Monde Nissin Corp, the Philippines biggest instant noodle player, has unveiled Lucky Me! Udon, a premium bowl noodle with three authentic flavours: Pork Buta, Kimchi & Japanese Curry in October 2018. Each one is priced at PHP 50.
Pork Buta (135g) – long-boiled pork broth topped with pork slices, spring onion and seaweed
Kimchi (131g) – spicy kimchi soup base topped with pork and vegetables
Japanese Curry (133g) – curry soup base topped with minced pork and vegetables
Monde Nissin had a similar Lucky Me! Udon fresh boiled noodles in bowl comprising Miso, Tempura and Tantanmen launched at the end of 2017. Each unit was sold at PHP 69 per bowl. The current lower price at PHP 50 for the new Lucky Me! Udon is probably to make the bowl udon noodle more affordable to ordinary consumers.
The garnish in the Lucky Me! Udon is said to contain real meat and vegetable.
Lucky Me! Udon represents a move by Monde Nissin to premiumise its instant noodle with authentic Japanese udon and the convenience of bowl, which is a format that offers a stronger rate of growth than standard noodle in pouch.
Australia’s Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company, the maker of Weet-Bix, Australia’s No.1 breakfast cereal, has introduced UP&GO liquid breakfast at 7-Eleven in Singapore in October 2018. The range is available in two flavours – chocolate and vanilla ice.
The Sanitarium So Good Soy Milk is also available at Cold Storage from October 2018.
The current Sanitarium range in Singapore includes Weet-Bix GO breakfast biscuits, Weet-Bix (available at Cold Storage and NTUC FairPrice), Sanitarium’s Natural Peanut Butter (Cold Storage), Sanitarium oats (NTUC FairPrice), Sanitarium Ezy Oat Congee, Sanitarium Original Crunchy Peanut Butter and Sanitarium Original Smooth Peanut Butter.
Nestle has launched the new MILO Breakfast Cereal Bar in Southeast Asia with the new product debuting in Malaysia and the Philippines in November 2018. The launch is seen as the continuation of Nestle’s focus on the ready-to-eat (RTE) snack bar segment for on-the-go consumption.
In Singapore, Maggi has launched the perfect Italian goodness in a cup. The 5-Min Risotto with fusion flavour comprises Thai Risotto and Curry Risotto imported from Germany same as the current range of Maggi 5-Minute Instant Cup Pasta.
The introduction of the instant risotto indicates the growing availability of instant rice meals in Singapore, given the large number of foreign expats in the country looking for a convenient rice meals.
The 5-Min Risotto is a move to localise the flavour to appeal to local Singaporean taste.
Knorr Hot Meals
In the Philippines, Unilever’s Knorr brand has rolled out hot instant porridge meals consisting of Pork Congee and Chicken Arroz Caldo (chicken rice porridge).
Hot Meals is made with real chicken/pork and real jasmine rice with no preservatives added. It is aimed at the breakfast occasion.
The Hot Meals is priced at PHP 28 per unit at SM Supermarket.
Acecook Vietnam has launched several new instant noodle products including Shake Me and Bistro.
Shake Me
Shake Me is a dry cup noodle available in kimchi and crab tamarind flavours. The unique thing about Shake Me is once the hot water is drained out of the hole, consumers are told to add the seasoning into the cup and shake for 30 seconds before opening the lid and enjoy the noodle.
The shaking ritual adds an element of fun to the eating process.
Bistro
Image from Acecook Vietnam
Acecook has also recently unveiled Bistro, an instant spaghetti noodle in bowl and pack. The noodle, which is available in minced meat and seafood pizza, is described as a European restaurant style pasta.
Caykay
The new Acecook Caykay is a spicy cup noodle for those who want to challenge their taste bud. Super spicy noodle has become a rage in Southeast Asia sparked by the popularity of Samyang spicy noodle challenge. In Malaysia, affordable price, coupled with local flavour and the super fiery taste, has made the extra spicy Maggi Pedas Giler, launched in early 2018, emerging as a hot selling product.
Nestle Vietnam has unveiled a Milo RTD drink with cereal: oats, brown rice and wheat with milk and barley in October 2018. The new MILO Balance Breakfast Drink is aimed at children to provide them with the necessary nutrition to kick start their day and excel in everything they do.
In Malaysia and Singapore, the same product is sold as Milo Nutri G in easy-to-carry bottle. The drink has a combination of whole grains to provide the body with energy as well as protein and calcium for an active lifestyle.
After launching Fanta Jelly Fizz in Vietnam in August 2018, Coca-Cola Vietnam is back with another innovative product and this time with a ready-to-drink coffee – Georgia Coffee Max in November 2018. This coffee is made from 100% Robusta coffee from Vietnam and is positioned as a wake-me up drink.
