A new cola is in town. Those living in the Philippines can purchase Cuzco Kola at 7-Eleven. Cuzco Kola is described as a “yellow kola” with a bubblegum twist. The 235ml kola is said to offer “the real chill”. From the look of it, Cuzco Kola appears to be similar to Inca Kola with a yellow-gold color and a sweet flavor. Cusco is the name of a city in the Peruvian Andes and was once capital of the Inca Empire.
The Indonesian dairy company Cimory has recently launched a series of UHT chocolate milk drinks including blends. The chocolate milk drinks include sea salt and less sugar as well as Signature Milk Collection featuring almond, cashew and hazelnut combined with chocolate and milk. Cimory is using blends to tap into the plant-based trend.
Other flavoured UHT milk in the Signature Milk Collection includes blueberry, matcha, strawberry, chocolate and banana as well as full cream.
Cimory has also added more variants – honey and peach – into its Cimory Squeeze! yogurt range.
Konimex’s Sobisco Tini Wini Biti Mysterious Black Flavour (20g) is an interesting cracker that taps into the trend of applying black colouring into food to evoke a mysterious taste. The bits of fun comes in salty and “opera cake” flavours. Konimex launched this product in animal shape two months ago. The black packaging also gives a Halloween feel.
The company is engaging with children with the #MysteriousBlackFilter giving away prizes for winning selfie shots with the Tini Wini Biti rasa Mysterious Black.
Seaweed snack maker Taokaenoi is bringing the familiar corn soup flavour into the seaweed snack category. The corn soup flavoured seaweed offers the smell of corn soup. We have seen Taokaenoi innovating with corn soup as a flavour in the Four Layers Kobuk Chip. We could be seeing soup and soupy dishes as flavour inspiration for the snacking category.
Bar.B.Q Plaza from Thailand is another interesting example of foodserving making available some of their specialty ingredients for in-home cooking. The barbeque chain has launched spicy crispy bacon in packaged, take-home format. Consumers can sprinkle it on their rice, salad, noodle etc to enhance the taste of their dish. The price per pack is THB 159.
In another development, Bar.B.Q Plaza has collaborated with EURO’s Pipo jelly to launch a new jelly dessert.
Calbee Wings Food, the joint venture between Calbee and Indonesia’s Wings Food, has rolled out Potabee Wagyu Beef Steak. The new potato chips cut into precision with V-cut technology making it very crunchy and lock more flavors. The new chips are also sprinkled with wagyu bits.
Pick Cup Indonesia took the different route to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day. Unlike the other players innovating with local desserts or flavours, the foodservice beverage player focuses on using authentic Indonesian coffee beans with five different unique flavours. The five new beverages under the new Pick Cup Nusantara are:
1. Aren Keraton – single espresso, milk and palm sugar
2. Dolce Katulistiwa – single espresso, sweetened condensed milk and palm sugar
3. Coco Jimbaran – single espresso, coconut powder, palm sugar and milk
4. Pakarena Choco – single espresso, choco powder and milk
5. Legenda Robusta – double shot espresso
Prices per cup range from IDR 15,000 to IDR 23,000.
In Indonesia, Kopi Soe has collaborated with the RTD tea brand Teh Pucuk Harum to roll out three new beverages – Soerya Tea, Soe Pucuk Lemon and Soe Pucuk Krim. It is interesting to see Teh Pucuk Harum engaging in more partnership with foodservice player, which has become a norm in the industry.
Tea and coffee are often considered as drinks targeting different consumer segments. By combining tea and coffee through the collaboration between Kopi Soe and Teh Pucuk Harum, it shows the importance of working together and stay united during this challenging times, explained Debora Christiany, Assistant Brand Manager Teh Pucuk Harum.
Kopi Soe has previously launched the “SERI KOERMA” or kurma series featuring Kopi Soe Koerma, Soe Koerma and Soe Koerma Jahe.
Ooh 麻辣, the maker of mala snacks in Singapore, has finally received halal certification for its 3 signature mala products – mala potato chips, mala peanuts and mala cassava chips. The halal certification was issued by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. The MUIS certification is widely recogniseed worldwide, paving the way for more export opportunities for Ooh, which is the first mala snack brand in Singapore.
Holi Ice Cream is back with a collaboration with Tokopedia. Cendol Nangka is a special variant exclusive only for Tokopedia’s 11th Anniversary. To add to the allure of this time-limited offering, the special variant is only available for sale for one day on 17 August 2020 and purchase must be made to Tokopedia. The green colour of cendol matches the corporate identity of Tokopedia.
It is interesting to see how food manufacturers are cooperating with e-commerce platforms to launch limited-edition flavour and this could pave the way for similar launches in the future.
