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Find Marmite, Bovril at oyster sauce section

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

For Malaysians who like to make Marmite chicken or add a bit of Marmite in their porridge, it is important to know that Marmite and Bovril will now be in the supermarket’s oyster sauce section from 1 October 2017.

This is an important development for Marmite and Bovril. In some supermarkets, these two products are kept securely inside the glass cabinet, usually behind the cashier. In other supermarkets, they can be found in the same rack as sweet spreads.

The image below, photographed by the author, shows Bovril and Marmite on the top shelf surrounded by sweet spreads at Cold Storage.

It makes more sense to place Marmite and Bovril in the sauce section because Malaysians rarely eat them as a spread. Rather than consuming with bread like what the British or Australians do, Malaysians generally mix it in their porridge or use it as a cooking ingredient to produce the famous Marmite chicken.

Marmite Pasta

Unilever, the company that owns Marmite and Bovril, is creating other Marmite-inspired recipes including Marmite pasta. This is seen as move to diversify the usage of Marmite in cooking. The brand recently launched a co-branding promotion in Malaysia where a Marmite 470g now comes with a free pack of San Remo Elbows.

The appearance of many Marmite-inspired dishes comes as households are slowly ditching the real Marmite and opting for a cheaper substitute. One example of the Marmite substitute is Fatmum Mummite Sauce (肥妈妈蜜酱料). Note the use of the word “Mummite” instead of “Marmite.”

Mini Me takeaway

It is prudent to place Marmite and Bovril in the same shelf as sauce as both are mainly used for cooking. However, the advent of cheaper substitute is posing a real challenge to Marmite, which raises the need for the brand to evolve to create more exciting and innovative recipes. I believe now is the time to create some excitement by introducing the Squeezable Marmite in Malaysia.

 

Vitagen celebrates 40th anniversary, Yakult sponsors national athletes

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Vitagen, Malaysia’s first and number one cultured milk drink, has unveiled a limited-edition bottle to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Malaysia. Vitagen was first launched in the country in 1977.

Vitagen has over 60% market share

The brand has cornered more than 60% share of the local cultured milk market, said Contra Enterprises Sdn Bhd deputy general manager Michael Ong in The Star daily article dated May 2013.

Yakult growing fast

This means, the second placed Yakult should have around 40% market share. Japan’s Yakult was officially established in Peninsular Malaysia in February 2004 and is Vitagen’s main competitor.

Back in November 2013, then Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Sales and Marketing Director Hiroshi Hamada mentioned the company is confident of becoming number one in three years [by 2016]. Yakult made available its namesake Yakult in Sabah in 2011 and opened a new branch office in Sarawak in 2013 to strengthen the business in the underserved East Malaysia.

Even though Vitagen is still number one right now, the mentioning of the plan to capture the pole position shows there is a strong possibility that Yakult is growing faster than Vitagen.

Yakult and Vitagen broadening target to adults

Cultured milk is seen as a drink for children. In order to grow the consumer base, the two brands are working hard to make it relevant to adults with the message of improving digestive health.

During the World Digestive Health Day Malaysia (WDHD) 2017, organised by the Digestive Health Malaysia Society (DHM) and Vitagen Healthy Digestion Programme, a landmark research by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre shows live and good bacteria could enhance the intestinal transit time. Vitagen has been celebrating the WDHD since 2009.

Yakult collaborates with sports institute

Yakult officially cemented its collaboration with the National Sports Institute of Malaysia (ISN) in August 2017 making Yakult the official probiotics drinks for ISN and for the choice for the national athletes from 2017 to 2020. The national athletes will enjoy 100,000 bottles of Yakult Ace Light each year over a three-year period.

The collaboration has the potential to turn Yakult into the beverage of choice for active consumers who would normally turn to isotonic drink after the workout, said Yakult Malaysia Managing Director Hiroshi Hamada. The ISN logo will appear on Yakult packaging from October 2017.

