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Emborg Protein Smoothie Power Snack in a Bottle

By
Tan Heng Hong
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The Danish supplier of dairy, seafood, meat and frozen vegetables Uhrenholt A/S has unveiled protein smoothies in Malaysia and Singapore. The Emborg Protein Smoothie is high in protein, low in calories and contains real fruit. It has less than 1% fat, 0% added sugar and 20g whey protein (milk) per bottle to make you feel fuller for longer and stay energised.

  • Emborg Coconut And Pineapple Protein Smoothie – 130 calories
  • Emborg Orange And Mango Protein Smoothie – 138 calories
  • Emborg Raspberry And Blueberry Protein Smoothie – 110 calories

The chilled protein smoothies are to be stored chilled and has a shelf life of 12 months. They are made in Austria.

Benefits of whey protein

According to Uhrenholt, “protein is an essential nutrient required by the body for many functions, including building, repairing and maintaining body cells, tissues and organs.”

To make it easy for consumers to make sense of how much you need to consume to get the benefits of 20g of protein, here are the comparisons:

  • 86g of chicken breast
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 700g of spinach
  • 200g of soft tofu
  • 5 tablespoons of peanut butter

In Malaysia, the Emborg Protein Smoothie (250ml) is selling at Cold Storage for RM 12.99 (USD 3.06). In Singapore, the price at Redmart.com is SGD 3.95 (USD 3.90).

Fitchips multigrain snacks with quinoa debuts

By
Tan Heng Hong
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The Fitbar snack bar maker Indonesia’s Kalbe Farma has branched out into multigrain snacks with the soft launch of Fitchips Honey BBQ and Seaweed in June 2017.

The multigrain chips do not contain MSG, perservatives, colouring and artificial sweetener. It is packed with oat, quinoa, whole wheat and corn.

The wavy shaped Fitchips (60g) offers consumers with a healthier alternative to crisps. The sodium content in each serving is 125mg and sugar is 1g per serving.

Fitchips is available at Ranch Market, Foodmart, Gelael, Hypermart, Yogya, Diamond Supermarket and Farmers Market.

The new MSG-free chips may force other chips/crisps players to reconsider their formulation to incorporate not just taste innovation (spiciness or new flavour) but also clean label.

New Kellogg’s Nutty Choc & Berries with Yoghurty Coating cereal bars

By
Tan Heng Hong
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In Malaysia, Kellogg’s has made available new cereal bars for adults with the latest launch of Nutty Choc and Berries with Yoghurty Coating. The complete name of the two cereal bars are:

  • Berries with Yoghurty Coating – Yoghurty Coated Cereal Bar with Dried Cranberries and Strawberry Concentrate
  • Nutty Choc – Chocolatey Coated Cereal Bar with Roasted Almonds and Peanuts

Berries with Yoghurty Coating (25g) and Nutty Choc (30g) are made by Kellogg (Thailand) Ltd in Rayong and are imported and distributed by Centurion Marketing Pte in Singapore, Delfi Marketing Sdn Bhd in Malaysia and Monde Nissin Corp in the Philippines.

Berries with Yoghurty Coating has 104kcal and is known to be a source of protein. The cereal bar is available in a single bar at 7-Eleven Malaysia (RM 2.50) or multiple pack in the supermarket (RM 11.99).

The snack bar range of Kellogg’s Malaysia has evolved from focusing on children (Frosties Cereal Bar, Coco Cereal Bar and Coco Rainbow) and female (Special K Cereal Bar) to adults through the new variants.

In the grab-and-go 7-Eleven convenience store channel, there are now more choices of snack bars including Fitbar (RM 2.90), Nature Valley, Kellogg’s Frosties/Coco cereal bar (RM 2.40) and Kellogg’s Nutty Choc and Berries with Yoghurty Coating (RM 2.50).

Suntory C.C. Lemon comes to Malaysia, Heysong C&C goes to Philippines

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Japan’s Suntory Beverage & Food has introduced C.C. Lemon carbonated lemon drink in Malaysia. This comes following the launch of the C.C. Lemon in Vietnam in 2014 and in Singapore in 2016. In another development, Taiwan’s Heysong has rolled out its C&C range of sparkling drink – apple, orange and lemon through the 7-Eleven convenience stores in the Philippines.