The Vietnam RTD coffee segment has underperformed the beverage sector. Euromonitor data shows RTD coffee total sales are the lowest amongst all non-alcoholic drinks and this is despite the segment’s long presence in the market, reported Vietnam.net. The London-based market research firm says RTD coffee has registered slow growth in both on-trade and off-trade.
RTD canned coffee aisle in Vietnam in January 2018. Image credit: Minimeinsights.com
Coca-Cola has strong ambition in coffee in the region to reduce its reliance on the slow-growing carbonated segment. RTD Georgia coffee has been rolled out in China and is now in Vietnam. Previously, the company released a range of Georgia RTD coffee in Vietnam in 2017. The canned coffee was imported directly from South Korea.
In Malaysia, Coca-Cola Malaysia signed an agreement with cinema operator MBO Cinemas in March 2018. The beverage concession agreement featured a completely new range of drinks choices to quench the thirst of cinema goers at its 27 cinemas across the country. The agreement included Georgia Coffee.
Greenfields in Indonesia has launched a chilled yogurt drink in easy-to-carry plastic bottle for on-the-go consumption. This RTD yogurt drink in 250ml is available in several variants including blueberry, mango and mixed fruit flavours.
The introduction of Greenfields yogurt drink with active cultures comes after the earlier launch of Greenfields spoonable yogurt at the end of 2017.
Greenfields yogurt drink is available at Super Indo at a regular price of IDR 8,490 per bottle. The promotion price is IDR 6,790.
It is highly likely Greenfields yogurt drink will be exported to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Hong Kong as the names of the importers are listed on the pack.
HIGHLIGHTS
âą 3Q18 Total sales growth of 1.0% and year to date (YTD) 3Q18 total sales growth of 1.3%.
âą 3Q18 Net profit growth of 4.1% and YTD 3Q18 Net profit growth of 13.3%
âą Gross Profit Margin continues to improve versus last year.
âą Continued store expansion bringing the total network to 2,259 stores.Comments from Chief Executive Officer â Colin Harvey
I am pleased with our net profit growth of 27.6% against the previous quarter. However, this is only the first step in the right direction towards where the organization should be, and there is scope for improvement. I am confident that our strategy roadmap focussed on strengthening the key areas of, assortment, supply chain, operational excellence, store base, and digitally enabling the organization will bear fruit in terms of financial performance, and overall customer shopping experience. I look forward to the challenges ahead in ensuring that 7-Eleven Malaysia remains the customers first choice convenience store. ‘
For the 3rd Quarter ended 30 September 2018
The Groupâs revenue for the current quarter of RM568.5 million grew by RM5.4 million or 1.0% against the corresponding quarterâs revenue in the previous year of RM563.1 million. The growth in revenue continued to be driven by the growth in new stores, higher average spend per customer and better consumer promotion activity.
Gross profit of RM184.1 million improved by RM5.4 million or 3.0% compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year. This was mainly attributed to the increase in revenue and improvement in gross margin by 0.7% points. The improvement in gross margin was attributed to higher gross profit margins across most categories.
Selling and distribution expenses for the quarter increased by RM6.7 million or 4.0% against the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This was mainly due to new store expansion resulting in higher staff costs, rental costs, store depreciation and maintenance expenses.
The increase in revenue, gross margin improvement and other operating income resulted in the Group’s profit after tax of RM16.8 million, an increase of RM0.6 million or 4.1% as compared to the corresponding quarter in previous year.
For the 9 months ended 30 September 2018
For the 9 months ended 30 September 2018, the Groupâs revenue of RM1.66 billion grew RM21.0 million or 1.3% against the corresponding period in the previous year of RM1.64 billion. The growth in revenue was driven by the growth in new stores and consumer promotion activity.
Gross profit improved by RM20.6 mil or 4.0% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. This was mainly attributed to the revenue growth and gross profit margin expansion of 0.9% points. Other operating income grew by RM7.7 million or 8.2% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
The Group’s profit after tax recorded RM4.6 million or 13.3% increased against the corresponding period in the previous year driven by higher profit contribution amongst most product categories and higher other operating income.
Future Prospects
The Board of Directors is of the view that the trading conditions for the next quarter are expected to improve with the anticipated heightened consumer sentiment. We expect to see further improvements in the next quarter by pursuing our core strategy pillars of Operations Excellence, Cost Management and Commercial Innovation.
2019 will be year Chinese dairy companies start deepening their engagement with the Southeast Asia market. Indonesia and Thailand will serve as the springboard into the rest of the region.
