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Improved snackability for Campbell’s Instant Soup

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

In Malaysia, Campbell Soup, the market leader in instant soup, has unveiled a new packaging for its instant soup range. The packaging features Asian female faces with a caption saying “My favourite snack anytime, anywhere.” This is seen as the continuation of the “Me time” with Campbell’s Instant Soup positioning.

Mintel study shows millennials (consumers age 21-38) in the US are more likely to snack four times a day or more compared to older consumers. The research also shows millenials are more likely to snack as a means “to fulfill emotional and functional needs, including combating boredom or stress and increasing energy and focus.”

Highlighting Campbell’s Instant Soup as the snacking choice taps into the high snacking frequency among millenials, which is also increasingly evident in Malaysia from brands launching small bite-sized snacks to healthy snack delivered to your doorsteps.

Review of Manis app

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Snap a receipt and earn points or rewards has become a rage in Southeast Asia. Malaysia-based Ebizu’s Manis, lauded as “a universal loyalty lifestyle mobile app that enables you to earn and spend points at all your favourite businesses,” has seen success in Malaysia.

Data analytic

Behind the rewards is the use of the information generated from the scanned receipts for data analytic. The spending pattern of the consumer can be tracked and the data can be sold to interested parties for targeted promotion or to understand the lifestyle of their customers.

Online shopping excluded

The app accepts receipts from spending made in foodservice premises and retail outlets. Since it tracks offline shopping, online transaction is excluded as there are already many tools out there to understand online shoppers. Also excluded are travel and accommodation and utilities.

Author’s experience

The author started using Manis in late 2016 and has since discontinued after the rewards become less attractive and relevant. There used to be grocery vouchers but once the author accumulated enough points to exchange for it, I was too late as all the grocery vouchers have been redeemed.

Rewards on 14 July 2017:

Problems affecting data accuracy

There is also a problem with the Manis app that could potentially affect the data accuracy. Anyone can pick up a receipt that was discarded and use it to scan to collect the points. If this person repeats the same method with different types of receipts, they can quickly earn points.

Another way to beat the system is to collaborate with your friends and family members. All their receipts will be grouped under one account and at the end of the day, the data reflects the collective spending of certain individuals.

Manis is weeding out the practice by requiring the scanning of the actual receipt and user is given a time frame of 24 hours to complete their submission, instead of 48 hours previously.

For me, it is bye bye for now unless they bring back the grocery vouchers. By the way, I still have at least 5,000 points in my account, down from 12,000 points. I redeemed some for Honestbee but that was only sufficient to waive the shipping and handling fee.

Vitasoy rolls into the Philippines with convenient packaging

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Finally, the long awaited Vitasoy soy milk from the joint venture between Philippines-based URC and Hong Kong’s Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd has been launched in the Philippines.

Chocolate, original and coffee flavours

Vitasoy in the convenient plastic bottle and carton was introduced in the Philippines market in June 2017. The Vitasoy soy milk drink in 330ml plastic bottle features three variants – original, chocolate and coffee.

The choice of plastic bottle not only differentiates Vitasoy from market leader Vitamilk (glass bottle and carton) but also makes the soy milk more portable and convenient for consumers.

With real oat

The 1L carton is available as Vitasoy Plus (original and oat) and Vitasoy (chocolate). The Vitasoy Plus oat flavour is added with real oat, making it an innovation in the soy milk category.

Vitamilk goes for RGB

Vitamilk from Thailand’s Green Spot has the biggest share of the soy milk drink market in the Philippines with close to 90% market share based on Nielsen Retail Audit as of full-year 2016. AB Brewery, the beverage arm of LT Group, owns the local distribution and production rights to Vitamilk in the country. Vitamilk was first launched in the Philippines in 2011.

In April 2017, AB Brewery added the 200ml new returnable glass bottle (RGB) to make Vitamilk affordable in the traditional channel, which comprises mainly sari-sari stores. Each bottle has a suggested retail price of PHP 15 (USD 0.30) for the content only, while the much bigger 300ml format sells in the convenience store and supermarket for a suggested retail price of PHP 23.50.

Even as soft drink companies in the Philippines are moving away from RGB in favour of non-returnable packaging, for a new category like soy milk drink, it does make sense to aim at consumers from a lower socioeconomic background to increase penetration and usage.

Apart from the 200ml RGB and the 300ml glass bottle, the Vitamilk range is available in 250ml and 1L carton.

Image below from Robinsons Supermarket on Honestbee.ph.

Also available is Vitamilk Thai Tea.

