventaserv is a 100%-owned company of Creador Sdn Bhd. The key beverage partners of Ventaserv are Nestle, Nestle Professional, Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Yeo’s.

New vending machine standard launched in Singapore

Across the causeway, the Singapore government has recently announced on 21 July 2017 a standard for vending machine operation. The key objective is to provide best practices to new entrants and ensure food safety for consumers. It is known as TR 57. The guideline can be downloaded here.

“Covers the hygiene guidelines for design, installation and maintenance of machine, and operations, which include the supply and replenishment of food and related accessories, for food vending machines for pre-packed shelf-stable food products, juices and beverages, both hot and cold beverages from powdered ingredients or syrups, ice cream, milk and milk products, and ready-to-eat food items. The machine may vend these food items frozen, chilled or hot.”

The new regulation shows there is a need to regulate the vending machine sector, which is growing rapidly in Singapore as companies automate the selling process.

What Mini Me thinks

The automation of route to market leveraging on technology is set to grow in importance as the infrastructure is in place to support a new retail environment.

*2nd image from Petbox, 3rd image from Ventaserv

 

 

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