Aice Philippines is setting up its first factory in the Philippines to produce ice cream locally to support growing demand. It will be Aice’s 4th and first factory outside of Indonesia. The company, which is owned by the Chinese dairy giant Mengniu, has signed a contract with LIMA Land on 5 July 2022 to locate the new factory in Batangas.
The proposed ice cream factory in the Philippines is set to become the largest and most advanced in the Southeast Asia region and will supply mainly to the domestic market. Aice also revealed it has launched over 30 flavours of ice cream in the Philippines.
Having a local production plant will give Aice a headstart and stronger competitive advantage over its rivals. It also demonstrates Aice sees the Philippines as a potential market for further expansion with the possibility of supporting future operation abroad.
ZUS Coffee, which operates over 120 stores in Malaysia, has launched Kenangan Merdeka with ZUS in conjunction with the Merdeka month in August 2022. The homegrown coffee chain wants to bring consumers back to a time when things were simpler – when food, drink and games were the centre of their universe – with ZUS Coffee’s Kenangan Merdeka campaign or the Merdeka Memories campaign.
ZUS Coffee has created a series with Julie’s Biscuits. The range comprises Earl Grey Tarik Frappe, which features equal parts of Julie’s sweet-savoury Peanut Butter Sandwich and the citrusy, florally blend of Earl Grey Tarik.
For something bolder, Coconut Caramel Cracker Frappe comes with Julie’s Butter Crackers to crunch on and icy smooth coconut for that mouthfeel.
To enjoy the kopitiam days, the Earl Grey Cham-Pur is a special Cham blended with Earl Grey & topped with ZUS Coconut Cream, a secret recipe. The caffeine-free counterpart is the Earl Grey Tak Cham-Pur.
Finally, the Apam Balk Cake is partnered with the iconic Julie’s Biscuits, a perfect partner for ZUS Coffee for this campaign as Julie’s Biscuits is well known among Malaysians.
Group photo of Carlsberg Malaysia's Human Resources department.
Extraordinary efforts in Learning & Development, Leading with Care and Employee Engagement during and post pandemic years earned the brewer recognition
SHAH ALAM, 1 August 2022 – Rising strong from the pandemic over the last two years, Carlsberg Malaysia reinvents its learning initiatives innovatively to effectively empower its workforce and emerge stronger. A testament to this is the Company’s recent win of seven accolades, including the specialrecognition of “The Overall Learning Award” from the Employee Experience Awards (ExA) 2022.
The six other awards are; Gold in Best Crisis Management and Leadership (second year in a row for year 2021 and 2022) , Gold in Best Soft Skills Training Programme, Silver in Best Response to COVID19, Silver in Best Organisational Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy, Silver in Best Remote Learning Initiative and Bronze in Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Learning from the complexities wrought by the pandemic, instability, and vulnerability, it is vital to emerge stronger and focus on sustainable growth.,
Hence, the Company reinvented its learning solutions, especially in soft skills training programmes to:
• Build organisational resilience and foster the ability to navigate change
• Drive performance and win sustainably
• Lead with Care – Engage, retain, motivate and safeguard our people
Pauline Lim, Carlsberg Malaysia’s Human Resource Director.
“At Carlsberg Malaysia, the people are the heart of its business and success. Carlsberg’s learning initiatives aim to grow, engage, and empower the people. Our leaders drive a performance-based culture where we deliver today, whilst taking care of tomorrow by creating an inclusive work environment and ensuring a strong talent pipeline of future leaders,” said Carlsberg Malaysia’s Human Resource Director, Pauline Lim.
Riding on the wave to go digital in enabling skills offerings, the Company provides online learning resources such as the LinkedIn Learning and CrossKnowledge platforms for on demand learning any time and anywhere.
On top of this, employees of Carlsberg Malaysia are also provided with bite-sized learnings, of which are conducted virtually on a monthly basis to upskill and reskill them swiftly.
With the smooth implementation of remote learning initiatives, it has given the Company an edge in being agile, flexible and innovative in navigating changes during challenging times. In turn, this also helps to keep employees’ mental and physical well-being in check.