Number one in Japan

To emphasise the Japanese origin of C.C. Lemon and to improve consumer desire to purchase it, the side of the can features the statement stating C.C. Lemon is the number one carbonated lemon drink in Japan. A similar strategy is being used by Suntory’s Lucozade to market the UK number one sports drink in Malaysia.

Containing vitamin and lemon juice

In the packaging for Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong,  the Suntory C.C. Lemon comes with the wordings “rich in vitamin C” and “contains lemon juice” to drive in the better-for-you message.

In Malaysia, the Suntory C.C. Lemon is only available in the 330ml can selling at a retail price of RM 1.50 (USD 0.38) available through the country’s largest minimarket chain 99 Speedmart. In Hong Kong, the same product is available in a 500ml PET bottle.

In the Philippines, Heysong C&C is sold in 7-Eleven in a 500ml PET bottle for a price of PHP 45 (USD 0.87).

Suntory is likely to be tapping into its existing distribution channel for Lucozade and Ribena to improve the reach of C.C. Lemon in Malaysia.

Competitive landscape in Malaysia

Malaysian consumers only have limited access to sparkling lemon drink such as YOU-C1000 Vitamin Lemon (140ml), which could explain for the failure of sparkling vitamin drink to gain traction in the country. At the moment, YOU-C1000 Vitamin Lemon is priced at a premium at RM 2.80 as it contains 1,000mg of Vitamin C in liquid form. As a comparison, the total vitamin content in the Suntory C.C. Lemon is a mere 66mg.

What Mini Me thinks

The availability of vitamin-enriched fizzy drink could help to spur interest in “better-for-you” carbonated drinks in Malaysia. The key barrier to greater adoption in a country like Malaysia where 62% of its population are Muslims is the lack of the halal logo on the C.C. Lemon drink, which is made in Taiwan.

Interview with Ayam Brand Group CEO on sustainability, future plans

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Third from left Ayam Brand Chairman, Yang Mulia Tunku Dato’ Mu’tamir Bin Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed and third from right A. Clouet & Co (KL) Sdn Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer CEO Ting Seng Hee

We caught up with A. Clouet & Co (KL) Sdn Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer CEO Ting Seng Hee on the sideline of the launch of Ayam Brand’s 10-Year Community Care Campaign. We asked him about sustainability and the company’s future plans.

Sustainability

Sustainability is part of Ayam Brand’s mission and vision. A long-term partner of WWF, Ayam Brand is a founding member of SASPO, an organisation that promotes sustainable palm oil in order to fight haze, deforestation and to protect wildlife habitat. The brand switched to sustainable palm oil in 2010 and became one of the few local companies to make this commitment. Ting said the company aims to have all factories and buildings green mark certified before 2030.

We Care, We Are Family

Ayam Brand first coined the “We Care, We are Family” tagline in 2016. According to Ting, “We Care” means caring for the society and people’s health. The products made by Ayam Brand are a natural source of nutrient, convenient, value for money and safe.

“The whole wide world is like our family” are the words described by Ting to explain the “We are Family” concept. He elaborated more by saying “we are family is not only to each other but to the entire environment and the entire society.” This concept is part of Ayam Brand’s move towards societal marketing.

Healthier choice logo

Ayam Brand is working closely with the Malaysian authority on the Healthier Choice Logo (HCL) as providing healthy, nutritious, delicious, convenient and safe products has always been the core of the company’s corporate mission.

In Singapore, Ting said most of Ayam Brand’s products have been awarded the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS).

Ayam Brand’s products are moving towards the direction of less fat, less sugar and less salt. Ting said Ayam Brand was the pioneer in coming out with the light version for baked beans over 10 years ago. In 2017, Ayam Brand introduced tuna chunks in organic olive oil and tuna flakes in organic broth as well as Nutrisup double boil soup where the chicken chunks are free from antibiotics and growth hormones.

Changing seafood market in Malaysia

Ting sees a change in the seafood market in Malaysia where it is now moving towards the frozen and fresh direction. Ting said “canned food is one of the safest and most convenient product but with the changes in today’s lifestyle, people like to cook at home and experience it so they are looking at fresh or frozen seafood products.”