Yakult teams up with Chatime

Yakult is versatile and can be applied in food creation. The latest example is Yakult’s collaboration with Chatime to feature the probiotics drink in Chatime tea beverages.

Vitagen-inspired reipes

Vitagen also has other Vitagen-inspired recipes on its site including chicken chop in fruity sauce (using Vitagen orange) and Vitagen lollies.

Mini Me takeaways

Probiotics drink players are continuing to focus on expanding their consumer base including reaching out to adults and new occasion (sports) as the business is all about increasing volume sales. It is also important to create buzz through marketing such as the Yakult-Chatime partnership.

Marigold 1kg tub yoghurt for cooking debuts in Malaysia

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Malaysia Milk Sdn Bhd has finally introduced Marigold yoghurt in 1kg tub in the Malaysia market. A similar range is already available in neighboring Singapore, a country which features most of the latest innovative products from Malaysia Milk. Some of these new products would eventually make their way into Malaysia.

Natural tub yogurt for cooking

In Malaysia, natural tub yoghurt is used primarily for cooking. The new Marigold natural yoghurt in tub is going down the same route with the tagline “Natural goodness for wholesome cooking.” The 0% fat natural yoghurt is free from sugar, zero cholesterol and comes with calcium.

The fat content of coconut milk, mayonnaise and butter is listed out individually to drive home the message Marigold yogurt is the healthier-for-you alternative to these ingredients in cooking or in food preparation.

We have seen a similar approach adopted earlier by Nestle Malaysia where its Nestle Natural Set Yogurt, which contains only 57kcal and 1.6g of fat, was compared with santan (coconut milk), which comes with 28g of fat for each 100g serving. The message is clear. Consumers have the choice to switch to a healthier yoghurt that is low in fat for cooking or food preparation. See the post here.

Here is how the new Marigold yoghurt is priced

Marigold Yoghurt 0% Fat 1kg is also available in strawberry.

 

Sunglo Squeeze pouch yoghurt maximises packaging to shout out goodness

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

The Malaysian Yoghurt Company Sdn Bhd has given its Sunglo Squeeze yoghurt in a pouch (120g) a makeover. Sunglo Squeeze was first launched in Malaysia in 2014 and is still the only locally-made yoghurt in a pouch in the domestic market.

The new packaging focuses on the convenient properties of pouch – “now you can eat yoghurt without a spoon!” The word “Squeeze” also now comes in more vibrant colours.

The nutritional properties of Sunglo Squeeze are highlighted on the back of the new packaging in easy-to-read point forms. The new packaging maximises the impact as consumers tend to decide their purchase at the point of sale.

 

Vending machines way forward, new Nestle Nescafe Alegria AVM

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Vending machines have become a hotspot at trade expos in Malaysia. There is only one word to describe the rise of vending machine and that is “cost.” Rising cost especially manpower has drove businesses to think of new ways to cut cost and what’s better way to reduce cost than with self-service machine. Add convenient payment (eg Touch ‘n Go) into the pot and you will get a machine that meets the lifestyle of current consumers.

A prime example is the UK-based Costa Coffee, which was launched in Malaysia exclusively in the form of self-served coffee machine in Shell petrol stations.

Nestle launches new Alegria auto vending machine

Nestle Professional showcased its newest Nescafe Alegria AVM (auto vending machine) at the recently concluded Food & Hotel Malaysia (FHM) 2017.

The drink dispenses hot/cold drinks from Nestle’s range of beverages including Nescafe coffee, Bonus soy milk, Milo and Nestea.

Another feature of the AVM is the acceptance of the Touch ‘n Go payment. However, Nestle is not the first to include the Touch ‘n Go function in vending machine.

Ventaserv first to debut vending machine accepting Touch ‘n Go

Competitor Ventaserv is the first to unveil the cashless vending machine in collaboration with Touch’ n Go Sdn Bhd and Coca Cola Refreshments (M) Sdn Bhd in July 2017.

