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Barbary Coast Introduces Free Late-Night Industry Supper Initiative

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Singapore, 1 April 2020 – In an effort to support Singapore’s food and beverage community, Barbary Coast has introduced a new late-night industry Supper to provide free meals to the wider community while continuing to remain open to the general public.

Initially conceptualised as a way to share an end of shift meal at cost with Singapore food and beverage industry comrades, the Supper initiative quickly gained traction within the industry as more and more people came forward to with donations for those in need of a warm meal. Plates were initially priced at cost (S$7 NETT), however over the course of just several days generous contributions from private donors have been pledged to cover nearly 600 plates, providing 20 plates per night free of charge for 30 days of operation. Anyone industry-wide is welcome, just RSVP for your plate between 5 pm to midnight, come and enjoy. No one will ever be given a bill or be asked to pay, though guests in a position to pay it forward are encouraged to do so.

Recognising how challenging the developing COVID-19 situation has been for Singapore’s hospitality workers, the Supper initiative will provide Barbary Coast’s much-loved staff meal to the wider community, encouraging bonding and camaraderie amongst Singapore’s hospitality family. Supper is open to anyone in the food and beverage industry from any restaurant, cafe, bar or hotel – including everyone from front of house to back of house, cleaners and office managers, and especially those whose venues have been closed due to recent shutdown requirements.

Supper will take place every Tuesday through Saturday from 1 am until close (2 am on Tuesday / Wednesday, 3 am Thursday through Saturday). Every evening, Barbary Coast will post the plate of the day on the bartender chat and Instagram story (@barbarycoastsg); the first 20 people to RSVP via WhatsApp (+65 8869 4798) can reserve their free plate. Guests are encouraged to inform the team how many will be attending from the same outlet to ensure they’re grouped together and to limit intermingling of groups.

In line with recent government regulations, Barbary Coast remains open to the public and has implemented new safety and hygiene measures, including banning all staff from wearing any jewellery below the elbow and keeping sleeves rolled up to ensure and encourage effective hand washing. As always, staff are required to wash their hands regularly; each table, dining counter and chair in the venue is also immediately disinfected after use. Respecting the recommendation for social distancing, Barbary Coast has reconfigured its seating to ensure a greater distance between all guests and marked specific seats for use to adhere to one meter or greater social distancing requirements. 

GNTB campaign #DiscoverGermanyFromHome brings together current social media activities

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Germany, Lower Franconia, Würzburg - City center, cathedral, city hall and the old main bridge across the Main river.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2, 2020 – During the recent lockdown the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) brings together their ongoing marketing activities on all social media channels worldwide in a joined communication campaign: #DiscoverGermanyFromHome. The main goal is to create inspiring, empathic and at the same time informative content in an engaging and interactive way and to communicate with tomorrow’s consumers. The campaign includes virtual experiences of the destinations in Germany in all of the 16 federal states. The campaign, therefore, invites consumers to experience Destination Germany virtually and furthermore strengthens the communication with potential future Germany visitors. Besides #DiscoverGermanyFromHome the campaign also uses the hashtags that are currently circulating such as #staysafe, #stayathome or #traveltomorrow.

“We are active despite the lockdown”, explains Petra Hedorfer, Chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board, “with over 30 social media channels we are continuously trying to keep the interest in Destination Germany alive, inspiringly and informatively. Besides the direct consumer contact, we are also using our established online tools to maintain the active dialogue with our Germany tourism partners and the international tourism industry”.

Due to the current situation the GNTB has postponed all planned market-specific and worldwide marketing campaigns such as the start of the planned campaign “German Summer Cities” and “#WanderlustGermany” to the second half of the year. The preparations for the campaigns have been completed to the extent that the digital parts of the campaigns can start at the flick of a switch.

Depending on current developments in the various source markets recovery measures could be started with the beginning of the second half of the year, campaigns could be rescheduled and campaign contents could be rolled out and quickly adjusted if necessary.

