Mizone, Aquarius now in can format, aims at fooodservice

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23rd June 2016

Mizone Xi Qi

Can is back in vogue in China for sports drink. Danone’s Mizone launched Mizone Xi Qi (喜汽) or ‘Happy Gas,’ its first drink in the can format in May 2016. As the name implies, Mizone Xi Qi (330ml) is a carbonated sports drink, which sets it apart from the existing non-carbonated Mizone in PET packaging.

The use of the male cartoon character Mai Da Meng (脉大萌) and the female character Mai Xiao Mei (脉小妹) on the packaging is aimed at consumers born in the 90s who are drawn towards the trend of deliberately being cute (卖萌 mai meng). The word ‘mai’ rhymes with Mizone’s Chinese name, which is Mai Dong (脉动). The packaging design also comes in pair for young couples in love.

Coca-Cola Aquarius

Coca-Cola Aquarius sports drink is now available in 310ml can. Previously, the drink is sold only in the PET format. The maiden debut of Aquarius in can was made through JD.com, one of China’s biggest B2C platforms. Launching new products through the online channel helps brands gauge the response of young internet savvy consumers toward their products.

Food pairing

What is interesting about the two products in the can format is they can be sold in the foodservice channel or turn into cocktail. Coca-Cola has come up with interesting cocktail ideals for Aquarius.

Cocktail ideas for Aquarius. Image from Foodaily.com

In addition to the can version, Mizone’s new 400ml PET bottle, launched together with the can format, is specifically designed for the foodservice channel. Previous trial of the 400ml bottle was held in Chengdu in western China in June-August 2015. According to a Foodaily.com article, the 400ml bottle is officially available in Chengdu and Chongqing only.

Mizone 400ml foodservice. Image from foodaily.com

Turning to religion for product marketing: example of Jeffer Juice

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

21st June 2016

Jeffer Juice from Imperia Asia Manufacturing Industries is now available at Giant and Cold Storage supermarkets in Malaysia. The three variants are date (kurma), pomegranate (delima) and lemon. All three come in a 400ml tall plastic bottle, which is a unique packaging choice for juice. The selling price is RM 4.99 (USD 1.22) per bottle. Key product claims are organic, enriched with anti-oxidant, low in fat and high in calcium.

Apart from the packaging and the choice of date juice, the other thing that caught my attention is the use of religion to endorse the product. On the back of the packaging is a sentence from Surah al Rahman (55th Chapter of the Holy Quran) verse 68, which mentions ‘In the two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise) there shall be fruits and date-palms and pomegranates.’ This implies the two fruits are important for Muslims.

A new trend that is emerging in Malaysia is the use of religion (Islam) for product marketing to promote food and drinks ranging from juice, goat’s milk powder to vitamin. Jeffer Juice is a continuation of that trend.

We are one big happy cow family

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

19th June 2016

Goodday Milk Ambassador 2 — Image of Dee Dee the Cow from Goodday Facebook page

Dee Dee the Cow of Malaysia’s Goodday Milk is not alone in the cow’s world. In fact, he has friends who are much like himself (or rather look like him) working in the milk industry as mascots.

Presenting you Dee Dee and Friends:

Dee Dee and its dairy friends are issued with the standard cowbell to remind them of their job as brand ambassadors. With the exception of Marigold, all of them need to have a horn be it small or large to show they have the confidence and of course, they need to have the natural friendly smile. Say cheese!

On a happy note, Marigold has renewed its packaging to feature a cow facing the camera.

Euro 2016 spur sales of snacks, coffee in China, benefiting Malaysia’s Tastiway

By

Tan Heng Hong

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19th June 2016

With Euro 2016 kicked off, Alibaba’s Tmall data (mid-May to early June 2016) shows sales of puffed food (膨化食品 like potato snacks and extruded snacks), seeds, peanuts, beer, coffee, facial mask and energy drinks in China saw month-on-month growth, according to a news article on Toutiao.com. Beer sales rose 40.8%, while puffed food grew 39.03%. Sales of imported Lotte potato chips surged 287.91%.

What is interesting is sales of instant noodle also increased with Nescafe, Vietnam’s G7 and Malaysia’s FameSeen (名馨) among the most popular instant coffee.

Wait a minute, who owns FameSeen? Based on a quick search on Fameseen’s Tmall site, Fameseen is an instant coffee brand by Tastiway, the same company that brings us the Alor brand of instant coffee and freeze dry fruit snacks. It appears Tastiway is making good progress in China through Tmall with white coffee and durian-based coffee capable of competing with OldTown and Aik Cheong.