According to the company, it hopes to increase the number of vending machines to 1,000 by the end of 2017, up from 500 at the moment. The currrent Ventraserv vending machines are loated in hospitals, recreational parks, shopping malls and schools in the Klang Valley.

First phase roll out of Nescafe Alegria on PLUS highways

Nescafe Alegria will be rolled out initially in the rest stops on PLUS highways.

Mini Me takeaway

There is a growing acceptance of self-service ranging from self-checking at the airport to making purchases on vending machines. For consumers, the most important things they would like to see in vending machines are payment convenience and interesting and relevant product range.

For businesses, unmanned vending machines help to lower cost and they can operate 24/7, which looks great on paper but ultimately location will be the most important factor for vending machine to become successful.

San Miguel goes for sustainability by dropping Purewater bottled water line

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Food and beverage companies in Southeast Asia are increasingly taking their own initiative to become more environmental friendly or ethical in their production. Such measures were implemented even before major public outcry or government regulations.

San Miguel to stop Purewater bottled water line

One example is the Philippines conglomerate San Miguel Corp (SMC) announcing in September 2017 that it would discontinue its plastic bottled water line Purewater. This would effectively means the company is exiting the bottled water business, which comes under its San Miguel Brewery Inc unit.

Forgo bottled water to achieve long-term sustainability

SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said “the plastic bottled water business has given us good returns, but we are choosing to forego it in favor of our long-term sustainability goals.”

Focusing on filtration technology

SMC is diverting its resources to higher value added filtration technology to be deployed during disasters to provide safe drinking water to affected households.

Plastic waste issue

Plastic waste is a major issue for the Philippines. According to a 2015 study by the Science Journal, the country is the world’s third biggest plastic waste producer with 1.88 million metric tons of mismanaged waste per year, reported CNN Philippines.

No material impact to SMC

The bottled water business is insignificant for SMC as Purewater is only a minor player in the industry.

Coca-Cola tees off for a good cause

By
Tan Heng Hong
-
L-R_Gareth McGeown and Finaswati Mohamed Zin from Coca-Cola hands over donation to the NGO representatives, Noraini Yaakob and Siti Hajar Ismail

Corporate and business partners, customers and suppliers rallied together for a good cause at the recent Coca-Cola Charity Golf Day. Held at the premier TPC Kuala Lumpur golf club, around 100 players participated in the full day event, which began with an 18-hole game and ended with dinner and entertainment.

Highlights of the dinner included a lucky draw session and the auction for a pair of return tickets to New York sponsored by Etihad Airlines that was eventually sold to the highest bidder, Rodney Wong Kai Heng the Chief Executive Officer of Munch World Marketing Sdn Bhd.

Organised by Coca-Cola Bottling Investment Group Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, the charity event successfully raised RM100,000 which will benefit underprivileged children from Pertubuhan Baitul Mahabbah. Based near the Coca-Cola plant in Negeri Sembilan, the non-profit organisation provides a safe haven for financially disadvantaged children and orphans under the age of 12.

The funds raised will go towards the refurbishment and provision of basic facilities for the 3 hostels housing 40 young boys and girls.

“We are humbled and grateful by the support given by our partners, customers and suppliers who has made this charity event a success through their participation and generous sponsorships and donations. Together with them, Coca-Cola is able to extend a helping hand to those in need and hopefully make a small but positive impact to the lives of the children at Pertubuhan Baitul Mahabbah,” said Gareth McGeown, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola’s Bottling Investment Group Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei.

The donation to Pertubuhan Baitul Mahabbah was presented by McGeown and Finaswani Mohamed Zin, Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Malaysia & Singapore, Coca-Cola Bottlers Malaysia to representatives from the NGO, Noraini bt Yaakob and Siti Hajar bt Ismail.

“Apart from today’s donation to Pertubuhan Baitul Mahabbah, Coca-Cola will continue to give back to the local community and give aid to those in need through our corporate CSR initiatives,” added McGeown.