The importance of reskilling and upskilling of employees was prioritised, especially for those in the production sector. A structured framework on transformation strategies was developed to ensure a smooth transition for employees in handling new and complex machines and technologies
The Company also recognised the innovative win-win approach when most of the learning initiatives during lockdown were conducted by its own internal employees. “We worked closely with these internal experts to design bespoke learning content to cater to our employees’ needs,” said Lim.
The transformation in the Company’s learning initiatives has contributed substantially to the Carlsberg Malaysia’s strategy and rebound by empowering its people to navigate changes better. The results speak for itself when the market share increased compared to the previous year. Total learning hours increased by 300% when comparing year 2020 and 2021 with an average of 30 learning hours per employee throughout 993 development programmes.
McDonald’s Malaysia has launched another local-inspired Creamy Butter Chicken Burger in the lead up to the nation’s Independence Day. The new creation features creamy butter sauce paired with a chicken patty and comes in two variants – Nasi Lemak McD with Creamy Butter Chicken and Chicken Burger.
The fast food giant has earlier introduced the all-new Spicy Kam Heong Burger.
Malaysian bird’s nest drink brand FG Walet has just launched a new bird’s nest drink with curcumin and honey. FG Walet, founded by Datin Hajah Fouziah Gous in 2013, is one of the leading bird’s nest drink that has a strong following among the Malay community in Malaysia.
The addition of curcumin, which traditionally has a strong taste profile, adds more nutrition into the bird’s nest drink. Curcumin is known as for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and is high in vitamins and minerals.
FG Walet has in recent months expanded its distribution into 7-Eleven outlets making available two SKUs – honey and kurma and honey available through the country’s biggest convenience store chain.
7-Eleven Philippines has launched Korean snacks with a plant-based twist. The new range comprises:
K-Style Egg Drop Sandwich
K-Style Plant-Based Chicken Burger
K-Style Garlic Cream Cheese Bun
The K-Style Plant-Based Chicken Burger features unMeat, the plant-based meat from Century Pacific Food. K-Style Plant-Based Chicken Burger is an interesting example of how brands can tap into K-food and combines it with the trending concept of plant-based eating.
We have seen someting similar in Malaysia where CU Convenience Store has teamed up with plant-based meat provider Phuture to launch Sichuan Spicy Dak Gang Jeong and Zesty Cream Dak Gang Jeong.
The iconic coffee candy Kopiko has collaborated with the Indonesian beauty brand Studio Tropik to launch a new lip moisturiser Coffee Lip Oil. Available in two variants – Americano and Cappuccino, the vegan lip oil products contain lip-loving ingredients such as caffeine and coffee arabica seed oil. They provide a juicy and supple look.
Image from Kopiko
We have seen the crossover between food/drink brands into the beauty sector to extend the brand into new areas to create excitement and to recruit consumers. The latest move by Kopiko aims to do the same by diving into the world of beauty targeting female consumers.
27 July 2022 – Sappe Public Company Limited or SAPPE has created a major phenomenon after being successful in making Mogu Mogu, its signature fruit juice mixed with coconut jelly, become the best-selling beverage in South Korea and trendy in many countries worldwide, by sending it into ZEPETO, Asia’s largest Metaverse platform with over 300 million global users. The company’s marketing plan targets Gen Z customers to make it a “top-of-mind” brand and lift the brand image of Mogu Mogu to become more than a beverage brand but a “lifestyle” brand in the future.
SAPPE Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Piyajit Ruckariyapong, said ZEPETO is the largest Metaverse-based social gaming application in Asia launched in 2018. It allows users to create personal 3D avatars by simulating or replicating them to become cute cartoon characters with ability to conduct real-time chat and interaction. The application also constantly updates new features particularly the VDO booth which allows users to take pictures with friends in various desired positions.
Building identity and living of users in ZEPETO is like movies about a future world we have seen, and in the Metaverse platform or the virtual world, everybody can enter and live in the same environment in order to obtain new experiences and create new society at the same time.
