When green bottle is associated with alcoholic drinks

By

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9th December 2016

When green bottle meets Ahok

The embattled Jakarta’s Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularity known as Ahok, is coming under a lot of flak recently after he was accused of blasphemy against the Quran. A lot of politically-motivated comments and rallies have emerged in Indonesia targeting Ahok to prevent him from winning the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2017.

Ahok drinks Equil

Nobody would expect a harmless sparkling mineral water brand from Sukabumi, West Java – Equil – would be used as a political weapon. According to Jack who posted on an anti-Jokowi and Ahok Facebook page – Beranda Tolak Jokowi and Ahok who claims of an alcohol (miras) drinking session with Jakarta governor.

Image above from Tribun Timur.

Instant publicity for Equil

All of a sudden, netizens in Indonesia became interested in Equil as reflected in the Google Trends search (image above). The spike in interest shows the speed in which a topic can turn viral overnight, thanks to the popularity of social media where the usage of Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and Instagram is high.

The breakout related queries (Google Trends – 9 December 2016) are all indication of people trying to understand more about Equil. For Equil, it is instant publicity for the premium sparkling mineral water produced locally by the domestic company PT Equilindo Asri.

All comes down to the green bottle

Image above from http://portalnasional.net. The one on the left is Equil mineral water, while on the right is Heineken beer

The misunderstanding all comes down to the green bottle, which popularly used by PT Multi Bintang, the nation’s top brewer, for its beers. People are associating Multi Bintang’s green bottle with alcoholic drink.

Not all green bottles are beer. Image from solopos.com (image above)

Netizens are having a field day making fun not only of the green bottle but also the black bottle highlighting people’s ignorance.

Key takeaways

Sometimes brands come under intense scrutiny following misunderstanding but it can be positive and the key is turning incident such as this from curiosity into awareness and eventually trial and purchase.

From celebrated to hated: How PR fiasco hurts Sari Roti

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

9th December 2016

sari-roti-aksi — Sari Roti traders distributing bread for free to participants of the rally on 2 December 2016. Image from the web.

PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk (Sari Roti), Indonesia’s biggest packaged bread manufacturer, has become embroiled in a public relations nightmare after the company dissociated itself from the 2 December 2016 (212) rally. At first, Sari Roti was viewed positively for its ‘actions’ in the rally but now the company is subject to consumer boycott.

Customer initiative brings unexpected goodwill but plants seeds of controversy

A “donor” coordinated to have a number of Sari Roti hawkers on tricycles distributing Sari Roti during a massive rally against Jakarta’s major Ahok on Friday over blasphemy claims. The 212 rally saw at least 150,000 people from all over the country congregating at the National Monument in central Jakarta calling for Ahok to be jailed on blasphemy charges. (Image below from The Jakarta Post)

The participating Sari Roti carts carried the sign “Gratis untuk Mujahid” (Free for Mujahids). Images of these Sari Roti vendors distributing bread for free went viral and received a lot of praises from a section of the society.

When PR turns bad

Soon after images of Sari Roti vendors participated in the 212 rally appeared, Sari Roti issued a press release to distance itself from the rally. The company claimed the distribution of the free Sari Roti was the actions of an individual acting without the official sanction from the company.

The company said it is appreciative that the 212 rally (Aksi Super Damai 212) went smoothly and with discipline. The company claims it is committed to safeguarding nationalism, protecting the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). [This is when the statement starts to become political].

The company added it is “not involved in all sorts of politics” [A lot of people feel that the company is linking the 212 rally to politics.]

Here a person with the name Arini Al-kahfi sums up the reaction towards Sari Roti’s statement, which suggests the 212 rally is political and is destabilising the country and ‘Unity in Diversity.’

Muhammad Rizieq Shihab (image above) also known as Habib Rizieq is an Indonesian Islamic scholar, activist, the founder and the mastermind behind the Islamic Defenders Front. He is urging consumers to boycott Sari Roti.