Background:
Germany’s incoming tourism practically grounded to a halt within a few weeks due to the Corona crisis. Travel restrictions do not only affect travelling to Germany but also travelling from the most important source markets. The situation is only going to ease when the administrative measures on the destination as well as on the source market side allow an economic resumption of travel operations.

About the GNTB

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to represent Germany as a tourist destination and is funded by the Ministry in accordance with a decision taken by the German Bundestag. The GNTB develops and communicates strategies and products to promote Germany’s positive image abroad as a tourist destination and to encourage tourists to visit the country. It has 31 agencies around the world to support its activities. More information can be found in our online press centre at www.germany.travel/presse.

Janice Wong Launches Bake At Home

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Bake at Home is an online store selling premix cake packs, baking ingredients, equipment and accessories so that families can easily replicate some of Janice Wong’s all-time favourites and classics at home. Currently available in three flavours, Red Velvet, Green Tea and Chocolate, the premix packs include the basic ingredients needed to make the cakes, with bakers just having to add fresh yoghurt or milk, oil and eggs. A step by step recipe guide is also included in the pack so that even those first-time bakers can get involved.

All items needed to decorate the cakes are also available on the site, with many more products being added on a daily basis, with new and creative recipes to try yourself at home.

All Bake at Home items are currently available for purchase via Janice Wong’s Bake at Home website.

Bake at Home is also available in Janice Wong Singapore’s monthly subscription boxes. Conveniently delivered to your door, the boxes are filled with hands-on activities and Janice Wong’s much-loved signature products, as well as new and exclusive items not yet available in stores. Subscriptions and payment can be made online at https://www.janicewong.online/.

Carlsberg Pledges RM1.5 million in Efforts Towards Safer Schools

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Stefano Clini, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia: “This year, the Top Ten Charity campaign is going the extra mile by providing peace of mind to students and teachers via disinfection and preventative tools in light of the health and safety risks posed by the spread of Covid-2019

Top Ten Charity campaign, Carlsberg Malaysia’s flagship community project
to provide infection-free environments for thousands of schoolchildren
nationwide via donation of thermometers and disinfection services

SHAH ALAM, 2 April 2020 – For most parents, the first question that springs to mind when classes resume after the Movement Control Order (MCO) is: “Is my child’s school safe from the risk of Covid-2019 infection?”

Staying true to its purpose of Brewing for a Better Today and Tomorrow, Carlsberg Malaysia, through its flagship community engagement project the Top Ten Charity campaign, has pledged RM1.5 million in donations to assist hundreds of Chinese primary schools throughout Malaysia in restarting learning and curricular activities with confidence.

Beneficiary schools, which can be from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, will receive a donation of handheld thermometers to monitor students’ and teaching staff’s body temperatures upon entering the school compound, and full disinfection services at high-risk areas such as handrails, canteens, classrooms, washrooms, libraries, and laboratories when classes resume on 15 April.

Stefano Clini, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia, said, “Over the last three decades, the Top Ten Charity campaign has transformed hundreds of schools and empowered the lives of tens of thousands of students through education funds raised via our annual charity concerts held across the country. This year, we are going the extra mile in meeting the immediate needs of vernacular schools by providing peace of mind to students and teachers via disinfection and preventative tools in light of the health and safety risks posed by the spread of Covid-2019.”

Through Top Ten Charity, its flagship community project, Carlsberg Malaysia is pledging RM1.5 million in handheld thermometers and full disinfection services to Chinese primary schools, which will benefit thousands of schoolchildren nationwide when classes resume on 15 April

“This effort echoes the Carlsberg Group’s initiatives in response to the global Covid-2019 crisis including a RM60 million donation by the Carlsberg Foundation, the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Tuborg Foundation via extraordinary grants in support of scientific, economic and human efforts at a time when society is challenged by the epidemic, with recipients including three internationally-recognised coronavirus research teams,” Clini added.

Chinese primary schools are encouraged to apply as beneficiaries of this initiative via their
headmasters, who can submit applications directly to the respective state presidents of the National Union of Heads of Schools Malaysia.