With the modern technology mentioned earlier, ZEPETO has become a popular application among the new generations with over 300 users around the world presently. A number of global brands and products have joined it to create experiences with consumers in this virtual world, and SAPPE also sees this opportunity. This is a significant turning point for Mogu Mogu to gain more access to customers’ lifestyle both in South Korea and around the world.
Currently, Mogu Mogu, which is SAPPE’s first beverage brand, is not on sale in Thailand but is exported to 97 countries worldwide. It is among the first Thai brands which enter the Metaverse. ZEPETO users with avatars can buy special items of clothing sets in the Mogu Mogu collection at the Mogu shop. Users can also enjoy blissful moments with friends in VDO booths, including one with the theme of a café in a museum, one of the popular appointment places among South Koreans that Mogu Mogu has created.
Furthermore, some special items in the summer collection which is a collaboration between Mogu Mogu and Graver of Anaheim, the popular teen clothing brand online in South Korea, are on sale at the Mogu shop in ZEPETO. A campaign called Mogu Mogu x ZEPETO was recently introduced in South Korea and has received overwhelming feedback from both Mogu Mogu fans and Gen Z group.
The Sappe CEO added that South Korean is a country where SAPPE has been penetrating the market for a long time. The company’s marketing strategy has pushed Mogu Mogu to successfully reach the top sale in the fruit juice segment in the convenience store channel covering 70% of the modern trade in South Korea.
Image by Sappe
After entering the Metaverse to launch a campaign for different experiences in ZEPETO in July, Mogu Mogu has received tremendous praise from their fans. Mogu Mogu fans can take part in the campaign by downloading the application to create a personal avatar on ZEPETO and search for Mogu Mogu collection items in the Mogu shop.
“After we built top of mind of Mogu Mogu products through the experience given to millions of Gen Z customers worldwide including South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Europe and America where people have already known and played ZEPETO, with the introduction of the campaign, we expect constant purchases and to create chances to gain access to the target group with no experience with the brand. We also expect an increase of more than 10% of sale volume. It is important to make Mogu Mogu become not just a beverage brand but a lifestyle brand both in the real world and the Metaverse in the future,” Ms. Piyajit said.
Thai functional beverage maker Sappe has launched “Beauti Shot Stix” as Thailand’s first concentrated shot in Korean style of drinking stick pack, according to the company press release.
The concentrated shot comprises Colla-C for brighter skin and immune system booster Immu-C with a high amount of vitamin from berries.
The Colla-C formula is rich with collagen, vitamin C and L-Glutathione for intense bright skin. A shot of Colla-C contains 2,000 milligrams of collagen for healthy skin, 200% of vitamin C to increase collagen absorption and L-Glutathione as antioxidant to prevent an early sign of aging and help stop melasma and reduce dark spots, making skin brighter.
Immu-C, is full of elderberry, vitamin C and zinc to boost the immune system from the best fruit in the berry family. Key ingredients are elderberry which is rich with various antioxidants and nutrients, 200% of vitamin C to boost immunity and zinc that is vital for repairing damaged cells and producing new ones.
Sappe sets a sale target of 100 million baht in its first year and the product is now available at 7-11 convenience stores nationwide at THB 15 per piece.
The item targets the health- and beauty-conscious group aged between 15 and 35 years old who loves to seek and try new products, and enjoy extremely intense flavour.
In Thailand, Major Cineplex has expanded the distribution of its flagship popcorn brand Popstar into 7-Eleven. Popstar, a packaged popcorn brand, has entered various online and offline channels including foodpanda, Grab, Line Man, ShopeeFood, Robinhood, AirAsia Food, Shopee, Lazada, Big C, Gourmet Market, Lotus’s, Villa Market, Central Food Hall, Foodland, Tops and Home Fresh Mart.
Popstar is a successful example of how a cinema operator managed to pivot its business to packaged snacks.
Partnering with CP All Public Company Limited ensures Popstar has a nationwide presence in 7-Eleven, Thailand’s largest convenience store chain.
Pick Cup, a beverage chain in Indonesia, has recently announced it has officially collaborated with Ovomaltine, the Swiss chocolate powder, which is immensely popular...