Ting said Ayam Brand plans to go into the frozen seafood segment. Nutrisup will be one of the subbrands. The correct way of saying the brand name is NutrisUP to bring up the nutrients in your body, explained Ting. More nutritious products will come under the NutrisUP label including clean label and organic, said Ting.

There is limited choice in the frozen seafood market and Ayam Brand aims to introduce more choices to the market.

Driving innovation in the market

As the number one player in canned seafood, “Ayam Brand has more responsibility to drive the category and bring more innovation to the people,” said Ting.

Ayam Brand’s factories are located in Malaysia but canned tuna is made in Thailand because of the economies of scale.

Ayam Brand has physical distribution of its products in more than 30 countries including in Japan, UK, Australia and France, “a milestone the company has been making in the past five to 10 years”, added Ting. The company only started to move out of Malaysia/Singapore in the past 10 years but the brand has been around for 125 years.

 

F&N Seasons, Drinho, Chill Asian drink and RTD tea renewed pack design

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Several beverage brands in Malaysia have refreshed their packaging to bring out the freshness in their products. Among the brand that have recently renewed their packaging are F&N Seasons, Drinho and Chill.

F&N Leaf and rope design

Photographed by the author

The new design for the F&N Seasons RTD tea comes with a rope and a card with the F&N Seasons logo. In the previous logo, the leaf was incorporated into the F&N Seasons logo. However, in the new design, the leaf has been relocated to the front of the word Seasons as part of the card hanging from the rope.

New F&N Seasons packaging. Image from F&N Beverages Marketing
Old F&N Seasons packaging

Similarly, the F&N Seasons Asian drinks series – grass jelly, chrysanthemum and water chestnut was given a packaging design featuring a card and a leaf hanging on the rope. The tiny leaf on the rope comes with the message “less sugar.” The Nutriwell label has been dropped to unify the brand under F&N Seasons. Previously, it was known as F&N Seasons Nutriwell.

F&N Seasons Water Chestnut. Photographed by the author

Drinho featuring green leaves

The green leaves motif is also seen in the new packaging design for Lam Soon’s Drinho Asian drink series. The healthier credential is evident not only through the green leaves but also through the Malaysian Ministry of Health’s Healthier Choice Logo (HCL) now on the pack.

New Drinho design. Photographed by the author
Old Drinho design. Image from the web

More vibrant Chill Asian drink

Chill, the Asian drink range of Etika, has been repackaged with a new design with added vibrancy. The Chill grass jelly drink less sugar comes in a design with pieces of grass jelly moving in  circular motion surrounding the brand name.

New Chill design (right) and old design (left). Photographed by the author

What Mini Me thinks

The leaf shaped design reminds me of the newest Malee packaging, which highlights the product’s freshness and flavour. The colorful half-cut fruit is surrounded by fresh green leaves and takes the centerstage in the new packaging. The result of adding the green leaves on the new Drinho and F&N Seasons packaging offers the same effect as Malee.

Ayam Brand Showcases Sustainable 10-Year Community Care Campaign That Coincides with Its 125th Anniversary

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Provides 381,960 Healthy Meals For 59 Charity Homes Across Malaysia and Brunei

Kuala Lumpur, October 24, 2017 – Ayam Brand™ is setting major milestones as it celebrates its 125th anniversary, the tenth consecutive year of the Ayam Brand™ Community Care campaign and being named as the leading brand in the region for sustainable palm oil usage by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

This household favorite famed for its wide range of healthy and convenient, preservative-free canned products, is defining what it means to be sustainable in its longevity, innovation, eco-consciousness and as a committed and caring contributor, and enabler of community initiative such as its 10-year strong CSR program.

The theme for its 125th anniversary celebration and for the Ayam Brand™ Community Care Campaign is We Care, We Are Family.

Over ten years the Ayam Brand™ Charity Campaign has benefitted close to 18,000 people from 421 charity organizations – providing them with 3,234,600 healthy meals as part of the brand’s effort to provide long-term, sustainable and tangible care to those in need through the contribution of healthy food and enrichment activities aimed at developing life-skills.

This year’s charity campaign reached 59 charity homes in 10 locations in Malaysia, and also in Brunei, providing 381,960 healthy meals for those in need with recipients from participating homes receiving Ayam Brand™ products sufficient for three daily meals over two months.