What should be done instead

What the company should do is make use of the situation and thank the people for showing interest in Sari Roti. The company can then briefly explain the distribution of the bread at the rally was not officially done by the company but by an individual without the company’s knowledge. Sari Roti can end the press release by thanking the support of its loyal customers and possibly add in some promotions. This helps the company to steer clear from sensitive subjects like religion and politics, which is often divisive.

Zanana Chips harnessing power of social media

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

8th December 2016

Bandung is a city famous for its budding entrepreneurs who have brought us Lakoca Cuanki and yoghurt drinks (Yoghurt Cisangkuy).

Cuanki (image above) is a street food in Bandung traditionally consists of fried tofu, siomay, meatballs and fried dumpling served in soup

Zanana Chips

Zanana Chips was created by a 19-year-old entrepreneur Gazan Azka Ghafara from Bandung in November 2013. The name Zanana comes from his name Gazan and banana.

Aimed at 17-30-year-old

According to an interview with SWA magazine, females aged 17-30 who are fond of shopping online are the main target for Zanana Chips. The product comes with a minimalist design with eye-catching colours to appeal to young modern females.

Power of social media and celebrity endorsement

Zanana Chips is marketed and sold through Instagram, Twitter, Line, Facebook and other social media. Gazan also uses celebrity endorsement by giving out Zanana Chips for free to celebrities. Among the celebrities that have endorsed Zanana Chips are Vicky Shu, Fatin Shidqia, Oki Setiana Dewi, Vidi Aldiano and Hanggini Purinda Retto.

Vicky Shu and her sister Kalia Labitta eating Zanana Chips in New York City (image above)

Inspired by Lampung chocolate banana chips

Zanana Chips was inspired by the lack of chocolate flavour banana chips in Bandung. Such chips are famous in Lampung.

Image above are chocolate banana chips from Lampung

Zanana Chips started off with the chocolate flavour and has since expanded the flavours to include Green Thai Tea, Smoked Beef, Creamy Milk and Classy Spicy.

Using resellers to expand distribution reach

Apart from agent and distributor, Gazan uses resellers to sell Zanana Chips to expand the distribution reach, while creating business opportunities for people who want to earn extra money. Gazan has even set up a website for resellers at http://resellerzananachips.com.

At the moment, Zanana Chips is available in over 70 cities in Indonesia as well as overseas in Malaysia, Japan, the US, Brunei and Egypt. As of the first six months of 2016, the monthly turnover is IDR 400 to 450 million (USD 30,000).

Combining modernity with religious piety

One thing that is interesting about Zanana Chips is it combines modernity (modern packaging) and Muslim piety and practice. On the back of the packaging, the proper way to eat Zanana Chips is to first start with a prayer “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” (In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then grab a pile of Zanana Chips and ‘Roar’ and finish them.

Key takeaways

The combination of celebrity endorsement (like Vita Coco harnessing the power of Rihanna), social media and contemporary packaging (clean packaging and striking colour) have contributed to the success of Zanana Chips.

The religious element on the packaging of the chip indicates the possibility of a revival in religious sentiment among young Indonesians, which may give us an idea on how products should be marketed in the future.

Press Release: Coca-Cola Gets Another Slice Of Domino’s Pizza

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

8th December 2016

coca-cola-dominos-signs-a-renewal-for-singapore-market_1 — From left to right: Stephen James Lusk, Martin Jansen and Ba U Shan-Ting and Linda Hassan

6 December 2016

Coca-Cola Singapore has refreshed its concession agreement with Domino’s Pizza Singapore Pte Ltd that will see it continuing to supply the beverages at all 23 Domino’s Pizza restaurants in Singapore.

The agreement that goes on till the end of December 2021 will see the island’s Domino’s Pizza restaurants offering Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola zero, Sprite, Heaven and Earth Teas and Dasani water for dining in as well as delivery.

The agreement was signed by Coca-Cola Region Director of China & Southeast Asia – Bottling Investments Group at The Coca-Cola Company, Martin Jansen and President of Domino’s Pizza Singapore and Malaysia, Ba U Shan-Ting.

“Domino’s Pizza is today one of Singapore’s key players in the pizza industry and one of the most loved for its delivery service and we are proud to have been a partner since it began operations in 2009 and it is an honor to be sharing its journey vision and ambition,” said Jansen.