New Vitamilk plant opens

AB Brewery officially opened its new production plant for Vitamilk in May 2017. The factory, operating under AB Nutribev, is located in Santa Rosa City, Laguna. The manufacturing facility in Laguna is also the first overseas factory for Vitamilk outside of Thailand.

What Mini Me thinks

The packaged soy milk drink category in the Philippines is still relatively small and has further room to grow. The entry of Vitasoy, backed by URC, is set to provide a strong contender to Vitamilk, backed by AB Brewery. Both local partners have strong distribution channel and will help grow soy milk drink penetration even further.

New Le Pan chocolate banana cake, still super cute and affordable

By
Tan Heng Hong
-
Image from Le Pan

The hugely popular Le Pan banana cake from Thailand now has a twin brother – chocolate banana cake. Same as the banana cake, the chocolate banana cake is priced at THB 12 and is available at 7-Eleven.

Le Pan is made by CPRAM, a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group). CPRAM produces and distributes ready-to-eat foods and fresh bakeries.

Yours truly bought a lot of the Le Pan or Lepan banana cakes as souvenir while travelling in Thailand. The cakes tick all the boxes in taste, affordability and trending. Also available is the mango-flavoured custard cake but is not as popular as banana.

*1st image from Le Pan, 2nd image is the photo taken by the author

Three Philippine retailers reach 1,000th store milestone

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Three retailers in the Philippines are reaching or have reached their 1,000th store milestone.

Jollibee clocked in 1,000th outlet

On 3 July 2017, the homegrown fast food chain Jollibee opened its 1,000th store in the Philippines at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) Triangle Drive in Taguig.

At the end of February 2017, there were 989 Jollibee outlets in the Philippines and 171 overseas, up respectively from 916 and 171 at the end of 2015.

Potato Corner

Potato Corner, the homegrown French fries brand, announced it would be opening its 1,000th outlet in August 2017. Company Chairman Jose P. Magsaysay Jr. said it will have over 140 branches overseas by August 2017 including 98 in Indonesia, 35 in the US and 11 in Thailand.

Potato Corner, first set up in 1992, is looking for partners in Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. A store in Cambodia and Kuwait will open in August 2017.

Potato Corner timeline

  • 1992 – Founded as a kiosk outlet
  • 1993 – Started franchising
  • 1994 – Opened around 70 outlets
  • 1997 – Opened 170th outlet
  • 2006 – Opened first outlet in Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 2008 – 170 outlets in the Philippines and 10 in Indonesia
  • 2010 – Entered the US with first outlet in California
  • 2015 – Opened 500th outlet
  • 2016 – Opened 800th store

Shell Philippines

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation said on 5 July 2017 that it has opened its 1,000th outlet in Eton City in Santa Rosa, Laguna. The new Shell petrol station is complete with Select Deli2Go store offering fresh and tasty ready-to-eat meals, quick snacks and coffee.

Non-fuel retail offers strong growth potential for Shell and other petrol station operators in the Philippines as the penetration is low compared with neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

Shell had 19 Deli2Go outlets at the end of 2016 and 46 Shell Select, a 24-hour non-fuel retail concept introduced in 1993. The Deli2Go concept was introduced in Visayas with Deli2Go outlets opened in Cebu in 2016.

The fuel retailer is aggressively opening more convenience stores to grow non-fuel income. During the first quarter of 2017, 16 Shell Select and six Deli2Go as well as 17 Shell Helix Oil Change+ stores were opened across the Philippines.

7-Eleven surpassed 1,000th in 2013

7-Eleven is the other retail chain that has surpassed the 1,000th store mark in the Philippines.

What Mini Me thinks

The examples of Shell, Jollibee and Potato Corner show the immense opportunities in the Philippines for retailers with the right business model.

*1st and 2nd image from Potato Corner, 3rd image from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation 2016 presentation and 4th image from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation 2016 annual report.

Southeast Asian convenience stores slow in tapping old is gold opportunity

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Population growing old in core ASEAN states

In Southeast Asia, the elderly population is rising as birth rate declines and life expectancy improves. In Thailand, 11% or 7.5 million of the population are 65 years or older compared to 5% in 1995. In Malaysia, senior citizens aged 60 or older accounted for 9% or 2.8 million of the total population of 31 million in 2015.

The median age in Singapore reached 40 years old in 2016, according to Statistics Singapore. Senior citizens aged 65 and older constituted 13.1% of the population in 2015. In Indonesia, 4.9% or 12 million of the total population in 2010 were elderly and the number is set to rise to 32 million or 10.8% in 2035. In the Philippines, the number of senior citizens aged 60 or above is estimated at 7 million or 7% of the total population. 