 The campaign included the popular Ayam Brand™ Junior Chef competition which aims to teach children the important life-skill of cooking, and to inculcate the habit of making healthier food choices.

In Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, the recipients include Rumah Kasih, Rumah Solehah, Pertubuhan Rumah Kebajikan Kanak-kanak Home of Peace KL, San Pedro Orphanage Home, Rumah Kebajikan Anak Yatim & Miskin Al-Munirah, Persatuan Rumah KIDS, and Trinity Children Centre.

Ayam Brand™ emphasizes the contribution of its sardines, mackerel and tuna products as many charity homes lack regular access to a good source of Omega-3, which is an essential fatty acid that our body cannot produce. Omega-3 may help to prevent coronary heart disease, promote healthy nerve activity, improve vitamin absorption, maintain a healthy immune system and promote cell development. Omega 3 is also important in the development of vision and brain among children.

The Ayam Brand Community Care Campaign is in-line with the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s efforts to fight obesity by educating and encouraging children to make informed food choices.

According to Ayam Brand Chairman, Yang Mulia Tunku Dato’ Mu’tamir Bin Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed, the brand is delighted to see how far, and how far-reaching this community care campaign has become since it began.

“We are delighted that our annual charity campaign has provided more than one million meals to people at 421 organizations in Malaysia and Brunei since its inception, providing them with healthy, nutritious food that is quick and easy to prepare,” Tunku Dato’ Mu’tamir said.

“Each year, we plan activities for the children, most often related to cooking and good nutrition, so that they can learn this important life-skill, increase self-confidence and become more independent,” said Tunku Dato’ Mu’tamir.

All Ayam Brand™ products are free from added MSG and preservatives, ready to eat straight from the can, and are certified Halal, suitable for consumption by Muslims.

Mr Moses Lim, 22, formerly from Rapha Children’s Home in Kuantan, Pahang remembers the Ayam Brand Community Care Campaign and Junior Chef competition with fondness as he participated in it as a teenager. It motivated him to pursue his interest in cooking. Moses who recently completed a Diploma in Civil Engineering at Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, is working as a cook at a popular restaurant chain in Singapore to save up to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering.

“From the time I started practicing for the Ayam Brand™ Junior Chef competition, my interest in cooking was stoked. We won the Pahang competition that year, and I just continued cooking, picking up more skills from my seniors and experimenting with different cuisines. Thanks to that early inspiration, I have a skill that is marketable and can help me achieve my dreams,” Moses said via a video message.

Ms Justine Morais, Founder of Home of Peace Charity, spoke on behalf of all the recipient homes in Klang Valley said that the contribution from Ayam Brand™ was valuable as it extended the variety of the residents’ regular diet, and was fast and convenient to prepare.

“The children enjoy Ayam Brand™ products as they view it as a treat. We appreciate it as it is healthy and convenient to prepare. The Junior Chef competition is a highlight as it has a simple goal – make outstanding food that is tasty and healthy. Our thanks to Ayam Brand for their long-term, sustained contribution to so many Malaysian children over the past 10 years,” said Ms Justine.

Joining the children at the event were popular television host and actress Ms Nina Nadira, and established blogger and entrepreneur, Ms Sue Lynn  who shared their Ayam Brand™ experience.

“Ayam Brand products especially the sardines in tomato sauce has been part of my family for as long as I can remember. I can recall having them at my grandparents’ home. Sardine sandwiches were a staple at every picnic and birthday party when I was growing up. We had sardine masak kicap, and sardine curry, too. I associate so many great memories with Ayam Brand, that now when I open a can it is not just the taste that makes me happy, but the wonderful memories that come flooding back. I did not realize that Ayam Brand is 125 years old, but yes, it has that classic taste we always come back for,” said Ms Nina during her sharing session.

Ms Sue Lynn shared on turning to Ayam Brand products to complement her busy lifestyle and her desire to eat healthier, organic food. “My daily schedule is packed but I make it a point to use more organic products in my meals because taste, health and quality are important to me. Dinner might be a salad, to which I add a protein such as Ayam Brand’s latest tuna range in organic olive oil and organic vegetable broth. It is simple – just pull the tab, add to salad, and dinner is done. For days when I want a nourishing pick-me-up, I’ve discovered NutriSUP by Ayam Brand. It is as good as mum’s recipe! Ayam Brand’s preservatives free and no added MSG products are perfect for me.”