Applications must be submitted before the MCO is lifted on 15 April and Carlsberg’s contribution will prioritise schools within areas designated by the Government as Covid-2019 “red zones”.

Wong Shee Fatt, President of the National Union of Heads of Schools Malaysia, commented, “Together with its partners, Carlsberg Malaysia’s charitable contribution in providing thermometers and disinfection services to schools in need has the union’s full support and endorsement. Carlsberg’s initiative in working with and giving back to society is a great example of how businesses and individual benefactors can support vernacular education through charitable giving in these trying times, where every effort can contribute toward creating a safer, hygienic and worry-free learning environment for students.”

The Top Ten Charity campaign is Carlsberg Malaysia’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative which has raised over RM547 million since its inception in 1987, benefitting more than 640 vernacular schools.

Acclaimed as Probably the Best Fundraising Platform for Chinese education, the campaign
champions the development of Chinese education in Malaysia, benefiting thousands of students with better school infrastructure and sports facilities. Through charity concerts hosted by participating schools, the campaign rallies stakeholder such as alumni, parents and the local community in raising funds to elevate the quality of vernacular education and student welfare.

The campaign also holds two records in the Malaysia Book of Records as the longest-running Chinese charity concert with the highest funds raised.

For more information, potential applicants can contact Darren Boo of Carlsberg Malaysia at darren.ks.boo@carlsberg.asia.

Continue the Gift of Giving this Easter with Janice Wong Singapore

By
Tan Heng Hong
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March 30, 2020, Singapore – This Easter, Janice Wong Singapore is bringing people together through her collaboration with Universal Brand Development to create a fun and exciting series of Minion Surprise Eggs.

These limited edition, tasty treats are available in boxes of three and come in Caramel Popcorn, Toffee Chocolate and Sea Salt Pecan Fudge flavours. Each of the Easter Minions is cast in White Chocolate and bursting with a delicious Banana Marshmallow filling.

Available from 1 April 2020, the boxes are priced at S$29.50 and can be purchased through Janice Wong Singapore’s online store. Free home delivery is applicable for orders above S$50, with same day and next day delivery available. 

New MyKuali Fish Broth for those craving fish head noodle

By
Tan Heng Hong
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MyKuali’s latest Fish Broth comes at the right time for those who crave the popular hawker fare fish head noodles. MyKuali Fish Broth is available in cup/bowl and pack and with noodle and rice vermicelli options.

So far, there is no instant noodle version of fish head noodle (鱼头米) in Malaysia, which makes MyKuali the first in the market.

Fish head noodle is a popular Malaysian Chinese dish. Foodadvisor.my describes it as a “slurpy milky broth derived from evaporated milk, sliced tomatoes, preserved vegetables, spring onions, fried shallots, vermicelli and fried fish head chunks.”

The MyKuali Fish Broth Noodle is available on Shopee and on Halal Food Master.

Lend A Helping Hand

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Ronan Lee (right) and General Manager of Operations, Christopher Anthony making a contribution to Lend a Helping Hand Campaign 2020

Kuala Lumpur, 31 March 2020 – 7-Eleven Malaysia, the nation’s leading convenience chain store, carries on its goodwill by launching ‘Lend a Helping Hand’ campaign to provide relief and help ease the burden of beneficiaries whom are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country as well as to our heroic front liners that are working tirelessly to keep us all safe.

This charitable program will be until the 14th April 2020 tentatively and the public is encouraged to contribute through the campaign by purchasing necessities and supplies from 7-Eleven stores nationwide and placing them into the collection box. Supplies could range from instant food, groceries, beverages, medications, and other household cleaning essentials found in the store. The public may also drop off essential general supplies into the collection box and the contributions will then be channelled by 7-Eleven to the nearest beneficiaries in each area nationwide including government hospitals and medical clinics, other civil service front-liners, charity homes such as those for the elderly and children, public universities, students’ dormitories and more. Contribution handovers will have necessary precautions in place such as minimal interaction between donor and recipients with the collected items dropped off outside the recipient’s facility wherever possible.