On 29 November 2018, China’s dairy giant Mengniu officiated the opening of its 60th dairy plant. The new Mengniu YoyiC Dairy Factory in located is Cikarang, Indonesia. It is also the Chinese dairy company’s second overseas dairy processing facility. The first is located in New Zealand. Construction of the factory in West Java started in March 2018 and was completed less than one year, which demonstrates the speed in terms of the execution.
Producing YoyiC probiotics, yogurt products
According to the press release, the total investment is more than USD 50 million. The factory has a designed output capacity of 260 tonnes a day with a yearly output capacity valued at USD 160 million. The production facility will produce YoyiC probiotics beverage and yogurt products. The YoyiC series will be available in more than 12,000 stores in main cities in Indonesia in December. YoyiC is currently sold in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore with plans to export its made-in-Indonesia YoyiC to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in the near future.
Having a production facility in Indonesia will enhance Mengniu’s competitiveness in the Southeast Asia market.
The Mengniu products in Indonesia will include two YoyiC probiotic beverages (or cultured milk) – original and lychee, two YoyiC yogurt drinks (mango and strawberry) in a cup, and two YoyiC yogurt dessert (blueberry and apple caramel).
Both the YoyiC yogurt drinks in a cup and YoyiC probiotic drinks need to be chilled.
At Hypermart, YoyiC probiotic drink (200ml) is priced at IDR 8,700 and YoyiC yogurt drink in a cup (140ml) at IDR 9,500.
At Hypermart. Photo credit: Minimeinsights.com
New Zealand milk source
The milk used at the factory will come from New Zealand and will be fermented using Danish probiotics, reported Bisnis.com. The initial output is 90 tons a day.
Superbrands Singapore
Mengniu is downplaying its Chinese heritage by focusing on the Superbrands Singapore award it received in the Singapore market as a mark of quality and trust.
HoReCa will also be targeted
Apart from retail, Mengniu has plans to target the hotel, restaurant and cafe (HoReCa) channel with recruitment for the HoReCa sales team still on going.
YoyiC is competing head on with Yakult
The cultured milk market is a challenging market where only a handful of players are able to thrive. Yakult is currently the market leader in Indonesia. OT Group’s VitaCharm used to compete in the same market but has exited the market years ago, leaving Yakult as the dominant player.
Retail store and home delivery sale (ie Yakult Lady) are key distributing channels for Yakult. The ratio of home delivery out of total sales reached 51.2% in 2016, up significantly from 19.4% in 2007. Mengniu may need to embrace the home delivery approach to win the market. With the popularity of food delivery, Mengniu can consider working with Go-Jek and Grab for the regular home delivery of cultured milk drink.
Cultured milk for adults
In Indonesia, cultured milk is often positioned for children, thanks to its small bottle. To expand usage, adults and young consumers can be a new market for cultured milk. We have seen Nutrigen in Malaysia and Betagen in Thailand scoring success with their cultured milk in a larger bottle. Culture milk in Indonesia can innovate by moving in the same direction.
Yili focusing on ice cream
Mengniu’s key competitor Yili, through its local unit PT Green Asia Food Indonesia, is currently focusing on selling its Joyday ice cream in Indonesia. There is a possibility Yili will start introducing yoghurt and milk products into the local market down the road.
Some of the Yili dairy products registered with the LPPOM MUI as of August 2018
Yili to buy Thai ice cream maker – Chomthana
Yili announced on 29 November 2018 that it has signed an agreement to purchase a 96.46% stake in the Thai mass market ice cream and frozen bun maker The Chomthana Co Ltd. Chomthana is known for its Cremo ice cream and private label brands. Its Cremo ice cream are sold in Thailand and in neighbouring Malaysia.
Chomthana revenue in 2017 reached USD 34.38 million with a net profit of USD 3.23 million. First half 2018 revenue stood at USD 18.24 million.
Yili’s inroad into Indonesia and the plan to purchase a controlling stake in a Thai ice cream maker reveals its huge ambition in the Southeast Asian ice cream market.
Bright Dairy has plans for Malaysia, Thailand
Bright Dairy is a late comer to the game. The company first exhibited at Thaifex 2018, followed by having a standalone booth at the Malaysian International Food & Beverage Trade Fair (MIFB) in May 2018 to promote its ambient yoghurt. The company plans to price its ambient yoghurt at a premium similar to the pricing of Yili’s Ambrosial ambient Greek-style yoghurt drinks in the region.
Bright Dairy at MIFB 2018. Photo credit: minimeinsights.com
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Comments from Chief Executive Officer â Colin Harvey 