Recently, Ayam Brand has been recognised as a leader by the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) in its Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard – Malaysia and Singapore 2017 for usage of certified sustainable palm oil. The brand switched to sustainable palm oil in 2010, and became one of the few local companies to make this commitment.

The company has numerous on-going sustainability initiatives to become environmentally greener and cleaner towards providing healthier and more responsibly sourced canned food choices to its consumers including pledging to have all buildings and factories Green Mark certified before 2030; and reducing of energy consumption by 25 to 33 percent with the installation of 1.4 Megawatt solar panels on the roofs of six of its Malaysian facilities. State-of-the-art sensors and software will allow the monitoring and control of energy consumption in real-time at these office and production facilities.

“Ayam Brand™ is all about sustainability. We’re in it for the long-haul, be it in innovation and longevity, community care, going green and customer satisfaction,” said Tunku Dato’ Mutamir in closing.

For more information on Ayam Brand™, please visit www.ayambrand.com.my or https://www.facebook.com/AyamBrand.Recipes .

Cross border contributes one-fifth to 11Street total order

By
Tan Heng Hong
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11street Chief Operating Officer, Chuljin Yoon, is excited about the launch of th ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign at Aloft Hotel Kuala Lumpur

We spoke to Chuljin Yoon, Chief Operating Officer of 11street, during the official launch of the ‘Shocking? YES!’ Campaign and here are some of the findings on 11Street’s Malaysia operation.

Cross border contributes a little less than one-fifth of total order

According to Yoon, in terms of the total order, cross border accounts for “a little less than 20% and in terms of sales, it is about less than 15%.”

Targeting 50% growth month-on-month during year-end

Year-end sales normally sees a 30% month-on-month increase in GMV but with the ‘Shocking? YES!’ Campaign, Yoon expects this to grow by 50% month-on-month in 2017 with contribution from cross border sales.

Evenly spread out across all categories

The products consumers buy during year-end is evenly spread out across all categories compared to Ramadan where only specific products sell well.

Cosmetics contribute less than 10%

The proportion of sales coming from cosmetics is “a little less than 10%,” said Yoon. Electronics is always the biggest category. The share of consumer electronics and home electronics is less than 15%, followed by home and living, fashion and health and beauty.

What about online grocery?

Yoon said “online grocery is still small because it is early stage in e-commerce”. 11Street reported good volume from Tesco from 2017. Tesco has their own channel but also sells through 11Street.

Mobile transaction

Mobile transaction is already more than 50% in member countries. 11Street does not need special promotion for mobile app to encourage mobile transaction in Malaysia as the country’s e-commerce started simultaneously with PC and mobile.

In Southeast Asia where 11Street has operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, the focus is on growing the customer experience and product variety, said Yoon.

Why there is a demand for Chinese products

Yoon said while speaking to a reporter from the China state-run media CNC (新华网络电视) that Malaysian consumers want variety of products not just from local but also overseas. 11Street used to see a lot of demand for South Korea and US products. These days, products from China are very competitive and consumers want lower priced products but with good quality. That is the reason why 11Street is trying to source more products from China.

Globalerow E-Commerce (环球易购) Vice President Wu Qinghua

According to Globalerow E-Commerce (环球易购) Vice President Wu Qinghua (吴庆华) speaking to CNC, he said since the company started cooperation with 11Street, the monthly growth on 11Street has been two to three digits each month.

Who’s Winning Philippines’ E-commerce Arena: Local or International Players?

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Lazada leads Philippines’ top e-commerce while majority are local players.

  • Lazada is the leading e-commerce in the country,  with a monthly average of 60 million website traffic followed by Zalora, Shopee and Ebay.
  • 40 out of the 48 top e-commerce are of local players. Beauty MNL, is the most visited local e-commerce on the list and also one of the youngest on the top 10.
  • 43 out of the 48 top e-commerce have higher facebook followers and less monthly average website traffic indicating social commerce as apparent trend in growing online business in the Philippines.

Companies from small and medium enterprises (SME) to giant corporations are shifting to e-commerce to broaden their consumer base despite Philippines’ “mall culture”.  The Philippine e-commerce has the lowest retail e-commerce sales share against SEA markets but shows potential with its growing internet and smartphone penetration, rising middle class and young population. According to Google-Tesmark Holdings joint research, Philippines’ e-commerce market share will reach 9.7 Billion- 11.05% of SEA projected digital economy in 2025.

