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Energizer Shop in the Dark 2018 Brings Back Popular Challenge for the Third Year

Up to RM120,000 worth of shopping sprees to be won by ten (10) finalists

Get your shopping carts ready and get energised! Grab your chance to be one of the lucky ten (10) participants to win a shopping spree worth up to RM12,000 each with the return of the ever popular Energizer® Shop In The Dark campaign! Energizer®, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of primary batteries and the Maker of the World’s Longest Lasting Battery is launching Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018, bringing back the popular competition for the third consecutive year – now bigger and better than ever!

“The high participation level and public enthusiasm for the Energizer® Shop In The Dark campaign for the past two years has motivated us to not only bring it back for the third year running, but to make it more exciting than ever! We have even bigger prizes and more ways to sign up this year so don’t miss your chance! We are making our roadshows and our Virtual Reality challenge at the roadshows more accessible than ever – by bringing the roadshow to more than 60 locations in seven cities around Malaysia – including to Sabah and Sarawak for the first time,” said Aaron Abner Ang, Senior Brand Manager – Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia, Energizer® Holdings Inc.

The call for entries for this year’s Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018 contest is open from 14 March until 31 May 2018. Entry submission can be done beginning 14 March by participating in the Virtual Reality challenge at the roadshow locations; or beginning 15 March by submitting entry forms online or via mail-in, or by playing the online game on the competition microsite. Consumers can submit entries through any of the methods or even all three methods, making it easy for members of the public from states outside the roadshow locations to participate. Every entry submission via the Virtual Reality challenge and the entry form submission will require new proof of purchase comprising a minimum RM15 worth of Energizer® or Eveready products in one receipt.

A total of ten (10) finalists will be chosen – six (6) from the Virtual Reality challenge participants, three (3) from the contest form submissions and one (1) from the participants of the online game. All ten (10) finalists will participate in the grand finale where they will each have 10 minutes to shop till they drop in a shopping spree worth up to RM12,000 per finalist. The grand finale will be held at a location and date to be announced later.

The dedicated microsite for Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018 at www.sitd2018.com.my offers a one-stop source of information on the competition. Members of the public can check the full list of roadshow locations, view the entry mechanics and contest rules for Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018, submit the online contest form and play the online game on the microsite. Find out more at www.sitd2018.com.my and stay updated on Energizer®’s activities via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EnergizerMY/.

 

 About Energizer®

Energizer® Holdings, Inc. [NYSE: ENR], headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of primary batteries and portable flashlights and lanterns. Energizer® is a global leader in the dynamic business of providing power solutions with a full portfolio of products including Energizer® brand battery products Energizer® MAX® premium alkaline; Energizer® Advanced performance alkaline; Energizer® Ultimate Lithium; Rechargeable batteries and charging systems; and portable flashlights and lanterns.

Energizer® continues to fulfil its role as a technology innovator by redefining portable power solutions to meet people’s active lifestyle needs for today and tomorrow with Energizer® charging systems for wireless video game controllers; and specialty batteries for hearing aids, health and fitness devices, as well as for keyless remote entry systems, toys and watches. Energizer® is redefining where energy, technology and freedom meet to bring to market consumer-focused products that power the essential devices that help people stay connected and on the go at work and at play. Visit www.energizer.com.my

5 Key Takeaways from The Map of eCommerce Malaysia

Lazada most visited eCommerce while Shopee leads as highest ranking mobile shopping app end 2017

20 MARCH, 2018, KUALA LUMPUR – Latest figure by the Department of Statistics Malaysia indicate the digital economy has contributed 18.2% to the Malaysia’s GDP, amounting as much as RM290.9b in 2016. Since then, eCommerce has continued to grow at a rapid rate as both government and private sectors continued to heavily invest into the digital industry.

To keep track of this fast-paced tech economy, the Map of eCommerce was created to ascertain the key players in the country and reveal key insights for Malaysians.

  1. Lazada extends its lead in Malaysia

Comparing online traffic between Q3 and Q4 2017, we saw an increase of 13.8 million average monthly visitors for Lazada. This widens the gap between Lazada and its closest competitors 11street (increase of 5.9 million average visitors) & Shopee (increase of 5.3 million average visitors) when comparing to the previous quarter.

Until its competitors are able to find an answer to Lazada’s dominance, the Alibaba backed eCommerce looks set widen its lead as its Chinese investors further pumps in US$2b (RM7.83b) into Lazada.

