Le Pan, famous for its banana cake popular with tourists, has announced the availability of the new choco pocket sandwich in Thailand. Available in a bear shape in brown colour, this pocket sandwich serves as an example of how one can innovate with pocket sandwich, which does not need to be square. Pocket sandwich can be in many different shapes and sizes including in the form of a bear.
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 AUGUST 2018 â Giant represents and means so much more than just a hypermarket or retail chain. As one of the oldest chain of hypermarkets in Malaysia, Giant has been committed to helping Malaysians, providing the best value for the freshest quality – making us one of the most trusted home solution partners for Malaysian families. To celebrate our 74th anniversary and Malaysia National Day, we collected Little Giant Stories from our staff as well as customers, to show what Giant truly means to Malaysians.
Inspiring and enabling Malaysians with opportunities
Not only a household name among Malaysian families, Giant also represents one of the largest employers in Malaysia. With stores in almost every community around the nation and 74 years of experience in the local market, itâs no wonder every one of us have a unique Giant story to tell – especially those a part of our Giant Family. Featuring some of Giantâs longest standing employees, these stories brings to life our employeesâ relationship and experience with the Giant family from a personal perspective.
âI was recognized for my potential by Giant when I became the youngest store manager at 28 years old, after only working for 7 years and my highest qualification was SPM,â said Thangaraj a/l Panirsalvam, Store Manager. âI would not have been able to do it if Giant didnât believe in me.â
Thangaraj has accomplished countless achievements throughout the 15 years that he has been with the Giant family. He says that he wouldn’t have been able to climb and develop so quick without the opportunities and trainings from Giant and particularly the people who have believed in him over the years.
In this time Malaysians are appreciating rewards in the form of recognition of their efforts more than ever, as the likelihood of these are scarce more than ever. Jimmy Chu Chee Seng, currently a store manager, tells a story on how Giant surprised him for his contributions.
âBack in 2006, the store I was working at achieved the best performance out of the other stores. Everyone at Giant knew I was a football fan, they actually sent me on a 5 days 4 nights trip to the UK to watch a match. It meant a lot because they went out of their way to specially make me feel appreciated,â said Jimmy.
Some of our staff stories also includes the hardships that some of members of the Giant family have faced over the years. K. Malathy a/p Karuppiah, a single mother of two, reminisce on the early stages of her journey with Giant, working multiple jobs to support her family.
“When I started at Giant, I had to clean houses on my off days to support my family. Now I own three houses, two which I rent out. I donât need to work anymore, since my kids are working already, but I feel I owe this much to Giant for their support throughout the years,” says Malathy. âA lot of people looked down on me at that time, even making fun of how I was a cleaner. 26 years with Giant, I really believe that I wouldnât have made it in life without the support and opportunities at Giant.â
To read more about our staff and/or customers Little Giant Stories, please visit:
https://www.giant.com.my/littlegiantstories/
Little Giant Stories
We have also compiled the Little Giant Stories from all of you, and made it into a video! Watch how these beautiful stories make us one Giant family:
Tawaran Hari Kebangsaan – Ekstra Jimat, Ekstra Ceria
Giant Hypermarket continues leading in value and freshness with their National Day offering, âTawaran Hari Kebangsaan – Ekstra Jimat, Ekstra Ceriaâ, where throughout August, a product* a day will be discounted by 50%. These products will be selected from a variety of categories including Health & Beauty, Groceries, Perishables and General Merchandise.
To find out the promotion of the day during Tawaran Hari Kebangsaan – Ekstra Jimat, Ekstra Ceria, customers can follow Giant Malaysiaâs Facebook page and join the âHari-Hari Value Groupâ; a community group specially designed to serve you promotions. Customers can also refer to our Giant website (www.giant.com.my) for information on all the latest promotions and exciting contests.
*Limited to 3 units per customer in a single receipt.
About GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., (GCH) a subsidiary of Dairy Farm International, is the operator of Giant hypermarkets and supermarkets chain; Cold Storage, Mercato and Jasons Food Hall premium grocery stores. Keeping abreast of latest market trends, GCH Retail continues to deliver on modern retail experiences and avails Malaysian customers to a wide array of products and produce, including quality value selections as well as premium and exclusive offerings. GCH Retailâs latest industry accolade includes being Retail Asia-Pacificâs Top 500 Gold Winner as Malaysiaâs Number 1 Retailer. Operating stores across Peninsular Malaysia and in Sabah &; Sarawak, GCH Retail retains a strong foothold in the local retail industry and continues to maintain a strong leadership position.