As Philippine retail industry continue to harness the power of e-commerce, iPrice Group mapped Philippines’ top retail e-commerce online reach by analyzing website traffic through SimilarWeb, Google application downloads and their respective Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followers. Our analysis showed that 83 percent of the top 48 e-commerce are local players while 89 percent have more Facebook followers and less website traffic. Overall, Lazada is the country’s leading retail e-commerce in terms of website traffic followed by Zalora, Shopee, eBay while BeautyMNL tops local e-commerce.

Philippines’ Most Popular Retail E-commerce

According to SimilarWeb’s Q2 average monthly traffic, Lazada is the country’s most visited e-commerce and by far the only retail e-commerce to amass more than 60 million monthly average visitors, surpassing Zalora, Shopee, and eBay with at most 30-fold lead. Despite the entry of Amazon in SEA through Singapore last July, Alibaba-backed Lazada remains confident for its market-specific knowledge in the region.

In the Philippine markets, Lazada’s strategy will remain to solidify its brand, assortment of products and logistics infrastructure, says Inanc Balci, Lazada Philippines CEO. Last October 11, Taobao Collection, run live in Lazada Philippines following its launch in Indonesia (which will be available in Thailand by November), offering the diverse inventory of Alibaba Group.

The Philippines two largest retail conglomerates Ayala Group and JG Summit acquired Zalora Philippines and Shopee Philippines, the second and third most visited e-commerce sites on the list. Ayala Group owner of Ayala Malls holds a controlling stake of 49-percent in Zalora Philippines, paving Ayala Malls’ partner stores leverage to e-commerce through Zalora platform. Zalora on the other hand, gained an access to Ayala’s technology for digital payments through Globe GCash.

Meanwhile, the Gokongwei-led conglomerate, JG Summit acquired a significant stake in Shopee Philippines, a Singapore-based e-commerce. Majority of Shopee’s recent fundings will be leveraged in the growth of its e-commerce platform especially for its key markets. Established in 2015, Shopee is the youngest e-commerce on the list but amassed over two million sellers across SEA due to its free product listing and shipping. Shopee is the fourth most downloaded application on the list for its peer to peer key feature. In terms of application downloads, Ebay leads the top e-commerce list with a whopping 500 million users.

Established in 2014, Beauty MNL is the most visited youngest local e-commerce in the top 10. Unlike its competition Sephora, Beauty MNL has its own beauty and skincare magazine called Bloom, which publishes localized content daily. According to the Digital Marketing Philippines, the most effective channels in digital marketing are social media ads, social media and content marketing. “Companies and brands who want to succeed in social media marketing should understand that one of its critical component is content”, says Shayne Garcia, Managing Director of iProspect.

Less Monthly Visits, More Facebook Followers

While website traffic is the key determining factor in the top retail e-commerce list, social media also played a crucial factor in the growth of the country’s top e-commerce as 18 percent of the 40 local players initially started on Facebook and Instagram. Social commerce or sales driven by social media is expected to increase in SEA over the coming years despite that it is only 30% of the total online sales in 2016.

The top five e-commerce on the list: Lazada, Zalora, Shopee, Ebay and Beauty Manila have a million-monthly average traffic each while Goods, Galleon, Takatack, Sephora and Kimstore, only have around 200,000 to 300,000 monthly average traffic. However, in terms of Facebook followers the local players in the top 10: Goods, Galleon, Takatack and Kimstore, have more than a million followers on Facebook.

43 out of the top 48 e-commerce on the list have more Facebook followers and less website traffic; only five e-commerce (Lazada, Ebay, Beauty MNL, Galleon and Easy Shop), have more monthly visits. Even Melissa Philippines, in 39th place in terms of website traffic (less than 10,000), placed third on Facebook behind Lazada and Zalora with almost 6 million followers. Similarly, Eazy Fashion reached a million of followers despite its low traffic (less than 95,000).