Shopee also saw impressive growth as they replaced Lelong as the 3rd most visited eCommerce in Q4 2017. This comes not long after their parent company SEA obtained US$550m (RM2.1b) in funding on September 2017 with plans to utilise most of its funds to develop its eCommerce platform.

  1. Shopee overtakes Lazada as the top mobile shopping app

Though Lazada leads in terms of website traffic, Shopee overtook Lazada to rank as the best app on both Google Play and iOS App stores. This is significant as Southeast Asia is a mobile-first region where consumers are more likely to search and compare products using mobile devices.

Our recent whitepaper study on the State of eCommerce SEA saw 74% of online traffic in Malaysia sourcing from mobile devices (both smartphones & tablets). Shopee has been a mobile-first eCommerce since its inception in 2015, launching its mobile application as a mobile C2C marketplace across Southeast Asia.

Runners up after Shopee is Lazada, 11street, Zalora and Lelong. The mobile shopping app is ranked on the highest number of downloads, least number of uninstalls, engagement (app usage), revenue, consumer ratings and others.

  1. An average 30% increase in online traffic for MY’s top 50 eCommerce due to year-end promotions

Malaysia’s top 50 eCommerce experienced an overall 30% increase in online traffic due to year end sales. In fact, all vital eCommerce sale periods took place in the last months of 2017. Among the most popular online sale periods were #MYCyberSale (9-13 Oct), 11.11 Sale (also known as Single’s Day on 11 Nov), Black Friday (24 Nov) and 12.12 Sale (12 Dec). The most popular sale period was 12.12 Sale followed by Singles Day where searches for promotions on Lazada, Shopee and Zalora were the highest in 2017.

  1. Malaysia’s top five eCommerce has provided more than 1,000 jobs

The top five eCommerce platforms in Malaysia Lazada, 11street, Shopee, Lelong and Zalora has created more than 1,000 jobs in Malaysia. This figure was found by searching for staff who were working in the mentioned eCommerce companies and is currently in Malaysia.

The number of persons currently working in the top five eCommerce could be even higher as not all employees have a LinkedIn account. Nevertheless, this is a significant number given that the Malaysian government expects its digital economy employment to surpass global average by 2025.

  1. Local fashion brands continue to dominate on Instagram

Malaysia’s local fashion brands were more popular on Instagram when compared to regional and international players such as Zalora, Sephora and Lazada. The three most popular eCommerce on Instagram is Bella Ammara, Naelofar Hijab and Fashion Valet. Among the three players, Fashion Valet is among the oldest fashion-centric eCommerce which has been in Malaysia since 2010.

Malaysia’s fashion eCommerce is among the most active in Instagram where they publish engaging content on a regular basis and partner with various celebrities and Insta influencers to garner further customers.

Click here to view the full infographic: https://iprice.my/insights/mapofecommerce/en/

Methodology

  • The Map of E-Commerce ranks Malaysia’s top 50 e-commerce players based on their average quarterly traffic, mobile application ranking, social media followers and number of staff. Data was collected in January 2018
  • Monthly Visits – Average monthly website visits. Source: SimilarWeb
  • App Ranking – Average ranking of mobile app. Source: App Annie
  • Social Media Followers – Source: Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
  • Number of Employees – Source: LinkedIn. Data will be displayed as (n/a) if the number of employees is not available
  • List of Merchants – E-commerce who received more than 100,000 visitors per-month or 100,000 social media followers are qualified for this list.
  • The following industries were not included in this list: e-ticketing, financial services, rental services, insurance, delivery service, food & beverage, meta-search, couponing, cashback websites and ecommerce who solely provides classified ads/P2P services.
  • All e-commerce who initiated their business as a physical store were excluded from this list.

About iPrice Group

iPrice Group is a meta-search website where Malaysian consumers can easily compare prices, specs and discover products with hundreds of local and regional merchants. iPrice’s meta-search platform is also available in six other countries across Southeast Asia namely in; Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Currently, iPrice compares and catalogues more than 100 million products and receives more than five million monthly visits across the region.

iPrice currently operates three business lines: price comparison for electronics and health & beauty; product discovery for fashion and home & living; and coupons across all verticals.

On a regular basis, iPrice Group releases key insights on topics pertaining eCommerce, startups and others. Stay tuned to iPrice’s insights here: https://iprice.my/trends/insights/

Coca-Cola embraces coffee to reignite growth in Southeast Asia

Georgia Coffee has come under the spotlight during the recent signing of a four-year beverage concession agreement between MCAT Box Office Sdn Bhd (MBO Cinemas) and Coca-Cola Malaysia on 14 March 2018.