 “Everybody can play a part to lend a hand during these trying times and we can always count on the extraordinary kind generosity of the public in supporting our efforts of providing any form of relief to the disadvantaged communities as well as our selfless front-liners who have been heroic in the face of unprecedented adversity. Let us all stay strong together and be there for each other as #KitaJagaKita,” said Ronan Lee, Marketing General Manager of 7-Eleven Malaysia.5

Jollibee favourite Chickenjoy is available in ready-to-cook at Robinsons, Shopwise

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

The Philippine fastfood chain Jollibee has responded to the Metro Manila lockdown by introducing marinated frozen Jollibee Chickenjoy at selected Robinsons Supermarket branches for PHP 199 each. Shopwise is also selling Jollibee’s marinated chicken cut-ups at selected stores for PHP 199 each.

The fast food chain earlier introduced ready-to-cook Jollibee favorites for take-out and drive-thru. The ready-to-cook items are available in Jollibee stores nationwide until supplies run out.

The ready-to-cook menu includes the following choices:

  • Marinated Chicken (8 pcs/pack) – PHP 219
  • Spicy Marinated Chicken (8 pcs/pack) – PHP 223
  • Beef Tapa (1 kg/pack) – PHP 358
  • Beef Longganisa (1.2 kg/pack) – PHP 397
  • Bacon (250g/pack) – PHP 137
  • Buko Pie (20 pcs/box) – PHP 257
  • Spicy Tuna Pie (10 pcs/box) – PHP 193
  • Tuna Pie (10 pcs/box) – PHP 184
  • Fries (2.7 kg/pack) – PHP 305
  • Spicy Fries (2 kg/pack) – PHP 329
  • Grated Cheese (1 kg/pack) – PHP 348
  • Sliced Cheese (132 slices/pack) – PHP 701
  • Butter (1 kg/tub) – PHP 493
  • Whole corn Kernel (1 can) – PHP 36

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, restaurants globally are launching ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook options as consumers avoid public places, cut down or refrain from going out to eat/dine in restaurants. Such business model may help unlock new opportunities for foodservice players in the retail channel even after the pandemic ends.

*all images from Robinsons Supermarkets and Shopwise.

SaveOurFave to help SMEs tide over COVID-19

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Fave, a multicategory lifestyle platform in Malaysia that enables consumers to find deals across different sectors, has launched SaveOurFave.com, which aims to help all restaurants and retail partners keep their business alive during this tough period.

As cash flow runs dry, businesses, especially foodservice operators, are considering allowing consumers to buy upfront as one of the business models to help them tide over the tough times.

How can SaveOurFave.com help:

1. Merchant gets 100% of the amount you pay (upfront!) so they can cover their essential bills to keep afloat.
2. Consumers can easily pre-buy eCards of their favourite merchants and benefit from up to 30% additional saving. All eCards have a validity of 6 months.

How can YOU help?

1. Buy an eCard and show some love to your favourite stores. Check out eCards on the Fave App!
2. Share with as many friends and family members to encourage them to join the movement to support their favourite businesses. Join the #savethefave movement!

The question is what will happen to the voucher if the merchant winds down the business. Moreover, the 6-month validity seems too short as nobody knows when the MCO will last. However, Fave’s move to help the SMEs are commendable as the SMEs are in a vulnerable position due to the lack of government assistance.

1/3 of SMEs only have enough cashflow for expenses March 2020

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

SME Malaysia & Bizsphere Gathered 15,627 SMEs feedback on Business Sustainability During COVID-19

Kuala Lumpur, 30th March – SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) in partnership with Bizsphere Brand & Marketing Group (Bizsphere) launched a survey on 29th March evening and had attracted 15,627 SME responses in less than 18 hours. The survey titled “Business Sustainability of SMEs During Covid-19 Crisis” was initiated to gauge the sustainability of Malaysia SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis and impact from Movement Control Order (MCO).