According to wearedigital.com, Facebook Messenger recently doubled its active users taking over Viber Philippines as Philippines’ top messenger app. Facebook Messenger app is widely used for business transactions in the country, easing engagement between businesses and consumers. Due to its demand for businesses, PayMaya and GCash, two of the country’s top mobile money service providers teamed up with Facebook Messenger to launch payment option in its application which would cater to remittances, payment bills and mobile data purchasing.

Fashion Brands Are The Most Popular In Instagram

Apartment Eight Clothing and Sunnies Studios are the top 2 most followed e-commerce shopping on Instagram, both actively co-brands their label with celebrity endorsements which easily becomes an instant hit on Instagram.

According to Apartment Eight Clothing’s founder Sheira Lim, social media is the most effective fashion marketing tool for its brand, “Our customers already know what they want to buy because they see it in our Instagram page and they already have ideas how to wear a piece based on what they’ve seen. In fashion, marketing and social media is all about communicating visuals in the most effective way.”

Meanwhile, Sunnies Studios owned by celebrity and entrepreneur: Georgina Wilson, Martime Cajucom, Bea Soriano Dee and Erik Dee has a product-centric marketing approach on their social media accounts. Sunnies studios has three different pages on all their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Studios Sunnies showcases their fashion eyewear and other retail clothing while Specs Sunnies showcases their prescription eyewear. Metro Sunnies, on the other hand, features their followers’ photos wearing their label making it their most followed Instagram and Facebook pages.

For international players, Lazada and Shoppe are the third and fourth most followed e-commerce on Instagram. Most of the 21-fashion e-commerce on the list (including Lazada and Shopee) carries brand less fashion items from their independent merchants. The regard for brand less culture in online shopping suggests that social class E still represents a bigger market for low cost apparel despite the growing population of high income earners in the country.

Social Media an Integral Part of E-commerce

Lazada consistently topped the e-commerce both for website traffic and social media followers. According to Lazada Philippines’ CEO Inanc Balci, they are utilizing social media platforms as a strategy for retail innovation. Lazada’s Instagram strategy directly connects their merchants’ Instagram accounts to their website, which would automatically sync all their merchants’ products to Lazada’s website. Similarly, Lazada is implementing the same strategy on Facebook.

On the other hand, seven (Sunnies Studios, Apartment Eight Clothing, Melissa Philippines, The Lifestyle Store, Sunday Dress, Zeus, Dress PH, and Little Emily Shop) out of the 22 fashion local players started out not having their website- only utilizing Facebook and Instagram. In 2011, Multiply, was the most popular social media platform for independent merchants to leverage their products online at zero cost. Since then, the behavior of the Philippine e-commerce leaned towards social media integration. To date, the popularity of Facebook and Instagram is an opportunity marketplace for e-commerce and independent merchants alike especially that Filipinos are the number one who spent time on media.

About iPrice Group

iPrice Group is operating as a one-stop shop e-commerce aggregator across 7 markets in Southeast and East Asia with key feature in price comparison. It’s meta-search feature collates e-commerce products: home and living, cosmetics, grooming, fashion and electronics while its key feature in price comparison specifically caters to electronics.

11street Kicks Off Year-End Campaign to Drive Sustainable Business Growth with Stronger Product Variety

By
Tan Heng Hong
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It’s all smiles as the balloon pops, signifying the beginning of the ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign on 11street
  • Total order volume for global products has grown remarkably by double this year as compared to 2016
  • 11street expects 50% increase in gross merchandising value (GMV) and cross border trading order during the campaign period

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 October 2017 – The competitive fray of e-commerce has led to increased competition in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia, suggesting that growth is imminent for local operators[1]. With that, 11street – Malaysia’s number 2 online marketplace – is driving initiatives to accelerate its business growth by introducing a plethora of local and international products to contribute to Malaysia’s e-commerce industry.

Chuljin Yoon, Chief Operating Officer of 11street shared: “With the rapid digitalisation of economies, we are looking at a world of connected businesses. China, Japan, Korea and USA top the chart for active e-commerce penetration, so no doubt the Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia are a melting pot of opportunities for the e-commerce boom to take place.

“As an online marketplace, 11street serves the role in providing consumers with the convenience of online shopping and a greater product variety at competitive price, locally and internationally, while growing the local e-commerce market.”

