Investment NewsMalaysia. It has also prepared an e-commerce platform for the ecosystem atthe Halal Modern Valley, in cooperation with the largest Muslim organisationNahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association(GAPMMI).Apart from the KIH in Cikande, Indonesia is also developing 2 other Halalindustrial estates namely Safe n Lock Halal Industrial Park in Sidoarjo, EastJava and Bintan Inti Halal Hub in Bintan.Nestle to invest US$220 million on a beverage plant inIndonesiaAUSTRALASIAAsahi acquires Allpress CoffeeDRINKS DAIRYNestle is investing US$220 million to construct a new Nestle Bandaraya factoryon a 20 hectare site near Batang Industrial Park in Central Java.The factory will produce Bear Brand liquid milk and RTD beverages likeMilo and Nescafe to fulfil growing domestic demand. The state-of-the-art‘environmentally-friendly’ factory will be operational in 2023.With the construction of the new factory, the company has signed amemorandum of understanding (MoU) with the regional government of Batangto develop a partnership with prospective dairy farmers and farmer groups tosource additional raw materials for production, as well as set up a dairy farmin Batang.Ganesan Ampalavanar, Market Head of Nestle Indonesia said, “Despitethe COVID-19 pandemic, we are optimistic about the growth opportunities inIndonesia. Our decision to invest in this new factory and to expand our capacityis a demonstration of Nestle’s long-term commitment to Indonesia. We aim toincrease employment, to utilise local raw materials and to produce high-quality,nutritious food and beverage products that are safe and tasty for our consumers.”COFFEEAustralia’s leading beverage company, Asahi Beverages has acquiredAllpress, the speciality coffee company with presence in the UK, Australasia,Japan and Singapore.Allpress was established in 1989 by Michael Allpress in New Zealand (NZ) andsells more than 1,500 tonnes of coffee beans annually worldwide to boutiquecafes and restaurants. Allpress has also recently launched speciality iced coffeeand cold coffee shot products and operates Underground Coffee, apart from itsonline sales business.Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi said, “We’re thrilled to extendour portfolio of brands into the large and complementary coffee category, whichwill also help us meet more of our customers’ needs whether they be cafes,restaurants, pubs or retailer. This acquisition consolidates our position as themulti-beverage provider of choice for customers and consumers.”The acquisition of Allpress marks Asahi’s entry into Australia’s A$1 billion(US$773 million) fresh coffee market as it expands its portfolio to meet growingconsumer needs while strengthening its offering to cafes, restaurants, licensedvenues and grocery stores.Asahi Beverages operates across Australia and New Zealand with 3 divisionsnamely Asahi Lifestyle Beverages (non-alcohol in Australia), Carlton & UnitedBreweries (alcohol in Australia) and Asahi Beverages NZ (alcohol and nonalcoholin NZ). It has manufacturing plants in all Australian states and in NewZealand. Asahi Beverages makes and distributes some of Australia’s mostpopular beverages which include non-alcoholic brands such as Schweppes,Solo, Cottee’s, Cool Ridge water and Spring Valley and Charlie’s juices. It alsomanufactures and distributes under licence Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sunkist,Gatorade, Lipton Iced Tea and Kombucha. It also carries a wide range ofalcoholic brands from Asahi Super Dry, Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitteramongst others.Allpress has a roast coffee portfolio of around 10 proprietary blends with itsflagship Allpress Espresso Blend and A.R.T Espresso Roast comprising over80% of sales.MILKChinese dairy firm to invest in Camel Milk farming inAustraliaHong Kong-based dairy producer, Ausnutria has been given approval to operatea camel milk farm at Midland Highway West of Shepparton near Victoria.Ausnutria purchased the 296 hectare Girgarre East property last year and planto eventually milk up to 300 camels. It also hopes to build a processing plantincluding a small spray dryer at the site.Ausnutria entered Australia market in 2016 with the acquisition of NutritionCare Pharmaceuticals, Australian Dairy Park and OzFarm. The OzFarm labelmarkets nutritional milk powders while Australian Dairy Park manufacturesinfant formula.In 2020, the group recorded sales revenue of A$1.5 billion (US$1.16 billion)representing an impressive 18.6% growth from 2019.Company NewsGLOBALFOOD (GENERAL)Unilever optimistic of meeting sales target thisyear all thanks to China, Home CookingUnilever, being highly optimistic, has recently announced a Euro3 billion (US$3.6 billion) share buyback as it is confident of hittingits sales targets this year, all thanks to rising demand from Chinaand home cooking.Unilever joined its major counterparts Nestle and P&G in reportingstrong sales for food and cleaning products amidst the pandemic.In the 1 st quarter 2021, Unilever reported 5.7% growth in sales,and it expects further growth for the rest of the year as thecompany is also reviewing its product prices with the rise in rawmaterial prices (inflation).It was estimated that 60% of its sales revenue came fromemerging markets which saw its sales grew 9.4%. Markets likeChina and India grew at double-digits during the review period.In China particularly there is a strong return of sales to cafes andrestaurants.Unilever’s food and refreshments business whose brands includeHellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr soups, jumped 9.8% in thequarter, helped by strong demand for home consumption in NorthAmerica and Europe.Although there is a surge of infections sweeping India, one ofits key market, the group has not seen any material impact on itsbusiness so far.Unilever expects further growth going into the 2 nd quarter 2021.Unilever is also focusing on high-growth categories such as plantbasedfoods, beauty products and nutritional supplements, andaim to appeal more to younger consumers. The group’s prioritynow is to grow existing businesses, rather than make acquisitions.ASIACocoa Association of Asia to postponeconference to 2022ASEANCOCOA/CHOCOLATESThe Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) has postponed its CAAInternational Conference and Dinner event that is scheduled totake place from 4 to 5 November 2021 in Singapore due to theongoing COVID-19 pandemic.This major cocoa-related industry event had been postponed3 times, and CAA assured industry players that it is working inclose partnership with various government agencies in Singaporeto ensure the event will be conducted in a safe environment in thefuture.In 2017, the international conference was held welcoming morethan 500 attendees from 22 countries, across the value chain fromcocoa processors to chocolate producers, trading companies,service providers and government agencies.To register interest in the conference, visit cocoaasia.orgSNACKS/CONFECTIONERYURC to see varying recovery phases in local vsinternational markets in 2021Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the biggest snack foodmanufacturer in the Philippines, is expecting to see somerecovery in its financial/sales performance in later part of 2021.URC President Irwin Lee said that a full recovery is howeverexpected in 2022, with varying recovery phases experiencedacross all countries in which URC has operations in.URC operations in Thailand and Vietnam have seen earlyrecovery in the 1st quarter 2021, however in the Philippines, itshome and largest market, it is still in the negative territory due tothe adverse pandemic situation.Lee said that rising raw material prices are the biggest challengeto its operations apart from the pandemic.Despite the challenging year, URC still posted net income ofPesos 3.2 billion (US$67 million) in the 1st quarter of 2021, up51% from a year ago. Sales also rose 3% in the same period.Sales of branded consumer foods to the domestic market(Philippines) declined by 5%. Nevertheless, this is offset by higheroverseas sales revenue which grew 11% from a year ago.URC also announced recently that it is planning to introducemore healthier products like those with lower sodium and lowersugar into its portfolio.Asia Food & Beverages 16
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