However, minimarts and conveniences stores in the region are slow in responding to the needs of the ageing population.

Japanese convenience stores catering to elderly

In Japan, convenience stores are catering more to elderly including adding elderly care support services as demographics change in the land of the rising sun. Customers 50 or older accounted for 30% of customers at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan in fiscal 2013, up from 9% in fiscal 1989, according to statistics from Seven & i Holdings Co reported Japan Times in May 2015.

Meiji Gold Advance

CP-Meiji Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Thailand’s CP Group and Japan’s jnumber one dairy company Meiji Company Limited, has recently introduced Meiji Gold Advance liquid milk for senior citizens aged 50 and above.

The milk is available in 7-Eleven, which is a sign indicating convenience store is beginning to address the needs of the elderly.

Photo above was taken by the author in a 7-Eleven in Bangkok, Thailand in June 2017

Adult diapers

Adult diapers are sold in 7-Eleven Thailand. However, the Certainty Adult DayPants are placed on the top shelf, which makes them seemingly out of reach to senior citizens.

Ready-to-drink nutritional supplement

In the 7-Eleven convenience store in Taiwan, there are a few nutrition drinks not only for the elderly but for those who need a complete and balanced nutrition. The products include the Ensure (安素) range and Quaker (桂格) Enhanced Nutrition Food designed for those who have undergone surgery or cannot get enough nutrition from their diet.

Photo above was taken by the author in a 7-Eleven in Taipei, Taiwan in June 2017.

What Mini Me thinks

Ageing population is a real pressing issue for governments in the Asia Pacific region is but also a business opportunity. Convenience stores or minimarts have established themselves in the region and prove to be a channel that can tap into new needs arising from the changing demographic.

 

China energy drink market fill with new innovations

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Energy drink (功能饮料) has seen strong new product development (NPD) activities in recent months in China.

Eros

The sign this category has reached a feverish pitch is the latest 爱洛(EROS) energy drink by Wang Sicong, the only son of Chinese tycoon Wang Jianlin who is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest real estate developer.

Eros energy drink was launched in June 2017. It contains maca, phytolin, guarana and taurine. The retail price is CNY 9.9 per can.

Gouran

Uni-President China (统一) rolled out its 够燃 (Gouran) plant energy drink in early June 2017 after testing the drink in Suzhou in May 2017. Gouran does not contain taurine as it is considered a plant-based energy drink. The key ingredients are ginseng, rooibos and green coffee.

The retail prices is CNY 6 for a 300ml bottle. Uni-President has previously introduced a super premium plant-based energy drink Revive (唤醒) or Huan Xing in 2016. The key ingredients are Elder Flower (接骨木花) from Austria, green coffee (绿咖啡) from Brazil, ginseng (人参) from China and Maca (玛咖) from Peru. Each 286ml can contains 30g of caffeine, 0.8g of Maca powder and 0.4g of ginseng. The price was CNY 19.9.

Dongpeng in gold can

Shenzhen Eastroc Beverage Industrial Co., Ltd. (东鹏饮料实业有限公司), the producer of Dongpeng (东鹏) energy drink in PET, rolled out its gold can version (金罐特饮) in March in 2017. The gold can is aimed at making it more convenient and appealing to young consumers.

In mid-2017, Estsroc unveiled the 500ml energy drink in PET bottle (CNY 5) to complement the existing 250ml variant.

Red Bull War Horse

Reignwood Group, which holds the license to Red Bull in China, faced with licence renewal issue at the end of 2016. As a precautionary measure, the country’s largest energy drink company, debuted 战马 (War Horse) or Zhan Ma in Mandarin at the end of 2016.

The War Horse in a 400ml PET bottle comes in two versions – carbonated and non-carbonated. War Horse is different from TC Pharmaceutical’s Warrior carbonated energy drink for the Southeast Asia market.

When the author visited Shanghai in May 2017, War Horse had little presence in the key convenience store channel in Shanghai.  Reignwood Group is still battling for the rights to Red Bull in China.

Amway XS

Multi-level marketing (MLM) company Amway announced it would launch the XS energy drink in China in September 2017. The sugar-free energy drink will be sold through MLM as well as in physical stores. XS was launched in Macau and Hong Kong in 2016.

L.I.F.E.

L.I.F.E., a sparkling energy drink, was officially launched in China in June 2017. L.I.F.E. Energy Drink is owned by basketball champion Mike Miller who rolled out this product in Macau and Hong Kong in 2015. The Shanghai launching event was graced by legendary Shaquille O’Neal.