Freshly brewed Georgia Coffee – Americano, Cafe Latte and more are now available at all MBO Cinemas in Malaysia. MBO Cinemas is the third largest cinema chain in the country and currently has 27 locations and 213 screens nationwide.

Georgia Coffee was previously available at Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) MyTown Premiere Class.

Push into coffee segment

We are seeing Coca-Cola making a strong push into the coffee segment, not just in Malaysia but also in Indonesia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, the company released a range of Georgia RTD coffee in 2017. The canned coffee is imported directly from South Korea.

Georgia RTD coffee promotion at Ministop in Vietnam

In Indonesia and Malaysia, the focus is on the foodservice channel. In Indonesia, Coca-Cola Amatil revealed a new range of café-quality Grinders Coffee capsules and professional Caffitaly capsule machines at the end of 2017. The machines and capsules were made available nationally through leading Indonesian retailers from 20 November 2017.

What Mini Me thinks

Coca-Cola’s recent push into the coffee segment can be interpreted as a move by the beverage giant to diversify the portfolio away from the carbonate segment, which is faltering and embrace coffee, which is witnessing growth.

In Malaysia, the intense Nescafe-Wonda rivalry in the RTD coffee segment might have deterred Georgia from entering into the retail scene. The foodservice channel is thus seen as a safer area to cultivate consumers to the taste of Georgia before making the final push into the retail segment.

 

 

 

Get your star moment with InnerShine® Ambassador Siti Saleha

Join the Pencarian Wajah #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi today!

PETALING JAYA, 20 March 2018 – Let your inner natural beauty shine through with the new-formulation BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence with Vitamin E and new InnerShine® brand ambassador Siti Saleha! In conjunction with the launch of the new formulation, BRAND’S® Suntory (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd together with Watsons Malaysia is running the Pencarian Wajah #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi contest.

Held from 1 March to 23 April 2018, the fun and interactive Pencarian Wajah #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi contest encourages more Malaysians to express their natural beauty. What’s more, Malaysians have a chance to grab a spot in the next upcoming InnerShine® promotion campaign with rising Malaysian star Siti Saleha.

“We want Malaysians to enjoy the wonderful benefits of prune essence. Radiant, youthful skin is achieved not just through external beauty regimes, but also by consuming the right nutrients for the body. The Pencarian Wajah #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi contest embodies the essence of our great partnership with Watsons Malaysia, who shares our vision of helping people look and feel their best selves every day. This is also a fun way for us to enable fans to get one step closer to Siti Saleha, who herself believes in being beautiful, naturally from the inside out. We hope all Malaysians will unleash their moments of inner beauty and let their glory shine through in this fun contest. Don’t hold back!” said Kuang Ming Ming, General Manager of BRAND’S® Suntory (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

To enter this contest,  just follow these simple steps: register yourself as a Watsons Malaysia member (if you are not a member yet) and purchase a 12-bottle or 24-bottle pack of BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence with Vitamin E, and make sure to keep your receipt as proof of purchase. Take the most photogenic picture of yourself looking naturally beautiful, post it on Instagram and get creative with the caption. Include the hashtag #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi and be in the running to win:

  • The GRAND PRIZE of 200,000 Watsons VIP points and a special feature in the next InnerShine® promotional campaign together with InnerShine® ambassador Siti Saleha
  • One of 12 CONSOLATION PRIZES of 100,000 Watsons VIP points each and BRAND’S® InnerShine® products
  • MOST LIKED: Instagram photo prize of  RM500 cash

Make sure your Instagram account is set to “public” as BRAND’S® Suntory will be contacting the winner directly and announcing the winner via Instagram.

BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence with Vitamin E is available at a retail price of RM32 for a pack of six bottles and RM58 for a 12-pack at all Watsons outlets nationwide, and other selected pharmacy chains and hypermarkets.

