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7-Eleven Thailand x Iron Chef for new upgraded ready meals

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from 7-Eleven Thailand

7-Eleven Thailand has collaborated with Iron Chef Thailand to roll out a new range of ready meals under the Ezygo private label series. The collaboration elevates the taste profile and quality of the convenience store’s existing private label ready meals. Such partnership will enable ready meals to compete more effectively with foodservice in capturing opportunity in ready-to-go, hot convenience meal.

The Iron Chef creation comprises 12 dishes and desserts such as
roasted chicken, crab soup, Hong Kong soy sauce chicken rice, Pad Thai udon and stewed pork with herbs. Some of the dishes have their product names in Mandarin to make it easy for Mandarin speakers especially Chinese tourists when they make their selection.

Southeast Asian instant noodle market had a great 2018

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from Indomie

The Southeast Asian instant noodle market had a positive year in 2018. The leading instant noodle manufacturers in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam all posted accelerated growth in value sales in 2018 compared with 2017.

Some of the growth is attributed to higher selling price but if you look at Indofood’s 9% growth, it cannot be entirely due to higher price alone.

What are the factors driving growth in 2018?

Flavour innovation and premiumisation are some of the reasons driving the positive performance of these instant noodle companies. For example, insanely spicy noodles such as Pop Mie Pedes Dower have benefited Indofood, while Nestle Malaysia won consumer hearts with the Maggi Pedas Giler range. The success of spicy noodles show Southeast Asian consumers want an extreme taste experience.

Apart from spicy flavour, unique flavours such as salted egg will help drive future growth.

Instant noodle companies also focused on premiumising its instant noodle range with real meat ingredient and adding premium ingredients to offer restaurant-like taste. Masan attributed its instant noodle value increase to the 60%+ growth of premium products, which contributed 45% to its noodle portfolio. The company’s Omachi premium instant noodle has real pork stick.

The key takeaway for future growth is to create restaurant-like instant noodles and challenge your consumers with unique (sometimes unexpected tastes) and with spicy flavour.

What about the distribution channel?

Thai Preserved Food Factory, the maker of Wai Wai instant noodle in Thailand, said it plans to increase the number of existing instant noodle vending machine from 50 currently to 300 in the coming three years. The vending machines are located in office buildings and factories to shorten the time for consumers to get hold of their instant noodles.

The company also has plans to open its second Quick Terrace restaurant at a PTT petrol station to serve its noodles. The first Quick Terrace is located in front of the company’s noodle factory. Thai Preserved Food Factory has an ambitious plan to open up to 100 branches in the near future as a response to a slowing instant noodle market.

In China, Master Kong has employed a similar strategy of venturing into foodservice – Master Kong Chef’s Table (康师傅私房牛肉面), which specialises in beef noodle.

However, foodservice is a cut-throat business and is not suitable for all companies to venture into this sector.

Malee launches coconut water with watermelon & lychee

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from Malee

Malee in Thailand has introduced two coconut water products with juices for summer under its Malee Coco brand. The two juices are Watermelon Coconut Water (slight sweet taste from watermelon) and Lychee Coconut Water (lychee’s sweet and sour taste).

Apart from the coconut water with juice, Malee has also unveiled Rambutan in Heavy Syrup as a refreshing dessert for the hot summer season.

Image from Malee

Mashup Nescafe x fruit

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from Nescafe Indonesia

To encourage more non-coffee drinkers to try coffee, Nestle Indonesia has introduced Nescafe Lively Yuzu and Nescafe Cool Coconut. Both are ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee in carton packaging. The company held the “Nescafe Mashup World” event in Thamrin, Jakarta in early April 2019 to introduce its latest coffee x fruit creation to reach out to millennial.

The mashup, which featured Instagram-friendly scenes, combined the best of both worlds to deliver something “cool and lively.”

In Malaysia, Nescafe added Tropical Paradise into its Nescafe Latte range in the fourth quarter of 2018. Nescafe Latte Tropical Paradise is an instant coffee that is rich and fruity with orange, mango and coconut flavours. However, it does not come in an RTD format. Perhaps with the launch of the two new fruity Nescafe in Indonesia, the Nestle Malaysia could contemplate having an RTD version too for Nescafe Latte Tropical Paradise.

New foodservice-inspired Massimo Bunbino Tomyam Chicken bun

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from Massimo

The Italian Baker Sdn Bhd, the maker of Massimo Bread, has launched a new foodservice-inspired flavour Tomyam Chicken bun in Malaysia. The bun is sold under the Bunbino range. Increasingly packaged bread is tapping into foodservice for inspiration. Spicy flavour has proven to be a hit among consumers following the success of spicy instant noodles and snacks.

