Branding & Marketing Newsonly campaign. Likewise, the regional campaign increasedbrand familiarity by 2.3 times, and contributed to a 48% risein purchase intent, compared to the national-only campaign.At the end of the campaign, URC customers are now moreaware that the C2 beverage is easily available for homeconsumption and how they can buy it. The success of thiscampaign has led to Facebook adopting it as a global casestudy of how major brands across the world stand to benefitfrom innovative marketing strategies, campaigns, andsolutions.CHINABEERBudweiser to focus on premium beer offeringsin Greater ChinaBudweiser Brewing Co APAC will boost its promotion ofpremium beer brands including Hoegaarden and Corona andexpand non-beer offerings, as it bet on a rising middle classwhich will boost demand for its higher-end products.During the 1 st quarter 2021, the Hong Kong-listed Asia arm ofAnheuser-Busch InBev reported a 63.7% rise in revenue, withtotal volume up 64.6%, driven by strong consumption over theLunar New Year holiday and a low base for comparison due tothe COVID-19 outbreak early last year.Revenue doubled in China from the same period last yearand grew by double digits compared to the first quarter of2019. Revenue generated from premium brands increasedby high double digits year on year. Jan Craps, Co-Chair andChief Executive of Budweiser APAC said, “Premium and superpremium beers continue to be our growth engine.”Jan said that China’s growing middle class and theproliferation and needs of different drinking occasions wasdriving the company to broaden its product portfolio.“We know that as a country and as more people get into themiddle class and higher class in terms of disposable income,the drinking occasions, differences and the needs are gettingmore complex, so we need to offer a broader portfolio to fulfillwhat the consumer is looking for,” he added.Last year, the company launched Mike’s Hard Lemonade,a vodka-based sparkling beverage in China, and testedBudweiser ME3, a fruity version of its flagship beer.In China, eateries and bars have been re-opened since the2nd quarter of 2020, with post-pandemic consumer trafficrecovering strongly.INDONESIAState tea company plans to boost safetystandards, quality & quantity of tea productsfor the Indonesian marketTEAIndonesia’s Ministry of State Owned Enterprises has recentlyannounced that its state tea plantation company based inWest Java-Banten, PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII (PTPNVIII), is boosting the domestic tea retail market by promotingconsistency in quality and food safety.The Head of Subdivision of Corporate Communication andPKBL PTPN VIII, Venny Octariviani said that the consistencyof food quality and safety is a mainstay of PTPN VIII to win thetrust of domestic consumers.PTPN VIII is aggressively marketing its 3 trademarks(brands) for the domestic market namely Walini, Goalpara andGunung Mas, each of which has its own market in Indonesia.Venny said PTPN VIII has a moral responsibility to market teaproducts with consistent quality and food safety for its ownIndonesian market.Global consumers including Indonesians are nowincreasingly selective on choosing their tea, particularly whenit is now known as an ingredient with antioxidants and otherhealth benefits. PTPN VIII is now focusing on improving thequality, consistency and safety of its tea products.Meanwhile, the West Java Provincial Government is alsostudying the possibility of expanding tea producing areaas currently the southern part of West Java is the main teaproducing region. With growing demand for tea, there mightbe a need to expand cultivation areas.Ingredients NewsASIASTARCHCargill partners Thai starch producer to expand its specialtytapioca starch offerings for Asian marketCargill has recently partnered with Starpro, the leading food grade tapiocastarch producer in Thailand, to expand its specialty tapioca starch offerings inthe Asia Pacific region, supporting the product processing requirements of foodmanufacturers and meeting the sensory expectations of consumers.Franck Monmont, Managing Director of Cargill Starches, Sweeteners andTexturisers Asia said, “Food manufacturers in Asia are faced with the challengeof meeting rising consumption demand, especially within the convenience andfoodservice categories. As leaders in the modified starches industry, this partnershipwith Starpro will allow us to leverage our collective strengths more effectively togenerate greater opportunities for growth, as well as support new innovations andsolutions in the future. Our ambition is to be the partner-of-choice for customers inthe region, by combining deep market and technical knowledge, a