For more information on the Pencarian Wajah #InnerShineCantikSemulaJadi contest or BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence with Vitamin E, please visit the BRAND’S® InnerShine® Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/innershineclub/ or the BRAND’S® website at www.brandsworld.com.my

About BRAND’S®

The BRAND’S® legacy started in 1835 when Henderson William Brand, the royal chef of Buckingham Palace in London, created a fat-free, easily digested chicken consommé that later became a huge commercial success. Available in 20 countries worldwide and widely recognised as BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken, this special formula gained prominence over the next 180 years for its nourishing goodness. With modern science, rigorous research and innovative technology, BRAND’S® has diversified its products to include health tonics, beauty nutritional drinks and energy drinks. BRAND’S® remains committed to promoting overall wellness in health, beauty and positive living to enrich people’s lives and create possibilities that inspire them to be their best selves.

MBO Cinema to Feature New Cast from Coca-Cola

Eric Tan, Commercial Director for Bottling Investment Group Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, The Coca-Cola Company. Wee Li Ying, Customer Development & SIMA Digital Transformation Director, The Coca-Cola Company. Gareth McGeown, Chief Executive Officer, Bottling Investment Group Singapore-Malaysia-Brunei, The Coca-Cola Company. Lim Eng Hee, Chief Executive Officer, MBO Cinemas. Cheah Chun Wai, Chief Operation Officer, MBO Cinemas.

MCAT Box Office Sdn Bhd (MBO Cinemas) has appointed Coca-Cola Malaysia under a new beverage concession agreement that will feature a completely new range of drinks choices to quench the thirst of cinemagoers at its 27 cinemas across the country.

MBO Cinemas is the third largest cinema chain in Malaysia, with 27 locations and 213 screens nationwide that offers special hall such as BIG SCREEN, KECIL, MX4D and PREMIER to cater to all kinds of cinemagoers from the discerning and adventurous to couple and family with young children.

Under the four-year agreement, the wide variety of halal beverages produced by Coca-Cola Malaysia to be served include Coca-Cola Classic, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Strawberry, A&W Sarsaparilla, Aquarius, Heaven and Earth Ice Lemon Tea, Minute Maid Refresh Orange, Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Minute Maid Qoo Fuji Apple, Dasani mineral water, Glaceau Vitamin Water (Essential, Power C & Restore) and Georgia Coffee.

For an icy experience, there is also an upgrade option to Frozen Coca-Cola and Frozen Fanta Grape for only RM1 more at MBO Citta Mall, MBO Subang, MBO Setapak Sentral, MBO Kepong Village, MBO Klang, MBO Kuantan, MBO Ipoh and MBO Batu Pahat.

The agreement was officially signed in Petaling Jaya today by Gareth McGeown, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola’s Bottling Investment Group Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, and Lim Eng Hee, Chief Executive Officer of MBO Cinemas.

Witnessing the signing were Coca-Cola Malaysia’s Customer Development & Digital Transformation Director, Wee Li Ying and MBO Cinemas Chief Operation Officer, Cheah Chun Wai.

“The concession stand is where the immersive cinema experience all begins and we are proud to be able to improve and enhance the experience for MBO cinemagoers now with a range of icy cold beverages from Coca-Cola to go with the fresh popcorn and snacks. I would like to compliment MBO on its excellent casting decision in choosing Coca-Cola Malaysia as its co-star,” said McGeown.

McGeown said the partnership with MBO is part of Coca-Cola’s continued commitment to the market and its customers in Malaysia, where the Company has already invested over RM1 billion since 2010 and has last year announced an additional investment of RM500 million.

“We will continue to invest in delivering to Malaysian consumer’s changing tastes and needs and to growing our presence in the country which has a positive effect on the economy, employment and importantly our local business partners like MBO.”

MBO Cinemas Chief Executive Officer, Lim Eng Hee said, “Whether it is a refreshing cold drink to complement our fresh popcorns or a hot, freshly brewed Georgia Coffee, the wide of beverages offered by Coca-Cola at our cinemas will elevate the whole movie going experience.”

About MBO Cinemas

MBO Cinemas has steadily grown to become a leading name in the cinema industry since it first opened its doors to Malaysians in 2005. Now one of the top three largest cinema chains in the nation, MBO shows no signs of slowing down as it has open up an additional 3 new locations in 2017, totalling to 27 locations and 213 screens. MBO strives to be Malaysia’s most loved cinema brand by providing wholesome quality entertainment experiences delivered by a team of friendly and professional movie lovers. For more information about MBO Cinemas, please visit http://www.mbocinemas.com/

The Coca-Cola Company in Malaysia

In addition to Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable brands, the Coca-Cola system in Malaysia manufactures, markets and distributes over 80 products including sparkling beverages (Fanta, Sprite, A&W, Schweppes), zero-calorie sparkling beverages (Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite Zero), juice drinks (Minute Maid Pulpy), teas (Heaven and Earth), isotonic (Aquarius) and water (Dasani).