Ba U Shan-Ting commented, ”We value our partnership with Coca-Cola and we are pleased that it has grown stronger though the years. We look forward to forge ahead with our partners as we continue to deliver hot and wow pizzas to all Singaporeans.”

The signing was witnessed by said CEO of Coca-Cola’s Bottling Investment Group Singapore – Malaysia – Brunei, Stephen James Lusk and Domino’s Pizza Singapore and Malaysia, Deputy General Manager for Marketing, Linda Hassan.

Scott’s DHA Gummies taps into augmented reality

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

7th December 2016

Augmented reality is increasingly becoming a potential consumer engagement tool. Pokémon Go introduced augmented reality to ordinary people and now in the US, the White House has launched an app called 1600 that gives users a tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (the White House) with a smartphone or tablet and a $1 bill.

Blippar joins force with Scott’s Gummies

Blippar, the augmented reality startup, has collaborated with GSK to introduce augmented reality for the new Scott’s DHA Gummies. By downloading the Blippar app, parents and children can “gain easy insights on DHA as well as engage in fun activities such as puzzles and virtual photo booths.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbRJLbiRfE

Example of augmented reality in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the minimarket chain Alfamart has launched Alfamind, a virtual shop powered by 3D Augmented Reality-Virtual Reality (AR-VR) from Mindstores. Alfamind is an initiative by the minimarket chain to allow people to own their own shop.

Like all technologies, augmented reality is still very new and adoption is being hampered by privacy concern, the lack of developmental tools, user readiness and cost. For marketers, it is still a testing period with augmented reality at the moment.

myNEWS.com introduces onigiri

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

7th December 2016

Onigiri, also known as the Japanese rice ball, is making its way into the leading convenience stores in Malaysia including 7-Eleven and now myNEWS.com. Onigiri is described by Wikipedia as a “Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylinder shapes and often wrapped in nori.”

Mussubi Sdn Bhd as a major onigiri supplier

Mussubi, a company incorporated in Malaysia on 21 December 2015, has emerged as a major supplier of onigiri to 7-Eleven and myNEWS.com. The company is located at Taman OUG, Kuala Lumpur.

The price for the onigiri at 7-Eleven and myNEWS.com is RM 4.00 each.

All the onigiris are certified halal by JAKIM.

Here is a snapshot of Mussubi’s onigiris and the expiry of the halal certification. The information comes from JAKIM.

1.	HAND ROLL – CRABSTICK + EBIKO (CAPELIN ROE)	31/12/2017
2.	HAND ROLL – CUCUMBER	31/12/2017
3.	HAND ROLL – DEEP FRIED CHICKEN	31/12/2017
4.	HAND ROLL – DEEP FRIED SALMON	31/12/2017
5.	HAND ROLL – EBIKO (CAPELIN ROE)	31/12/2017
6.	HAND ROLL – EGG MAYONNAISE	31/12/2017
7.	HAND ROLL – FRANKFURTER CHEESE	31/12/2017
8.	HAND ROLL – FRIED PRAWN	31/12/2017
9.	HAND ROLL – KATSUOBUSHI (BONITO)	31/12/2017
10.	HAND ROLL – MIXED CRAB STICK MAYONNAISE	31/12/2017
11.	HAND ROLL – PANPANJIN (SESAME CHICKEN)	31/12/2017
12.	HAND ROLL – POTATO MAYONNAISE	31/12/2017
13.	HAND ROLL – TAMAGO + EBIKO (EGG + CAPELIN ROE)	31/12/2017

At the moment, only four onigiris are available at myNEWS.com and they are tuna mayo, fried salmon, potato, sesame chicken and teriyaki chicken.

We will be seeing a lot more Japanese food in convenience stores following the debut of FamilyMart.

Otaru Fine Food Sdn Bhd

Bison Consolidated, the owner of myNEWS.com, owns Otaru Fine Food, a manufacturer and dealer of bakery products. Otaru Fine Food supplies myNEWS.com outlets with mainly sandwiches. The other sandwich suppliers to myNEWS.com include DPO Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which also distributes to petromarts and other retailers.