Tibet Water Resources Ltd (西藏水资源有限公司), the maker of 5100 Tibetan mineral water, is the key distribution partner in China.

Asia Powerful Wave

Guangzhou Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (香雪制药集团) announced the launching of a new energy drink called 亚洲雄风 (Ya Zhou Xiong Feng) or literally translated as “Asia Powerful Wave.” The 380ml bottle contains gaurana and ginseng and has a suggested price of CNY 5.

Bacchus zero caffeine

South Korea’s Dong-A Socio Holdings Co., Ltd. will release the zero caffeine Bacchus energy drink in China in 2018, according a company executive when contacted at SIAL China 2017.

Zhongwo gold can

Henan-based Henan Woerma Beverages Co.,Ltd. (河南中沃实业有限公司), a regional brand known for its (体质能量) or Ti Zhi Neng Liang energy drink, announced the launch of the gold can Ti Zhi Neng Liang in March 2017. The 320ml gold can enriches the current 600ml PET bottle variant. Zhongwo gold can comes in three variants – 金罐牛磺酸 (taurine)、金罐黑玛咖 (maca)、金罐功夫麻椒 (pepper).

Apart from the 350ml, Zhongwo also has the 500ml energy drink in can comprising three variants – maca, taurine and fortified with ginseng.

COFCO Bigbang

At the end of 2016, COFCO (中粮) introduced Bigbang (嗨棒) energy drink. Bigbang contains taurine, vitamin B6, B3, B5 and B12 and guarana. The 250ml can is fully imported from the Netherlands. It is produced in collaboration with Refresco.

What Mini Me thinks

China’s energy drink market still has room to grow as penetration is low. However, the established players and newcomers are likely to canabalise the market share of Red Bull, currently the market leader.

With low or negative growth in other beverage segments like carbonated soft drinks, more players are expected to enter the market including possibly by Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corporation, the company behind the Master Kong brand. We will see a possible risk where explosive growth may end and a period of consolidation sets in. At the moment, we are in the stage where the night is still young and enjoy while you can as the party will come to an end.

*All the images are from the web otherwise stated.

Brands with Healthier Choice logo credentials

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Since the launch of the Healthier Choice Logo (HCL) by the Ministry of Health of Malaysia in April 2017, a number of products have embraced HCL including F&N’s 100Plus. As of 21 April 2017, 18 companies with 42 products received HCL recognition, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

Click here for the list of 48 products with HCL status as of 11 May 2017.

 

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

The Coca-Cola Company made an announcement in early May 2017 its sugar-free Coca-Cola Zero Sugar now comes with the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) from Singapore.

Quaker oats

In May 2017, PepsiCo’s Quakers Instant Oatmeal and Quaker Quick Cook Oatmeal are now marked with the Healthier Choice logo.

Munchy’s Oat Krunch

Biscuit maker Munchy’s updated the cover photo on its official Facebook account on 2 July 2017 indicating Oat Krunch now has the Healthier Choice logo.

100Plus

Both the new 100Plus Active and 100Plus Original have been given the Healthier Choice logo by the Ministry of Health.

Pocket talk on how HCL can generate revenue

To promote brands to adopt HCL, SME Corp of Malaysia will organise an event on 26 July 2017 from 8.30am to 12.30pm at Platinum Sentral. The key topic is how to generate revenue using HCL. Click here for more information.

What Mini Me thinks

There is a pressing need to promote HCL among brand owners and consumers. It would be ideal to have a study to track the influence of HCL on consumer shopping behaviour to check the efficacy of the program.

Instead of letting manufacturers to take the self initiative to register their products to gain the HCL credential, the Ministry of Health can emulate what the Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) is doing and that is to work with producers to come up with healthier products.

Interestingly, none of the products awarded with HCL has affixed the logo on their packaging.

Farm Fresh business model rides kurma milk popularity

By
Tan Heng Hong
-
Image from Milkbar

Demand for Farm Fresh Kurma Milk rising rapidly

Dates milk or kurma milk has recently attracted a lot of interest in Malaysia following the debut of Farm Fresh Kurma Milk.

The demand for Farm Fresh Kurma Milk, the first of its kind in the market, seems to have outstripped supply. The Farm Fresh’s latest Facebook posting on Kurma Milk on 2 May 2017 has attracted at least 12,400 likes, 668 shares and 878 comments at the time of writing on 8 July 2017.

Farm Fresh Kurma Milk posting on 2 May 2017 as of the time of writing on 7 July 2017.

The benefits and attractions of Farm Fresh Kurma Milk has been discussed in an earlier post in March 2017. Click here for the article.