Coca-Cola has invested over RM1 billion in Malaysia since 2010, creating more than 800 jobs and touching over 75,000 customers directly with a total reach of over 200,000 customers across Peninsula Malaysia and East Malaysia. Through its programmes and partnerships Coca-Cola Malaysia aims to make a lasting positive difference in the local community.

From recycling through partnership with the Malaysian Nature Society and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), to working with Raleigh International and Muslim Aid Malaysia to provide access to clean water for more than 22,000 villagers in rural Sabah, and economically empowering women through the Coca-Cola KU entrepreneurship programmes – Coca-Cola is committed to building sustainable communities in Malaysia.

First in Indonesia – GoFast cereal + biscuit

GoFast, a new product containing cereal powder and 2 cereal biscuits that can be eaten on their own or dipped into the cereal drink for added fullness, has been launched in Indonesia in early 2018. The product is the first of its kind in the country.

Each pack contains two biscuits with the taste of butter. They come in vanilla or chocolate.

Each contains folic acid, calcium and vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, D and E.

GoFast provides consumers with two options – eat it own its own targeting busy consumers (on-the-go) or dip into the drink for those who have the extra time. The cereal and milk in the biscuit are perceived as healthier for you and provide the fullness one requires to go about their daily activities.

Beat the hunger pang with GoFast, made from wheat and milk to last you for a longer period

Hunt for GoFast and win

The marketing activation for GoFast on 5-28 February 2018 involved consumers going out to locate the biscuit. Ten winners would each receive a cash prize of IDR 200,000 (USD 14.5) and other GoFast products. All they needed to do was to upload the picture of them with GoFast on their Facebook or Instagram accounts with the hashtags #CariGoFast and #GoFastHunter.

The products were made available at selected markets and shops in the cities of Jakarta, Tangerang, Serpong, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Semarang, Sidoarjo, Mojokerto and Krian, all located in Java, which indicates GoFast is only available in Java at the moment.

The owner of GoFast is Fastana of PT Fastrata Buana, a unit of Kapal Api Group, the maker of the namesake Kapal Api coffee, Good Day coffee, Oatbits biscuits, Ceremix cereal drink and Relexa/Gingerbon sweet confectionery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shinsegae Mamee Launches Foodservice products – Now Everyone Can Be a Food Entrepreneur

(From Left to Right) Jennifer Chee , Ketua Bahagian Perkhidmatan Makanan Shinsegae Mamee Datuk Wira Pang Tee Nam, COO MAMEE-Double Decker Tan Sri Pang Tee Chew, CEO MAMEE-Double Decker Felix Pang Hee Zhong, Chief Operating Officer Shinsegae Mamee Chef Faizul Hazly Ghazali, Executive Chef Shinsegae Mamee

Shinsegae Mamee Launches Foodservice products to help food operators save time and cost while maintaining authentic flavour and taste

15 March 2018

Kuala Lumpur: Mee Goreng, Nasi Goreng Kampung and rojak buah are synonymous with the food industry in Malaysia and a well-managed food business can be lucrative and may be able to springboard the “Bottom 40%” (B40) community into higher income bracket.

The B40 group consisting of blue-collar, low income graduates and low-income graduates, housewives and retirees with a median household income of RM3,000 a month.

In conjunction with the launch of its new Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice convenience products for food operators, Shinsegae Mamee organised a panel session with stakeholders such as GIATMARA, Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia and Shah Alam City Council to discuss the options available for aspiring food entreprenuers to succeed.

(From Left to Right)
Md. Zawawi bin Md Isa, Ketua Seksyen Komposit Bahagian Perlesenan, Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA)
Chef Faizul Hazly Ghazali, Executive Chef Shinsegae Mamee
Jamal Nasir bin Othman, CEO GIATMARA
Omar Farook Ali bin Seeni Abdul Kadir, Jawatankusas (Hal Ehwal Majlis Setempat) Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (PRESMA)
Dato’ Chef Ismail, Mamee Chef and Malaysian Tourism Ambassador for Gastronomy

At the panel session, GIATMARA Chief Executive Officer Haji Jamal Nasir Othman said there is a need for 91,000 skilled workers in the Food & Beverage by 2020.