Image above shows the sandwiches sold at myNEWS.com. The tTop 1-2 racks are DPO sandwiches.

Here is the list of halal-certified food by Otaru Fine Food.

1.	BBQ CHICKEN BUN	OTARU FINEFOOD	15/07/2017
2.	BEEF & CHEESE SANDWICH	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
3.	CHICKEN SLICE & CHEESE	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
4.	CHOCOLATE BUN	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
5.	COCONUT BUN	OTARU FINEFOOD	15/07/2017
6.	CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE BUN	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
7.	DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND MUFFIN	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
8.	EGG MAYO SANDWICH	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
9.	IKAN BILIS BUN	OTARU FINEFOOD	15/07/2017
10.	KAYA BUN	OTARU FINEFOOD	15/07/2017
11.	RAISIN BUN	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
12.	RED BEAN ANPAN	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
13.	SARDINE SANDWICH	OTARU FINE FOOD	15/07/2017
14.	SMOKED CHICKEN SAUSAGE ROLL	OTARU FINEFOOD	15/07/2017

Pepsi ushers 2017 Chinese New Year with emoji cans

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

6th December 2016

In Malaysia, PepsiCo has kicked off the 2017 Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration with its first ever in many years, limited edition CNY cans. In the past two years, PepsiCo was the only major soft drinks company without releasing its own CNY packaging even though the company did run CNY campaigns such as the Refresh Your Greetings in 2016. Its competitors F&N’s 100Plus and The Coca-Cola Company had spent considerable efforts to unlock the festive opportunities in the past.

The Chinese New Year in 2017 falls on 28 January 2017 (Saturday).

#JoywithPepsi

The #JoywithPepsi can be seen as part of the PepsiMoji global campaign to use emojis to express emotions without saying a word (#SayItWithPepsi). In Malaysia, there are ten CNY-inspired emoji characters including pineapple (“Ong Lai” which means “Prosperity Come”), lion dance head, rooster (2017 is the year of the rooster) and spring festival couplets (a couplet is a pair of lines of poetry generally written on a red paper with sentences contain auspicious meanings).

Here is the complete set of the 8 designs.CNY celebration – Revive, 7Up and Kickapoo

Etika Group of Companies, the official bottler of PepsiCo range of products in the country, has also given a new CNY design for the Revive isotonic drink, Kickapoo and 7Up in multipack.

The 7Up CNY packaging comes with the 7Up vintage bottles, which is available in at least three different designs.

How’s 100Plus and Coca-Cola going to celebrate CNY 2017?

Both 100Plus and Coca-Cola appear to be late in the game this time.

100Plus Chinese New Year billboard is already up on the heavily-congested Federal Highway right after the University of Malaya Medical Centre. The design of the CNY packaging indicates 100Plus will be recycling the CNY 2016 design (image above) but this is still not confirmed.

At the time of writing, the 100Plus limited edition gold cans are not available in the stores visited by the author. There is no information about the CNY 2017 bottle design for Coca-Cola either.

The author previously mentioned about the production overrun of the Coca-Cola’s CNY 2016 slim bottles (image above), which were still available even during Hari Raya in July 2016. We can only speculate the possibility of Coca-Cola reducing its production target for the CNY 2017 limited-edition packaging, if there is any, to ensure the stock will be more manageable.

Updated on 11 December 2016

The 100Plus CNY 2017 design is out. The key difference between the 2016 design and the 2017 design is the adding of the red line to make make the graphics more stand out.

Chef Wan’s cooks up Nutren Chicken Rendang for diabetics

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

5th December 2016

nestle-nutren — Chef Wan's NUTREN Chicken Rendang using NUTREN UNTUK DIABETIK as a healthy replacement for santan

Coconut milk, commonly referred to as santan in Malaysia, is coming under a lot of flak. Santan is known for its saturated fats and is being blamed for contributing to high levels of bad cholesterol. Health experts are suggesting replacing coconut milk with low fat milk or skimmed milk. Brands are taking the opportunity to offer consumers with healtheir santan substitutes such as palm oil-based santan sawit and yoghurt.