“We have been receiving phone calls, emails and messages from SMEs since the 1st day of MCO. Many has highlighted their challenges in business operation and fear the sustainability of their businesses. SME Malaysia has been sharing all these feedback to various ministries yet lack sound facts to support. Thus, we decided to run a survey to collate inputs from all SMEs.” Says Datuk Michael Kang – National President of SME Malaysia.

The survey had attracted participation of 15,627 SMEs mostly via WhatsApp and Facebook viral share. “BIZSPHERE has only less than 2 hours to prepare for the survey and we maximised our network of SME database to get as much response as possible. We managed to gather 10,000 responses in the short span of 5 hours. It shows how eager SMEs would like to express themselves to the government” added Yap Keng Teck – Managing Consultant of Bizsphere.

59.2% of the survey was completed by small size SMEs, while the balance was responded by 22.3% micro and 18.5% Medium size SMEs. Most of the SMEs (53.3%) have less than 75 employees. The survey found that more than half or 51.2% of SMEs is projecting to experience more than RM 500,000 losses within 6 months from March to Sept 2020.

“The biggest challenge of SMEs is cashflow. Most SMEs are very tight in cashflow. It is expected that there will be no cash inflow for at least 3 months due to MCO. Yet, SMEs will still need to continue paying full salary, rental and some statutory payments. Nearly one third or 33.3% of SMEs can only have enough cashflow for month of March while 37.8% can only sustain up to month of April 2020. There are only 26.3% of SMEs found that government assistance through stimulus packages will help them sustain their business despite the additional allocation of RM 100 billion loan to SMEs under Prihatin Package. 77.6% of SMEs have yet to apply for the special relief fund. “SMEs are afraid to have to high of gearing as many of them already have existing loans. The economic uncertainty for next 6 months will burden repayment capability and risk to go under bankruptcy. 4% out of 22.5% whom have applied for the loan has been rejected by the banks.” says Datuk Michael.

SMEs have different reactions when asked the possible actions they will take manage their employees from April 2020 onwards if without strong stimulus package from government to SMEs. 43.8% says they will persuade employees to utilise their annual leaves on voluntarily basis. About ¼ or 25.6% will initiate retrenchment of employees / cut total of employment. SMEs employs up to 70% of countries total employment of 10 mil. This may translate to possible 2.56 mil of people out of job. “This is serious and scary if it is not well managed.” “Government will need to have concentrated measures to avoid such incident to happen.” Says Keng Teck.

SMEs are now lack of confidence on the coming months. 82% predicts that they will be at lost for financial year 2020. 29.1% of SMEs believes that “business as usual” can only be back after 6 months whilst 61.7% of them believes that business will need more than 9 months for business to stabilise to normal.


About SME Malaysia

SME Association of Malaysia (formerly SMI Association of Malaysia) was established on 13th July 1995 with the objectives of promoting, providing supports, services and solutions towards the best interest of small and medium industries, enterprises and businesses in Malaysia. Since the inception, the Association has been organizing numerous mega and international conferences, seminars, award, exhibition and localized projects to educate, elevate and expose its members as well as small and medium industries, enterprises and businesses in Malaysia.

The Association is also actively engaged in dialogs with the various ministries of Malaysian Government to reflect and provide feedback on the needs and improvement required for a stronger and more professional small and medium industries, enterprises and businesses, whom represents 98.5% of the Malaysian economic establishment.

About BIZSPHERE Brand & Marketing Group

BIZSPHERE is a branding and business consultancy firm that specialises in maximizing SME brand potential for business growth and long-term branding success. Our clients include regional and emerging brands like JOVEN, Inovar Floor, Captain Oats, AVIS, Bluescope, Miaow Miaow and many more. BIZSPHERE provides a full spectrum of branding and marketing services ranging from strategic consultancy and training, to tactical campaigns and creative production.

BIZSPHERE makes branding easy and provide practical solutions that meet business needs over and beyond branding objectives by capitalising on our systematic marketing processes and network of professional marketing partners. Our strengths lie in our ability to embrace branding in the practical business world. Be it a business start-up or an established exporting brand, BIZSPHERE have the right cost-effective solutions customized to each unique business entity.

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