“It is estimated that about 1,000 aspiring chefs enroll in GIATMARA F&B courses each year. So far, GIATMARA has trained 10,570 chefs. At GIATMARA, we hope that these trained chefs can work be trained to manage their own businesses,” he said adding that Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKLW) has taken the initiative to encourage entrepreneurship by introducing programs such as Mobilepreneur & Mobile Truck as well as Rintis Niaga (incubator) program through GIATMARA.

 “It is a very good government policy in propelling the B40 community into the M40 (Middle 40%) and T20 (Top 20%),” Jamal said.

 The GIATMARA CEO also said that strategic cooperation with industry players is important to ensure that the quality of trainees produced is based on the current needs.

He added that GIATMARA is keen to work with Shinsegae Mamee given that the recently launched Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice products are attractive and are able to help GIATMARA trainees in terms of cost savings and time while maintaining the authenticity taste and flavour.

Also speaking at the panel session was Shinsegae Mamee Executive Faizul Hazly Ghazali who said that cooking ability alone is insufficient in helping a chef to succeed in the food business.

“To be successful in the food entreprenuer, the chef needs to be able to manage time and cost effectively while maintaining the quality of the food served,” Faizul said.

Inspired by the three key success pillars, Shinsegae Mamee released 10 convenient products for the food service operators. The products are made with natural ingredients and do not contain added flavorings and preservatives.

“When we hear the convenience products, the first perception that comes to mind would be ‘not authentic’. But many successful chefs have taken short cuts in the kitchen by using convenient products to save cost and time. 

“However, the convenient products used should be of high quality to preserve the authenticity of flavours,” Faizul said. 

The Shinsegae Mamee executive chef also added that Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice is trying to change that perception ensuring that no added flavourings and preservatives are used in the products so that food operators are able maintain the authenticity of taste while saving time and cost.

ABOUT MAMEE-DOUBLE DECKER

MAMEE-Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd was founded in 1971 when Group Executive Chairman, Datuk Pang Chin Hin started to produce dried noodles and vermicelli together with his eldest son, CEO, Tan Sri Pang Tee Chew. This small business, then known as Pacific Food Products and located in Ayer Keroh, Melaka set the wheels turning for what eventually became MAMEE-Double Decker. Datuk Pang’s other sons, COO Datuk Wira Pang Tee Nam together with the rest of the family – now in their 3rd generation – developed it into one of the largest food and beverage manufacturers in Malaysia. MAMEE-Double Decker was eventually incorporated in 1991 and became publicly listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange a year later and has become private company by the year 2012. The company has set up plants across Malaysia – including in Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan, and currently employs over 2,000 staff – before expanding to Myanmar, Indonesia, and Middle East (future plans).

ABOUT SHINSEGAE FOOD

Shinsegae Food, one of the core affiliate companies of the Shinsegae Group which started as a department store in 1930 (Top 10 largest company in Korea in terms of combined assets with USD24.8 bil. of sales revenue recorded in 2016), has the aim of strengthening the core elements of the food industry. Shinsegae Food has streamlined its core functions into a Linearly aligned system, ranging from the sourcing of raw materials to R&D, production, processing, storing, logistics, marketing and sales, a first in the food Industry for the last twenty-years.

Shinsegae Food, a leader in the domestic food catering services for the last two decades, is now focused on developing a new premium food catering service that advances the Korean food service market by combining a food catering and a restaurant business. Shinsegae Food is operating a professional and advanced R&D organization that continues to increase the competitiveness of food manufacturing and strives to be the leading company in Ready to Eat (RTE), Ready to Cook (RTC) and Home Meal Replacement (HMR) products by investing in new technologies and facilities.

Besides that, Shinsegae Food have led the global sourcing business in Korea that involves finding top global brands of food products, obtaining exclusive licenses, and supplying them to domestic markets. Indeed, we have launched new and specialized restaurants, including Olbaan, O’slo, Gramercy Hall and Johnny Rockets, to reflect the rapidly changing trend of dining culture.

Mister Potato x AirAsia & new Purple Sweet Potato Crisps Corn flavour

Mamee’s Mister Potato had a little surprise for passengers on an AirAsia flight to Kota Kinabalu in late February 2018. Little did they know, the real Mister Potato, aka the Hensem Amigo, would be on board to entertain the passengers with his witty ways.

https://www.facebook.com/misterpotatocrisps/videos/1731190653568712/

Viewers were encouraged to comment on their most memorable flight. This attracted more than 300 comments including a comment from one of the passengers who won a prize for correctly answering the quiz.