New Nescafe Tarik Kurang Manis

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image credit: Minimeinsights.com

“Teh tarik kurang manis” or teh tarik with reduced sweetness is what most Malaysians would order at mamak eateries to reduce our guilt of indulging in pulled tea (teh tarik). Now, Nestle has introduced a “kurang manis” version for its pulled coffee known as Nescafe Tarik Kurang Manis. The drink is an aromatic coffee blended with condensed milk. This version contains only 4.4g of total sugar per 100ml (3.6g of sucrose and 0.8g of lactose).

Nescafe Tarik Kurang Manis represents a 68% reduction in total sugar compared with Nescafe Tarik, which has 13.9g of total sugar per 100ml (11.5g of sucrose and 2.4g of lactose). Nescafe Tarik Kaw (thicker version) has 15.1g of total sugar per 100ml (12g of sucrose and 3.1g of lactose).

Beverage companies in Malaysia are reformulating their products to offer consumers with a healthier choice and to meet the new sugar tax, which will be implemented on 1 July 2019. A RM 0.40 tax per litre will be imposed on soft drinks with more than 5g of sugar or sugar-based sweetener per 100ml. We expect more companies to introduce beverages with less than 5g of sugar per 100ml in the near future.

Malaysia’s first fig juice drink unveiled at MIHAS 2019

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image credit: Minimeinsights.com

Fig Direct Sdn Bhd, which owns Malaysia’s first commercially planted fig farm in Chuping, Perlis, has officially launched its fig juice drink at MIHAS 2019. The company claims the fig juice drink is the first of its kind in the country.

Frutara Vitality Fig Juice Drink

The Frutara Vitality Fig Juice Drink is known as a super fruit series that is high in fibre, vitamins and minerals. This fig drink is made under an OEM arrangement with Tastiway Sdn Bhd with the figs coming from Fig Direct’s own farms. The total sugar per 100ml is 13.5g and the energy content per 100ml is 56kcal.

Each can (240ml) was sold at a price of RM 4.90 at MIHAS 2019.

Growing fig has become a trend in Malaysia. The increase in the number of commercially-run fig farms will result in the emergence of a strong fig value-added industry and this is something that is set to grow in the near future.

Dutch Lady celebrates Ramadan with Ros Bandung, Kurma flavoured milk

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Dutch Lady, the number one brand in the dairy segment in Malaysia (Nielsen Retail Audit 2018 data), has introduced two flavoured milk products for Ramadan. Ramadan begins on 5 May 2019 and ends on 3 June 2019, followed by the Hari Raya celebration, an important holiday in the Muslim calendar.

The two flavoured milk products are Ros Bandung and Kurma (palm date). Both are popular food items to break fast. Both flavoured milk drinks claim to contain real rose and palm date extracts.

The total sugar content per 100ml for Ros Bandung is 8.2g comprising 3.5g of sucrose and 4.7g of lactose, while Kurma is [8.2g?] consisting of 2.5g of sucrose and 4.7g of lactose. Actually, the total sugar in the Kurma milk does not add up to 8.2g. It should be 7.2g if we add up sucrose and lactose. Below is the actual image of the nutritional facts.

The price of the Dutch Lady PureFarm Kurma and Rose Bandung (6x200ml) is the same as the other Dutch Lady PureFarm flavoured UHT milk at RM 8.07 (Giant). So there is no premiumisation going on with the two new flavours.

Etika’s Goodday Kurma Flavoured Milk (6x200ml) is at a slightly higher price of RM 9.10 (Giant), which makes Dutch Lady, the latecomer, more price competitive.

The example of Dutch Lady tapping into Kurma shows how big brands are slow to react to consumer interest in Kurma.

Tropicana Essentials Brings Nutrition and Convenience to Malaysians with Three New Variants

By
Tan Heng Hong
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  • Tropicana’s latest range will help consumers to close their daily nutritional gaps with fruit drinks added with essential nutrients
  • Tropicana Essentials will be available in three delicious variants – Orange Blend, Mango Blend and Banana Blend

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 April 2019 – Tropicana, the World’s No. 1 brand in packaged 100% Juice and Nectars [1] recently launched the Tropicana Essentials range in a bid to provide Malaysians with a nutritious ready-to-go beverage that fits the lifestyle habits of consumers in today’s fast-paced environment. Packed with essential minerals and multivitamins, the newly introduced Tropicana Essentials range comes in three refreshing variants. These include Orange Blend, Mango Blend and Banana Blend mixed with other fruit juices to create a perfect amalgamation of freshness and taste, while assisting Malaysians to supplement their daily nutrition intake.