(All information is correct as at 8 February 2018)
Farm Fresh’s lactose-free pasteurised fresh milk has been given a new packaging (image above) to ensure it stands out on the shelf.
In addition to the new packaging for the lactose-free milk, Farm Fresh’s popular kurma pasteurised fresh milk is now available in a smaller 200ml pack to make it easier for children to finish it on the go. Kurma milk is currently sold in a larger 700ml bottle.
Also available is the new UHT range including kurma milk, cafe latte and premium chocolate milk, which we have mentioned in an earlier post. The UHT range is still not spotted at the leading retailers.
The Vietnamese dairy sector has embraced A2 milk following the launch of A2 milk by Vinamilk. It is the first fresh milk in Vietnam that contains the A2 beta-casein, thanks to the use of purebred A2 cows from New Zealand.
According to dairyreporter.com, the milk is produced at the Thong Nhat dairy farm in Thanh Hoa. The number of A2 cows is around 200, arrived in June 2018, with a plan to increase to 1,000 in 2019.
The UHT milk contains around 3g of protein per 100ml.
Rival TH was reported by foodbev.com in June 2018 to have isolated 500 A2 cows to allow it to produce milk that offer no digestive discomfort. A new A2 milk operation has been set up in NghÄ©a ÄĂ n to produce initially fresh milk and yoghurt with A2. The company is capitalising on research showing digestive discomfort is caused not by lactose as earlier studies suggest but due to A1 beta-casein protein in milk.
Similar A2 milk has been launched in Indonesia in 2018. With Vietnam and Indonesia jumping on the A2 bandwagon, we expect A2 will become the centre of attention for the dairy sector in Southeast Asia in 2018 and 2019.
GarudaFood has unveiled Chocolatos chocolate drink. The launch of Chocolatos ready-to-drink (RTD) chocolate marks the extension of the brand from stick wafer and instant chocolate drink into the RTD format, following the footsteps of Nabati Combo, which contains wafer and instant chocolate powder and GoFast, a new cereal biscuit that can be eaten on its own or turned into a cereal drink.
The new Chocolatos chocolate drink is also a reflection of the current product innovation trend of upgrading from instant chocolate mix to the convenient RTD format. Dynakat is a recent example, which is said to be the first dark chocolate RTD drink in Indonesia.
OISHI, Malaysiaâs favourite ready-to-drink green tea beverage has embarked on a rebranding exercise with a new name and innovative packaging design across its entire product range, enabling the well-loved drink to enhance its widespread appeal and stand out amongst other brands in the segment.
Oishi is Japanese for âdeliciousâ while Oyoshi means taking the delectable taste to the next level. As part of the rebranding initiative, OISHI will change its name to OYOSHI to reflect its evolution from being just delicious (oishi) to a taste that is âbeyond deliciousâ (oyoshi), akin to its campaign name. Now produced with the new F&N state-of-the-art cold-aseptic filling technology the unique blend tastes fresher and better defined.
The change in name and packaging will be effective from end of July 2018 and the revamp will be supported by a promotional drive covering all channels including a digital campaign and product sampling.
Each bottle of OYOSHI is packed with refreshing flavours that is set to quench consumersâ thirst and satisfy their taste buds, unleashing a revitalised ready-to-drink green tea beverage with a more exciting and enjoyable taste.
According to Mr. Graham Lim, Vice President, Marketing of F&N Services (F&N) Sdn. Bhd., the repositioning of OISHI to OYOSHI aimed at boosting its brand affinity and strengthening consumer loyalty towards the popular beverage.
âSince its introduction in 2013, OISHI has grown significantly to become one of Malaysiaâs favourite ready-to-drink green tea beverage. Repositioned as OYOSHI, the beverage is poised to not only create a greater appeal amongst existing consumers but also reach a broader market that is constantly looking for authentic Japanese tea taste and the health benefits of green tea which naturally contains anti-oxidants.
âOYOSHI is brewed from 100 per cent organic tea leaves grown on certified organic plantations. Therefore REAL green tea leaves are used and with no added preservatives. These elements enable us to offer high quality value in each bottle of OYOSHI. We are confident that the newly revamped OYOSHI will continue to set us apart from the rest and meet the demand of todayâs consumers particularly the young urban crowd who lead a healthy lifestyle and are more likely to indulge in a premium beverage like OYOSHI,â said Mr Graham Lim.