Using masculinity to promote premium alkaline water

By

Tan Heng Hong

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17th June 2016

Indonesia’s PT Panfila Indosari, the make of Ron88 bottle water, is using masculinity to promote its Perfect pH 9.5 alkaline mineral water. It is rather interesting to see the company using muscular man to promote its premium bottled water. Each 500ml bottle costs IDR 6,900 (USD 0.52). As a comparison, the ubiquitous Danone Aqua mineral water in 600ml costs only IDR 2,500.

Perfect 500

The muscular man is none other than the guy that appears on Sido Muncul’s Kuku Bima powdered energy drink advertisement. Can the reader tell me who he is? – Ade Rai, Indonesia’s professional natural bodybuilder.

perfect man 2 — Image from Perfect website

The reason why this person is chosen to appear for Perfect water is because it fits the brand’s tagline of ‘Make Your Body Perfect.’ Endorsing the Men of Steel event is understandable but in a Hijab class is puzzling indeed!

Men of steel — Perfect water as one of the endorsers. Image from Perfect website

HIjab class — Perfect water features in Hijab class. Image from Perfect website

Mizone stays relevant with sports through Activ

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

17th June 2016

Groupe Danone’s Mizone has unveiled Mizone Activ, which goes back its roots as a sport enhancing drink. Mizone Activ’s narrower focus on sports is part of a realisation it needs to have a drink dedicated to all sporting activities be it working out in the gym or running up stairs.

So far, Danone has promoted the existing Mizone range as a drink suitable for all occasions with the goal of uplifting the spirit (bantu semangat OK lagi). This approach has fared well for Mizone with consumers drinking Mizone whenever they feel they need a boost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raaqXE8hRJw

As more Indonesians adopt a more active lifestyle and engaging in sporting activities, Mizone has to evolve to cater to their needs. The resulting product is Activ.

We see a similar trend happening in Malaysia/Singapore, a market dominated by 100Plus. The new Lucozade from Suntory has craved a niche for itself as a drink with a strong focus on enhancing hydration and fuels performance. Lucozade does not market itself for Raya or Chinese Year New. What Lucozade does is focus solely on sports.

With Mizone Activ, Danone can now ensure Mizone is relevant to the sports community and has a strong foundation to grow Mizone Activ as a dedicated sports drink.

Natural energy drinks from China, Malaysia and Indonesia

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

15th June 2016

Energy drinks in Malaysia and China are embracing the natural trend.

Revive Plant-based Energy Drink

In China, Uni-President has released its first energy drink 唤醒 Huan Xing and positioning it as a plant-based energy drink (植物能量饮料). The key ingredients are Elder Flower (接骨木花) from Austria, green coffee (绿咖啡) from Brazil, ginseng (人参) from China and Maca (玛咖) from Peru. Each 286ml can contains 30g of caffeine, 0.8g of Maca powder and 0.4g of ginseng.

Ingredient revive — Ingredients from around the world

The choice of green and the word ‘Nature Lab’ on the closure sends out a strong ‘natural’ message for the new product.

Revive is a premium product with a price tag of RMB 19.9 (USD 3). As a comparison, a can of Red Bull (250ml) is only selling for RMB 5.8.

Vitamin C and Mangosteen Energy Drink

In Malaysia, Drive M7 energy drink has introduced two new variants – Hyper Lemon and Exotic Mangosteen.

Hyper Lemon contains 1,000mg of vitamin C along with vitamin B group (B2, B3 and B6). It also has sodium to maintain fluid balance in the body.

Hyper Mangosteen is less sweet and has the mangosteen flavour. In addition to the mangosteen flavour, the energy drink contains chlorophyll to provide the benefits as an antioxidants.

The two Drive M7 drinks contain D-gluconolactone, taurine, inositol and caffeine.

Sido Muncul’s natural energy powdered drink

Indonesia’s Sido Muncul, known for its traditional Indonesian herbal drink jamu has announced the release of KukuBima Ener-G! Herbal dan Tolak Linu Mint on 17 June 2016.

KukuBima Ener-G! Herbal comes in the form of a sachet. The company claimed it is the first herbal energy drink. KukuBima Ener-G! contains green coffee, ginseng, royal jelly, sugar and stevia. Tolak Linu is a a liquid herbal medicine for relieve of stiff and painful joints.

Takeaway

Maca is a trending ingredient in China. In Malaysia, the awareness about maca is low to non-existent. In all the three markets, ginseng are widely known for its energy boosting and medicinal properties. The different taste profile and consumer behaviour of the three markets show how Revive, Drive M7 and KukuBima are adapting to what consumers think are natural in the two markets.