robust productoffering and cost optimisation through local manufacturing.”Johnney Hsueh, Consultant with Starpro added, “Through this cooperationbetween Cargill and Starpro, we look forward to promoting the wider use of qualitymodified tapioca starch among food manufacturers across the world.”The agreement will cover a full range of locally manufactured modified tapiocastarches for the food industry across markets in Asia Pacific as well as globally,excluding Thailand and China. In addition to this high quality tapioca starch range,Cargill also offers a wide portfolio of starches and starch-based texturising solutionsacross different raw materials that provide multi-functional properties to meet thevaried needs of Asian customers’ food processes and cuisines.Monmont added, “Texture is a critical element in the Asian palate. From instantnoodles to packaged foods and snacks like Chinese sausages, gyozas andJapanese mochi, as well as beverages like the perennial favorite bubble tea, Asianconsumers are known to seek out textural experience in their foods. As a non-GMO botanical with unique textural properties such as chewiness, springiness anda clean taste profile, tapioca starch is well suited to help food manufacturers meetthe product expectations of Asian consumers.”This new agreement with Starpro is the latest move by Cargill to grow its specialtystarch portfolio in Asia-Pacific, after the announcements of the expansion of a coldwaterswelling starch line at its sweetener plant in Pandaan, Indonesia, as well asthe construction of a modified starch plant in Songyuan, China.PLANT-BASED FOOD SOLUTIONSKH Roberts forms partnership with Leistritz to advanceplant-based foods innovations in ASEANKH Roberts, a leading creator and provider of aromas and tastes has formedpartnership with Leistritz, a renowned leader in extrusion innovation forpharmaceutical and food processing, to advance the research and development ofplant-based foods specifically for the Asian palate.Dr Peter K.C Ong, CEO of KH Roberts said, “We bring together KH Roberts’sexpertise in aromas and tastes with Leistritz’s expertise in process engineering inthis 2nd pilot scale extruder located in KH Roberts. We have been operating thefirst pilot scale extruder jointly with a local Singapore university since October 2020for academic research and educational training on plant-based foods. Innovatingfuture foods and tastes is at the heart of what we do and we recognise the valueof open collaboration with fellow industry leaders and promising food start-ups toachieve this. Through our new partnership with Leistritz, KH Roberts is able tofurther expand and develop its flavour and masking solutions in plant-based foods.”As part of KH Roberts’s industry-academic collaborations, Singapore’s firstoperational pilot scale twin screw extruder for plant-based foods was commissionedin September 2020. The extruder is key to producing new innovative alternativeprotein foods with authentic meat-like textures to meet the latest consumerdemands. Fully supported by KH Roberts’s expertise in aromas and tastes, the firstpilot scale extruder has been instrumental in advancing academic research andteaching purposes with the objective of equipping future food technologists with theknowledge and skill sets of plant-based food technology.Leistritz Singapore’s General Manager Extrusion, Alf Hofstetter, said “Leistritzstands for technologically sophisticated products and a high level of innovation.These 2 pilot scale extruders are amongst the first to be commissioned andoperational in Singapore and Southeast Asia, showcasing our strong expertisein this technology. This joint development with KH Roberts allows us to furtherenhance our food processing and engineering expertise outside of Europe, andjointly support the fast-developing alternative protein markets in Southeast Asia.”The KH Roberts-Leistritz collaboration highlights a mutual recognition of thegrowing importance of flavours and advanced food processing in the emergingplant-based foods market. The collaboration will enable KH Roberts to strengthenits position at the forefront of taste innovation, and develop open collaborationopportunities with leading global food innovators and promising start-ups.KH Roberts, established for more than 50 years in Singapore, crafts future flavoursand has good understanding of Asia’s diverse cultures, tastes and preferences.Leistritz Extrusionstechnik GmbH is an 80-year old company based in Germanyand is a renown manufacturer of twin screws for compounding technology. Leistritzset up its Singapore operation 25 years ago.Asia Food & Beverages 22
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