Only the three youngest leaves at the tip are selected from each branch of the organic tea plants in making OYOSHI. These young organic leaves are then masterfully brewed according to OYOSHIâs signature recipes without the use of preservatives or artificial colouring through the new cold-aseptic filling (CAF) technology. CAF involves the process of bottling a product at ambient temperatures without tunnel pasteurisation or hot filling and without the use of preservatives or cold sterilising agents. The process provides improved taste and a greater nutritional value to OYOSHI. Through CAF, OYOSHI stays safe, fresh, flavourful and preservative-free.
OYOSHI is sold at retail stores across Malaysia in 380ml and the all-new 1 litre PET bottles. The brand comes in four delicious flavours, namely OYOSHI Green Tea Original, OYOSHI Green Tea Honey Lemon, OYOSHI Lychee Green Tea and OYOSHI Black Tea Lemon.
JD.id., the e-commerce arm of China’s JD.com in Indonesia, has brought Eid al-Adha (Hari Raya Qurban) to the next level by making it convenient for Muslims to purchase livestock (cows or goats) to be sacrificed on Eid al-Adha.
Delivery is to be made on 20-21 August 2018.
The growing acceptance of e-commerce means even livestock for sacrificial means can be sold online. This paves the way for more interesting products ranging from cars (already sold on JD.id) to other products that can be purchased with few clicks of the mouse.
China’s Want Want has announced it will introduce “bitter” flavour versions of its popular range. The bitter flavour is more likely to reflect the use of herbal ingredients that tend to have the bitter note. The bitter approach not only creates a buzz in social media but is also a creative way to elevate its existing range to the healthy platform.
Oreo has launched two intriguing spicy flavours in China – spicy chicken wing (èŸŁéžĄçż ćł) and wasabi (è„æ«) to deliver a new spicy experience. This limited edition 388g Oreo is priced at RMB 22.9 on JD.com. It shows Oreo does not necessarily need to be sweet.
In Singapore, Mondelez has rolled out Oreo mooncake much to the delight of Singaporeans. The mid-autumn festival or mooncake festival falls on 24 September 2018. The gift box contains mooncakes in the following flavours:
 Available at NTUC Fairprice (480g) for SGD 26.90.
The made-in-Vietnam mooncake was first developed by Mondelez’s Vietnamese unit Kinh Do in 2017.
Kuala Lumpur, August 15, 2018â iPrice Group, Southeast Asia’s leading product discovery and comparison platform, has extended its latest funding round to welcome Naver as their latest investor.
David Chmelar, iPrice Groupâs CEO and Co-Founder, says: âNaver doesnât only operate the leading search engine in South Korea but has been also able to build an impressive shopping and price comparison engine in its domestic market.
Given the wealth of experience and strategic value that Naver brings to the table, we couldnât pass on the opportunity to welcome them as our latest investor.
We are honored to receive the vote of confidence of such an iconic company in our path to become the primary gateway to online shopping in Southeast Asia.â
Naverâs direct investment comes only three months after its subsidiaryâs VC arm, LINE Ventures, led iPriceâs latest funding round.
âThe tremendous traction which iPrice has continued to display throughout their latest fundraising is a testament to the impressive execution of the team and the explosive growth of SEAâs e-commerce marketâ says Peter Na of Naver Corp
Since its latest Series B funding announcement only 3 months ago, iPrice claims to have grown the number of monthly users to a further 50%, mainly driven by its Indonesian market.
About iPrice Group
iPrice is Southeast Asiaâs leading product discovery and comparison platform, connecting consumers with hundreds of e-commerce merchants through the best possible shopping experience. Since October 2014, the platform has established itself as the fastest growing in its segment across seven markets: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong.
About Naver Corp
NAVER Corp. is the No.1 search portal, NAVER, provider in Korea. Based on know-hows earned from providing search service for years, it has launched various global services like LINE, Webtoon, and SNOW. Also, NAVERâs R&D subsidiary NAVER Labs is developing future technologies like autonomous driving, robotics, and AI under the philosophy of âAmbient Intelligenceâ. At the same time, AI platform Clova, which is developed with LINE, is contributing to the expansion of the AI eco-system via devices like smart speaker.
NAVER is executing R&D on future technologies globally. For example, NAVER Labs Europe in Grenoble, France, and NAVER/LINE-HKUST AI Laboratory in Hong Kong are proceeding various precedent studies.
In the future, NAVER will do its best to connect more users, small businesses, and creators through continuous investment and R&D on technologies.