Available in modern grocery chains

A lot of the comments were about where they can purchase the milk. Officially, the kurma milk is available in modern grocery chains like Giant, Tesco and Aeon Big, Jaya Grocer and Hero. Unfortunately, stock tends to run out quickly. To get hold of the milk, consumers often have to resort to getting it from home dealers who have priority to the milk.

Developing home dealers

In fact, Farm Fresh is working to develop a network of home dealers to bring its milk to more households in the country, replicating the success of Yakult Lady.

The network of home dealers is expanding rapidly riding on the popularity of kurma milk among ethnic Malay consumers. The stockist in Muar in the southern state of Johor epitomises the strategy of harnessing the popularity of kurma milk to recruit new dealers.

Farm Fresh stockist in Muar, Johor

The stockist and dealer distribution approach works well especially in the beauty and health food segments.

Milkbar taps festive marketing

Image from Milkbar

To reach out to more potential customers during the Raya festive season, a kiosk at KL Sentral, a key transit hub, was set up by Farm Fresh at the Departure Hall. The Milkbar aims to ensure customers “receive the healthiest fresh milk available.” The star product was the often-out-of-stock Farm Fresh Kurma Milk. Date is commonly consumed during the break of fast during the fasting period, thus kurma milk is ideally positioned to tap into this cultural dietary practice.

Image from Milkbar

Farm Fresh has even made available a limited-edition 2 litre kurma milk for Ramadan.

Other innovations from Farm Fresh

The complete list of halal-certified Farm Fresh Milk Sdn Bhd dairy products can be found here. A few that caught my eyes are Farm Fresh Cafe Latte – Tongkat Ali, Caffe Latte – Green Tea and Farm Fresh Greek Yoghurt.

Happy Farm Kurma Milk new player in town

The success of Farm Fresh has attracted the entry of Happy Farm into the nascent but fast growing category.  The new kurma milk is packed by Favourite Resources Sdn Bhd and the key ingredients are fresh milk, kurma concentrate and milk fat. The 1 litre Happy Farm Kurma Milk is available at Giant for a price of RM 9.99, which is a premium to Happy Farm Fresh Milk selling at RM 7.29 per litre.

What Mini Me thinks

Farm Fresh is the company to watch. The company’s successful home dealer strategy and the popularity of its kurma milk are good examples of how a company localises its distribution, marketing and product innovation to cater to the conditions in Malaysia.

It would be interesting to see if other dairy companies will follow suit with their own kurma milk, which provides an opportunity to premiumise the fresh milk category.

 

FMCG growth champions

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Who were the growth champions in Indonesia in 2016? The answers were revealed by the June 2017 edition of the Marketeers Magazine, Indonesia’s top marketing media.

These high fliers were identified by Nielsen based on the tracking of the brand’s performance in 2016 against 2015. On the list includes three instant noodle brands and two bottled water brands.

The following are the “Growth Champions” of 2016, according to Nielsen.

I would like to highlight Mayora Group and Wings Food, the two FMCG behemoths in Indonesia.

Mayora Group has three brands on list

Mayora Group has the honour of having three of its brands on the list. They comprise Bakmi Mewah instant noodle, Le Minerale bottled water and Teh Pucuk Harum RTD Tea. Bakmi Mewah revolutionised the instant noodle scene by introducing instant noodle that comes with real meat pieces during the second half of 2015. The brand’s nearly 2,000% gain in volume and value in 2016 can be explained largely from the low base effect and the popularity generated by the novel concept.

Mayora Group launched Bakmi Mewah and Le Minerale in 2015. Both the instant noodle and bottled water businesses are new to Mayora and represented the company’s daring move to take on the goliaths in instant noodle (Indomie) and bottled water (Danone Aqua).

Wings Food’s winning brands Mie Sukses’s & Floridina

Wings Food has two products on the list – Mie Sukses’s and Floridina. Mie Sukses was introduced in 2015 as an affordable instant noodle with two pieces of noodles in each pack. This is not something new as market leader Indomie has something similar through Sarimi Isi 2.

Mie Sukses’s managed to carve a niche for itself by crafting its marketing message to middle to lower income consumers. This was achieved through associating with dangdut, which is the working class music of choice featuring sexy female singers. The roadshow in 2016 saw the brand inviting artists from Dangdut Academy to take part in the Hajatan Suksess event in 10 cities in the country.

The complete magazine is available on SCOOP.

What Mini Me thinks

I am sure there are brands that achieved strong growth in 2016 but did not get a mention. The key takeaway is the winning product has a unique preposition and is backed by marketing activities developed specially for their target audience.

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