Food Proteins Asia Meet in Bangkok Weighs Asia’s Rising Protein Intake & Its Prospects

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

CMT’s inaugural Food Proteins Asia, in Bangkok on 9-10 November highlights the opportunities presented as Asia develops a huge appetite for protein fortified food and drinks coupled with global shift towards plant based proteins such as soy, peas and pulses.

Food Proteins Asia 2017 seeks to unveil opportunities in Asia Pacific’s protein ingredient market, expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 9.1% over the next few years. Day 1 begins with Frost & Sullivan sharing the ‘Global Food Protein Trends & Growth Opportunities in Asia’ – highlighting alternative proteins, sustainable food protein sources, technologies and the changing economics, food safety and health and wellness concerns.

Plant-based proteins will be a primary focus as DuPont Nutrition & Health presents topic on ‘Capturing the Protein Opportunity with Soy Protein: Market Fit, Applications and Advantages’, and Axiom Foods addresses ‘The Tipping Point for Plant’ – focusing on how people are moving away from meat in the USA.

Brand owner – Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition joins the summit with its perspective on the evolving protein diets in infant nutrition. As dairy remains a key protein source, Fonterra presents a session on – ‘Why Dairy? The benefits of dairy protein’. It is followed by ‘The irreplaceable value of whey protein in human nutrition’ by Pacific Dairy Ingredients.

Insect based protein – considered the next big thing – is slated to have two sessions – ‘Edible insects market’ featuring processing technologies and market opportunities for consumer packaged goods by Bugsolutely and Abundance Food Co. on ‘Fortifying energy bars with cricket protein’.

Organised by Centre for Management Technology (CMT), other key presentations are:

  • Power of pulses – Meijer Consult
  • Understanding the vital gluten market going forward – Commoditia
  • MycoProtein – Healthy new proteins with low environmental impact new market applications – Quorn Foods Monde Nissin
  • Commercializing Lentein in Asia & Formulating into food products – Parabel (formerly PetroAlgae)
  • Harnessing the Goodness of Pea Proteins and its Suitability in Asia – Roquette Management
  • Recent technological, commercial & regulatory development on new food protein ingredients in Asia – Keller & Heckman

Larsson will join the summit as exhibitor.

For more information visit Food Proteins Asia 2017 or call Ms. Huiyan Fu at +65 6346 9113.

11street enhances online grocery shopping experience

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Mart 11 offers a 48-hour delivery with RM11 cashback for late service and it caters over thousands of products for consumer selection

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 September 2017 – Across the ASEAN region, the outlook for grocery shopping is looking bright as it is expected to become the world’s largest market worth almost US$180 billion by 2020. [1] To cater the rising demand for household and grocery items online, 11street launched Mart 11 today, its first campaign with a promise of 48-hour delivery within the Klang Valley as one of its new commitments towards enhancing the grocery shopping experience in Malaysia.

Chuljin Yoon, Chief Operating Officer of 11street said, “The digitalisation of grocery shopping is a crucial step in the e-commerce industry. The Mart 11 concept is a way to enhance shopping experience with specifically household and grocery items, making it much more convenient to shop from the comfort of your home. It features 10 renowned brands every month showcasing over 1000 daily food and beverage, baby essentials, and daily essentials.”

Tracing back to 11street’s Year End Outlook Survey last year, it is discovered that interest to purchase household and grocery items online will increase from 7.8% to 40.4% in 2017 – an estimated of 5 times increment from 2016. This also puts household and groceries items as one of the “Top 3 Categories Most People Are Likely to Explore in 2017”.

In relations, the sales figure of 11street Malaysia within the period of January to August 2017 reported a surge in the grocery sale category by 158%, in comparison to 2016 of the same period. The top 5 most purchased grocery products identified are chocolate malt powder, milk powder, diapers, soft drinks, and grains.

11street enhanced logistic support to provide greater value

The competition among e-retailers today goes beyond just pricing alone as the focus is also on convenience and fast delivery. The Mart 11 concept allows consumers to enjoy a 48-hour delivery service within the Klang Valley and RM 11 cashback for late service.