Yoon also pointed out that since 2016, cross-border trading (CBT) in Malaysia has been experiencing exponential growth. For 11street Malaysia alone, the total order volume for global products has grown remarkably by double this year as compared to 2016. The most popular countries whose products are most sought after were China, Japan, Korea and USA. Worth mentioning, the total order for China products grew by 9 times this year with more than 70% purchase under the home improvement and personal care range of products.

Global products of the highest demand were items such as car camera, cosmetic make-up bag, travel bag and electronic gadgets, so with this information and through their market insights, 11street is en route to execute campaigns that benefits consumers with a wider product variety, yet continues to boost the growth of e-commerce in Malaysia.

Meeting local demands with the ‘Shocking? YES!’ Campaign

Onwards through a past 11street survey, shoppers have revealed that price plays a key factor when it comes to online shopping; the other factor includes product abundance for all categories across international brand standards.

Yoon elaborated: “Consumers shop online for lower prices. Apart from sourcing for affordable and a greater variety of quality products, 11street’s commitment is to deliver a holistic online marketplace to Malaysian consumers where they can find great discounts and an exciting shopping experience in a single place. 11street seeks to deliver convenience to our shoppers, at lower prices – guaranteed!”

More than 100,000 Lowest Price Guaranteed Deals and Free Shipping for Purchase above RM29

By collaborating with thousands of locally established and globally recognised brands, the launch of 11street’s year-end online shopping campaign – ‘Shocking? YES!’ – will introduce 100,000 Lowest Price Guaranteed products and free shipping for purchase above RM29 under the Shocking Deals section beginning 1 November 2017 and ending 31 December 2017, with over thousands of sellers and international brands to shop from.

During the campaign, consumers will enjoy a range of products from global participating brands, namely Globalegrow (a public listed brand on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with market capitalisation exceeding US$3 billion); Anker and Aukey (top ranking global Amazon sellers leading in the charging category, and consumer electronics and mobile tech accessories respectively, in more than 20 countries including the USA, Japan and Europe); Hada Labo (number 1 face lotion in Japan, with one bottle purchased every two seconds); OLENS (number 1 cosmetic lens supplier in Korea); MamyPoko; and Samsung, to name a few.

The happy faces of 11street’s guests of honour, brand partners, and executives at the launch of the ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign, 11street’s year-end sale

Other participating brands include Banggood, Banila Co., Bluelans, Caring Pharmacy, CJ WOW Shop, Courts, Lotte, Mamonde, Nongshim, Skechers, Tesco, UEB Technology, and many others.

11street Expects 50% Increase in Overall Business

Yoon concluded: “As consumers embark on a shopping spree during the year-end sale season, 11street aims to achieve at least a 50% increase in GMV and its cross-border trading orders. We believe that today’s launch of our ‘Shocking? YES!’ will pave the way to redefining online shopping for Malaysians, by giving them more product variety bundled with shocking promotions that they cannot resist.”

As the number 2 online marketplace in the country, 11street’s growing business portfolio now has more than 40,000 sellers with over 13 million listed products, and has an average of 16 million monthly visits.

The launch of 11street’s ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign was witnessed by Tan Sri Datuk Ter Leong Yap, President of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM); Akira Kajita, Managing Director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Kuala Lumpur; Yeon Sung Whan, Director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA); and Adam Tan, Vice President of the China Entrepreneurs Association in Malaysia (PUCM).

For more information about 11street’s ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign and its series of Shocking Deals, please visit www.11street.my

About 11street (www.11street.my)

11street is a trustworthy and convenient online marketplace that offers a great variety of products at competitive prices. It strives to revolutionise today’s consumers’ online shopping experience by making it more personalised and engaging. 11street has a diverse selection of product categories which are tagged on Fashion, Electronics, Groceries, Health & Beauty, Kids & Baby, Leisure & Sports, Home & Living, and Books & Services including deal offerings like E-vouchers. 11street is also an optimised marketplace where its merchandising ecosystem, education and training programs can fully support sellers regardless of the size of their businesses. Established in Korea since 2008, 11street is now one of the top global e-commerce marketplace providers with 400,000 sellers serving over 30 million consumers worldwide. 11street also has a presence in Turkey and Thailand, known as n11 and 11street respectively. For more information, please visit http://www.11street.my.

[1] http://www.miti.gov.my/miti/resources/Gallery_Walk.pdf

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