Closing the nutritional gap for the day

Despite the rise in interest to eat clean and source for more nourishing meals, experts say that Malaysians’ nutritional intakes are still below daily recommended servings[2]. Studies showed that 59.1% Malaysians consumed fruits below recommended daily servings, 81.7% consumed vegetables below recommended daily servings and 73.6% consumed dairy and milk products below recommended daily servings[3]. When individuals are unable to meet the daily dietary requirements, they often face associated issues like fatigue and drop in energy levels.

“With rising urbanisation in Malaysia, convenience has become a major aspect in the decision-making process for consumers. This ranges from everything, including food choices where urbanites often reach out for fast and easy food options as opposed to healthier ones which leads to a drop in the essential nutrient intake,” said Santharuban T. Sundaram, Vice President of Marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd.

Tropicana’s latest Essentials range combines the goodness of juices added with multivitamins and essential minerals that serves to close the daily nutrition gap. This ensures that Malaysians are able to juggle multiple tasks in a day without having to compromise on their health and nourishment.

Combining taste and nutrition with three new variants

Available in three refreshing variants, namely Orange Blend, Mango Blend and Banana Blend, Tropicana Essentials is the cool new way to quench thirst and replenish your nutrient levels wherever you are.

Tropicana Essentials Orange Blend combines the tang of oranges with the sweetness of apples giving the perfect combination of flavour and taste. Added with multivitamins including Vitamin A, B3 and B6, C and E, Tropicana Essentials Orange Blend is the go-to beverage supplementing your daily nutrient intake. Drink a pack of Orange Blend if you are looking to fulfill your Vitamin C needs of the day.

Next in-line is the Tropicana Essentials Mango Blend that brings together the invigorating taste of mangoes, oranges and apples all packaged together in one beverage. Along with being an excellent thirst quencher for Malaysia’s tropical weather, the Tropicana Essentials Mango Blend contains 5.3mg of iron, an essential mineral in red blood cell formation. This means that those looking to fulfill their daily iron requirements can consume two packs of Mango Blend.

Packing a punch of flavours, the Tropicana Essentials Banana Blend is an exotic trio of carefully chosen bananas, white grapes and strawberries. Apart from its refined taste, each pack of Banana Blend contains 267 mg calcium, an essential mineral required for the development of strong bones and teeth. Consume two packs of Banana Blend if you are looking to fulfill your daily calcium requirements.

“Getting your daily dose of nutrients is now as easy as walking to your nearest convenient store and grabbing a pack or two of Tropicana Essentials. The new Tropicana Essentials range fits all the requirements of an urban Malaysian. From those looking to replenish their energy during a hectic workday to those looking to improve their daily intake of essential vitamins and minerals,” added Santharuban.

Offering solutions via rewarding contests

Tropicana Essentials as a solution in filling the gaps of your daily nutritional needs will be running a nationwide contest with 7-Eleven (22 March – 22 April) and Shell (1 – 30 April). To be one of the lucky winners to walk away with the great prizes is easy. All participants need to do is to purchase any two packs of Tropicana Essentials 330ml assorted variants in a single receipt at participating outlets, answer a simple question and send the answer to the number provided via WhatsApp, together with their details and a clear photo of the original receipt as proof of purchase. They will then be in the running to win exciting prizes including fitness tracker bands and weighing machines with BMI and fat analyzer.

So, what are you waiting for? With numerous attractive prizes up for grabs, participate now! For more information about the Tropicana Essentials contest, kindly visit Tropicana Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mytropicana/.

Tropicana Essentials will be available in stores near you in 330ml packs that are convenient for the on-the-go option while providing essential nutrients to complement your daily meals – truly closing the nutritional gap for the day.

[1] “Tropicana is the #1 brand in packaged 100% Juice and Nectars* in the world in 2016 in off-trade volume.” Footnote: “Source Euromonitor International Limited; *Soft Drinks 2017 edition. Claim based on 100% Juice and Nectars (25%-99% Juice Content) sales combines, excluding Juice Drinks (Up to 24% Juice Content), 2016 data.”

[2] http://www.e-mjm.org/2015/v70s1/mjm-sept-suppl-2190.html

[3] http://nutrition.moh.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NPANM_III.pdf

About Tropicana

“Tropicana is the #1 brand in packaged 100% Juice and Nectars* in the world in 2016 in off-trade volume.” Footnote: “Source Euromonitor International Limited; *Soft Drinks 2017 edition. Claim based on 100% Juice and Nectars (25%-99% Juice Content) sales combines, excluding Juice Drinks (Up to 24% Juice Content), 2016 data.” Tropicana is a division of PepsiCo, one of the leading beverage company in the US, which products are manufactured and distributed locally by Etika Sdn Bhd. Tropicana’s range here comprises of 100% Coconut Water, 100% Orange Juice, all-time favorite Tropicana Twister range which comes in the assorted flavors of Fruit Pulp, Juicy Burst and Apple, as well as Tropicana Essentials range which is available in Orange Blend, Mango Blend and Banana Blend variants.