“As one of the leading e-commerce platform, it is our goal to fine tune customer experience by offering them the convenience of purchasing goods anywhere at any given time. The cashback serves as a seal of confidence in our logistic support to deliver the package within 48 hours,” added Yoon.

In addition to the promotions in Mart 11, customers can also enjoy additional 11% store cart coupon on top of the discounted products.

Mart 11 paving way for new market expansion

Malaysian online shopping behaviour has changed drastically over the year, from purchasing lifestyle, electronic and beauty products to now including fast moving consumer goods and groceries. The trend in fresh produce delivery has also become prevalent through the rise of many grocery delivery start-ups.

Yoon added, “Going beyond the ordinary, 11street is one of the first online marketplaces in Malaysia that can deliver frozen goods to your doorstep with just a click away. To do so, we have forged strong partnerships with brands such as Wall’s and Nestle to deliver ice-cream to selected areas or states in Malaysia.

“We foresee potential in the Malaysian market to advance forward in the grocery shopping revolution. With the establishment of Mart 11, we are confident that 11street will be the anchor for the online grocery shopping market in Malaysia, and to continue serving consumers a quality product variety with reliable logistics service at competitive rates,” concluded Yoon.

For more information on Mart 11 and its monthly promotions, please visit http://www.11street.my/benefit/promotionDetail.do?planDisplayNumber=592859.

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] https://foodindustry.asia/selling-online-in-asia-four-emerging-online-grocery-models

Tofusan eyes ASEAN expansion via DKSH partnership

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Tofusan eyes ASEAN expansion

Tofusan Co., Ltd., Thailand’s No.1 organic soymilk producer, said it has plans to export its soymilk into other Southeast Asian countries in 2018 through the DKSH network. This comes on the sideline of the official announcement of the distribution partnership between Tofusan (โทฟุซัง) and DKSH. Tofusan is famous for its soymilk with tofu sheet.

Partnership with DKSH

DKSH was appointed by Tofusan to handle marketing, sales, distribution and logistics services in Thailand. This includes the expansion of Tofusan products in modern trade, convenience stores, hotels, schools, restaurants, community retailers and food service channels.

Opening new factory in Samut Sakhon

Tofusan aims to open a new factory in Samut Sakhon, a city close to the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, reported Bangkok Post. The capacity of the new factory is 300,000 bottles of soymilk per day. It will add to the existing daily production capacity of 100,000 bottles a day.

UHT soy milk has the biggest segment

According to Tofusan, UHT soy milk was the biggest segment in the soy milk market in Thailand in 2014 with 84.31%, followed by sterilisation 13% and pasteurisation at 2.94%. Lactasoy is the market leader in UHT soy milk, while Tofusan is active in the pasteurised and sterilised soy milk segments.

The image below was taken from iizziistudio.com

Market leader

Tofusan debuted in the market in 2011 and by the end of July 2015, it had captured 54% of the market in the bottled soy milk segment. Ohayo and Shinpo was respectively second each with a 20% share and Fong Fong with the remaining 6%.

New product with 5 colours

The new Tofusan soy milk has beans of 5 colours including white bean, green bean, red bean and soy bean in konjac. The retail price of the 225ml drink is THB 15 and is only available at 7-Eleven. The calcium in the drink comes from white sesame.

What Mini Me thinks

UHT soymilk such as Lactasoy and Green Spot (Vitamilk) has found a ready market in Southeast Asia. Huge growth is seen in the Philippines for Vitamilk. The demand for pasteurised and sterilised premium soymilk is slowly picking up as consumers upgrade to better soymilk and this is where Tofusan can play a role.

Food Protein Asia 2017

To know more about Asia’s soaring demand for protein enriched foods and learn from Monde Nissin, Parabel, Meijer Consult, Axiom Foods, Fonterra Brands, Danone Nutricia and many more at Food Proteins Asia 2017 on 9-10 Nov Bangkok, Thailand.

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