This video was viewed around 385,000 times and shared 309 times as of 15 March 2018  Not bad for a campaign that helped strengthening the bond between Mister Potato and Mister Potato consumers.

In a separate development, the flagship healthier chips Purple Sweet Potato Crisps from Mamee-Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd, now has a twin brother – corn flavour.

Get creative with new Calpico Concentrate

PT Calpis Indonesia, the maker of Calpico fermented milk drink popular, has introduced Calpico Concentrate, the first of its kind in Indonesia. Calpico Concentrate is a non-carbonated beverage that has undergone lactic acid fermentation. Now in concentrated format, the drink is made from high quality non-fat milk and do not contain artificial colorants or preservative.

To prepare, just add 125ml of water for every 25ml of Calpico Concentrate at a ratio of 1:5. Each bottle of Calpico Concentrate can make 14 x 150ml glasses of Calpico.

Expand usage of Calpico 

The launch of Calpico Concentrate is seen as a move to expand the usage of Calpico in the foodservice industry or at home. Calpico Concentrate is used as an ingredient to create new cocktail/mocktail.

According to the recipe on Japancentre.com, to create Calpis Milkshake, all you need is 180ml calpis concentrate, 240ml milk and 250ml vanilla ice cream. Consumers can also use it to produce ‘White Sensation’ with shochu and ‘Snow White’ with sake.

 

 

Cut down the salt intake

As governments continue to wage war against sugar, sodium has yet to receive the same scrutiny as public enemy number one – sugar. High intake of sodium is known to elevate blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease. In Malaysia, public health campaigns focus mainly on sugar even through Malaysians consumed 74% salt than they need, according to the InterSalt Study of 1988.

Singapore is one country that is working on sodium reduction in food. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) declared war on salt in 2010 after the Salt Intake Study as part of the 2010 National Nutrition Survey revealed Singapore residents’ daily salt intake was 60% more than the recommended level.

Here are a few examples of sodium reduction in food in Singapore ranging from Maggi porridge to Lee Kum Kee soy sauce.

Maggi Chilli & Garlic Sauce with less salt. Maggi Tomato Sauce is also less in salt
Maggi Fish Flavour Rice Porridge with less salt
Lee Kum Kee Reduced Salt Soy Sauce (right)
Ayam Brand reduced salt sardines

Nestle spearheading efforts to cut sodium

The Swiss food giant announced in May 2017 that by 2020, it wants to lower salt content across all Maggi-branded products by 10%. These would affect Maggi products such as noodles, soups, seasonings and stock cubes.

A spokesman for Nestle Singapore said the company has reduced the sodium content in Maggi 2-min curry noodles by 31% since 2013 and is looking to lower it by a further 10% in 2018, reported The Straits Times.

In India, the company is working to lower salt and sodium content in Maggi noodles by 10% in the coming one to 1.5 years, said Nestle India chairman Suresh Narayanan reported The Economic Times on 26 February 2018. According to Suresh, Maggi contributed 35% of the Nestle India’s reported growth in 2017.

Public health bodies intervene

In Hong Kong, health authorities there are working with school lunch suppliers to reduce sodium levels in meals. Following the start of the academic year in March 2017, the 13 suppliers have lowered the sodium levels by 9% or a 50mg reduction per meal, reported South China Morning Post. Nearly all school lunch samples (99%) in a government study in 2013 contained 950mg of salt per meal, higher than the recommended consumption of 500mg.

In South Korea, the average daily sodium (소금) intake has fallen from 4,583mg in 2013, 4,027mg in 2014, 3,890mg in 2015, 3,890mg in 2016 and 3,669mg in 2017, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (국민건강영양조사) reported Korea Times on 13 March 2018. The figure in 2017 is still above the WHO recommendation of 2,000mg per day. The government started the less salt campaign in 2012.

One of the suggestion ways to lower sodium consumption is through the use of a small amount of MSG, which can potentially lower sodium intake by 25%, said Professor Sang Suk Oh at Ewha Womans University.

Even through most campaigns are aiming at sugar, the public health danger posed by salt cannot be ignore. Lowering salt content is something the government and brand owners will need to start looking to improve the health of their people/consumers.

This opens the opportunity for sodium alternatives, higher quality salt eg bamboo salt and improving the product’s health perception through reformulation.

 

 

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