Chef Wan’s Nutren Chicken Rendang

Nestlé Health Science has introduced Chef Wan’s Nutren Chicken Rendang using Nutren Untuk Diabetik (for diabetic) as a healthy replacement for santan. The initiative was part of the brand’s observation of the World Diabetes Day, which falls on November 14th annually.

Nutren Untuk Diabetes is a nutritionally complete and balanced diet for people with diabetes or high blood sugar level.

The Chef Wan’s Nutren Chicken Rendang is not the first Nutren-inspired food creation. During Valentine’s Day 2016, the brand invited its Facebook reader and their loved one(s) to cook up meals featuring Nutren Untuk Diabetik as a key ingredient (image below).

Turning Nutren Untuk Diabetik into a food ingredient helps improve usage and appeal. It also demonstrates the versatility and relevancy of using Nutren to turn Malaysian favourite dishes into something suitable for diabetic sufferers.

CP frozen ready meals now at 99 Speedmart

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

4th December 2016

PK Agro Industrial Products (M) Sdn Bhd, the manufacturer of the CP Brand frozen ready meals, has expanded the distribution channel for its CP frozen ready meals to selected 99 Speedmart outlets.

As of 4 December 2016, there were 880 99 Speedmart minimarkets throughout Malaysia, making it the biggest minimarket chain in the country and a significant channel for fast moving consumer goods. As a comparison, there were 2,057 7-Eleven stores in Malaysia at the end of September 2016. At the moment, 7-Eleven is a major distribution channel for CP frozen ready meals.

CP frozen ready meals in 99 Speedmart

The key selling point for the CP frozen meal range at 99 Speedmart are ‘no preservative’ and quick to prepare in ‘4 minutes.’

The CP range consists of three local favorites – Fried bee hoon (fried vermicelli), nasi lemak and kampung fried rice. The nasi lemak is priced at RM 4.40 (USD 1.00), while the other two is RM 3.90 each.

The company has provided a microwave at participating outlets. The microwave is located next to the cashier, which means only the cashier is allowed to handle the Sharp microwave.

Making the frozen ready meal available in more channels is a positive step in a long journey to cultivate a lifestyle of eating microwaveable convenient food.

Giant supermarket accepts China UnionPay

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

4th December 2016

Not every merchants in Malaysia accept China UnionPay, thus missing out on the opportunities to tap the strong spending power of Chinese tourists. According to the China UnionPay website, “in Malaysia, UnionPay cards are accepted at shops and franchise stores most frequented by tourists and over 90% of ATMs.” The keyword is shops most frequented by tourists meaning the high-end fashion and jewellery outlets.

What about ordinary stores? The author once saw a group of mainland tourists at a Giant supermarket, which is located across the road from PJ Hilton, wanting to make some purchases. They were down to their last pennies and had to exchange for some ringgit with the author as the supermarket did not accept China UnionPay at that time.

Giant accepts China UnionPay

Now, everything has changed. the GCH Retail (Malaysia)-operated Giant Supermarket is now accepting China UnionPay cards.

Tourist arrival from China up 26.3%

In the first eight months of 2016, 1.41 million China tourist visited Malaysia, up 26.3% year-on-year. The government has extended the visa exemption to tourists from China until 31 December 2017. The goal is to have 4 million tourists from China by 2020.

Getting more merchants to accept China UnionPay will ensure Malaysian retailers especially supermarket chains are able to make it easier for tourists buy their favorite Malaysian instant coffee without having to worry about not having enough ringgit.

Mini Me Insights

When green bottle is associated with alcoholic drinks

From celebrated to hated: How PR fiasco hurts Sari Roti

Zanana Chips harnessing power of social media

Press Release: Coca-Cola Gets Another Slice Of Domino’s Pizza

Scott’s DHA Gummies taps into augmented reality

myNEWS.com introduces onigiri

Pepsi ushers 2017 Chinese New Year with emoji cans

Chef Wan’s cooks up Nutren Chicken Rendang for diabetics

CP frozen ready meals now at 99 Speedmart

Giant supermarket accepts China UnionPay

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