About Etika

One of Malaysia’s leading drink distributors, Etika Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Japan and the official bottler for PepsiCo in Malaysia. Etika Sdn Bhd markets and distributes some of PepsiCo’s global brands such as Pepsi, Sting, Evervess, Revive Isotonic, 7UP, Tropicana, Mirinda, Lipton Ice Tea, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and MUG, as well as its own range of products which include Chill, Kickapoo, WONDA Coffee, Goodday Milk, Calpis, Dairy Champ and Bleu.

Goodday Milk Launches New Pasteurised Milk Variant

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Goodday Milk extends its pasteurised milk range with Goodday Pasteurised Kurma Milk, made with real Kurma extract

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 APRIL 2019 – Goodday Milk, Malaysia’s favourite milk brand is making waves once more by introducing Goodday Pasteurised Kurma Milk into its illustrious pasteurised milk range. Made with real kurma extract, this delicious variant is sure to keep consumers coming back for more.

Kurma, considered to be a superfood, has become increasingly popular in Malaysia over the past few years due to it known nutritional benefits. It is also one of the Sunnah foods for Muslims, typically consumed during the month of Ramadhan and a recommended daily snack for the health conscious who need to keep up their energy levels.

Rich in nutrients, fibre and essential minerals such as potassium and magnesium, kurma is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties and acts as an anti-oxidant[1].Daily consumption of kurma can help to promote eye health, muscle development, memory improvement and keep the waistline in check by curbing hunger pangs.

Along with its many health benefits, kurma is also an excellent source of natural sugars like glucose and fructose which enables them to act as energy boosters and restore blood sugar levels, which is especially needed during the fasting month. This comes with the added benefit of ease in digestion which allows for faster assimilation of nutrients.

Packed with the nutritional benefits of real kurma extract, the Goooday Pasteurised Kurma Milk contains similar goodness and nutrients as the other products in Goodday Milk’s pasteurised milk range that consumers have come to know and love. Among the nutrients are protein, calcium, vitamin D, B2 and B6, which are crucial for growth and development. Fans will also be pleased to know that with the Goodday Pasteurised Kurma Milk, the calcium content is higher for better bone health, making this delicious milk even more delectable among consumers.

“The introduction of Goodday Pasteurised Kurma milk comes at the back of the success of the Goodday UHT Kurma Milk which was launched mid last year. The positive response from our consumers has inspired us to extend this variant into Goodday Milk’s pasteurised milk range, giving us an opportunity to address the demands of different consumers in the market,” said Santharuban T. Sundaram, Vice President of Marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd.

“Goodday Milk has been a part of Malaysians’ lives for the past 50 years. Therefore, we are absolutely honoured to share the newly launched Goodday Pasteurised Kurma Milk with our fellow Malaysians. The naturally sweet taste of kurma elevates the already-beloved taste profile of Goodday Milk’s pasteurised milk, which is sure to excite consumers,” he added.

Goodday Pasteurised Kurma Milk is now available at hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience, and provision shops nationwide in two sizes – 300ml and 1L.

For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/gooddaymilkmalaysia.

[1] According to a review conducted by researchers at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia and Suez Canal University, Egypt states that dates are beneficial in treating various conditions due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-tumor properties. For more detail, click here.

About Goodday Milk

Goodday Milk has been a favourite in Malaysia since 1968 and it is the country’s No.1 Pasteurized Fresh Milk in the Liquid Milk Segment today. Manufactured by Etika Dairies and distributed locally by Etika Sdn Bhd, Goodday Milk is bursting with freshness and packed with protein, calcium and vitamins to complement a healthy diet and balanced lifestyle. It is currently available in a variety of variants such as Full Cream Milk, Fresh Milk, Low Fat Milk, Chocolate Flavoured Milk and Kurma Milk in pasteurized form as well as Full Cream Milk, Low Fat Milk, Chocolate Flavoured Milk, Strawberry Flavoured Milk, Honey Flavoured Milk, Green Tea Flavoured Milk, Kurma Flavoured Milk and Goodday Charge in UHT form.  

About Etika

One of Malaysia’s leading drink distributors, Etika Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Japan and the official bottler for PepsiCo in Malaysia. Etika Sdn Bhd markets and distributes some of PepsiCo’s global brands such as Pepsi, Sting, Evervess, Revive Isotonic, 7UP, Tropicana, Mirinda, Lipton Ice Tea, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and MUG, as well as its own range of products which include Chill, Kickapoo, WONDA Coffee, Goodday Milk, Calpis, Dairy Champ and Bleu.

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