New Kratingdaeng Pro carbonated energy drink for millennials

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

14th June 2016

Kratingdaeng Pro, a new carbonated energy drink in can, has been launched by in Indonesia by PT Asiasejahtera Perdana Pharmaceutical on 27 May 2016. The company is the distributor of Thailand’s Red Bull, which has over 70% share of the energy drinks market in bottle, according to an article in SWA Magazine in 2013.

The Kratingdaeng energy drink was initially aimed at consumers aged 20 and above in the lower B and C1 social economic status such as labourers. The brand has been working hard to broaden its appeal to include younger consumers aged 15 and above and from a higher social economic status.

The Kratingdaeng Power Dance is one of the activities targeting at young consumers.

The new Kratingdaeng Pro features the 22-year-old actor Stefan William as the brand ambassador. The TVC shows images of young biker, boxer, athlete, tennis player and basketball player, both male and female engaging in competitive sporting activities with the tagline ‘The Real Energy Drink.’ The TVC and the choice of carbonate are made to reinforce the concept Kratingdaeng Pro is for young consumers.

Each 240ml can is priced at IDR 9,800 (USD 0.74) at Alfamart.

Indonesia’s first date water Nafoura in time for Ramadan

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

11th June 2016

The fasting month of Ramadan has arrived (5 June to 5 July 2016) with Muslims undergoing a one-month fasting before celebrating Eid al-Fitr. Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr (also known as Lebaran/Idul Fitri in Indonesia and Hari Raya in Malaysia) mark an important sales period for FMCG manufacturers and retailers. This is also a time to launch new products/new festive packaging and campaigns.

Ramadan trans — Three-day sales promo by Indonesia’s Transmart Carrefour during Ramadan

Limited-edition 2016 Hari Raya Red Bull cans for Malaysia. — Limited-edition 2016 Hari Raya Red Bull cans for Malaysia showint ‘balik kampung’ or going back hometown motifs.

Apart from limited-edition pack featuring Eid al-Fitr motifs, there are far fewer new products launched featuring popular ingredients consumed during Ramadan/Eid al-Fitr.

One such exception is the new Nafoura Kurma Water by Indonesia’s PT Kieran Bahari Aksara. The company claims this is the first date water in the country.

Kurma water FB — From Nafoura Kurma Water Facebook

Dates are very popular during Ramadan and are consumed when breaking fast. The fruits are rich source of fibre, potassium and calcium. The drink claims to provide the benefits equivalent to consuming three dates without having to consume the actual fruits.

PT Kieran Bahari Aksara aims to sell 1 million bottles a month. Each bottle comes with a retail price of IDR 7,000 (USD 0.52). The Nafoura Kurma Water is available through Indomaret and other local stores initially in Java island mainly in the populous Jabodetabek region. In 2017, distribution will expand to Sumatera, Bali and Sulawesi.

In Malaysia, there are already several ready-to-drink date juices in the market including Ener Al Kurma Jus Kurma Ajwa primarily sold through jamu outlets or direct sales. Most of the dates juices are in the cordial format.

As date juice is an acquire taste, rather than date juice become a trend, what I would see is the growing use of dates in food in the Muslim world going forward. This comes as dates together with honey, goat’s milk, black cumin and olives form part of the prophetic diet prescribed for good health.

cerelac with dates — Nestle Cerelac with wheat and date pieces

Spritzer crafting health messages to boost water sales

By

Tan Heng Hong

-

11th June 2016

How do you encourage consumers to drink more water? Show them the facts. This is what Spritzer is doing on the packaging of its mineral water.

The message covers health (‘2.5 litres of water per day to maintain optimum health), beauty (‘water naturally moisturises skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance’) and pregnant women (‘during pregnancy and lactation, fluid requirements increase and women are encouraged to drink more water to help prevent constipation’).

Water is also promoted to help improve mental performance – ‘thirsty signals dehydration signs of which include a dry mouth, headache, fatigue, decreased urine volume and reduced mental performance’.

These carefully crafted messages thus give consumers real reasons to drink more water.

Mini Me Insights

Mizone, Aquarius now in can format, aims at fooodservice

Turning to religion for product marketing: example of Jeffer Juice

We are one big happy cow family

Euro 2016 spur sales of snacks, coffee in China, benefiting Malaysia’s Tastiway

Using masculinity to promote premium alkaline water

Mizone stays relevant with sports through Activ

Natural energy drinks from China, Malaysia and Indonesia

New Kratingdaeng Pro carbonated energy drink for millennials

Indonesia’s first date water Nafoura in time for Ramadan

Spritzer crafting health messages to boost water sales

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