Asia Food & Beverages Report (May/June 2021 issue)

Kimly believes it will be able to leverage
Tenderfresh’s competitive edge and wide
network in the Halal food market to make
further headway in the industry. The Singapore
Halal mark and standard is also recognised
by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia under the
Mabims agreement.
INDONESIA
Alfamidi to open 200 new stores in
Indonesia
PT Midi Utama Indonesia (MIDI), the operator
of Alfamidi and Alfamidi Super convenience
stores, has unveiled plan to open 200 new
stores in 2021 with an investment of Rp 1 trillion
(US$70 million).
This goal is certainly achievable as in 2020,
the operator opened 266 new stores which
exceeded its plan of 200 stores for that year.
As of present, MIDI has 1,821 stores mostly
comprising of smaller-sized stores with 26 of
the stores categorised as Alfamidi Super.
So far, it has opened 63 new Alfamidi outlets
in the 1 st quarter of 2021 all across Indonesia
from Sulawesi to Maluku, North Maluku and
Kalimantan.
MALAYSIA
Richiamo Coffee aims for 100 outlets
by end-2021
Richiamo Coffee Sdn Bhd, the licensee of the
Richiamo Coffee premium coffee shop chain,
is aggressively expanding its wings nationwide
with a target of 100 outlets by end-2021.
Managing Director Muhamad Zamry Abu
Samah said there are 42 Richiamo Coffee
branches already operating nationwide and the
company plans to open 55 more new branches,
including in Sabah and Sarawak.
The store expansion will be further supported
by a large organisation (unnamed) which will be
its master licensor.
What makes Richiamo Coffee attractive to
consumers is its competitive pricing. “Our coffee
price is 45% lower than the rest of competitors
without compromising on quality.”
Zamry hopes to expand the Richiamo Coffee
brand to overseas markets like Brunei,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan as well as
Medina and Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This will
have to wait till the pandemic recedes.
Giant supermarket aims for growth
with new image and Mini outlet
format
GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the operator
of Giant supermarket chain, is all set to grow
again with a fresh look (image) as well as
expanding into mini outlets.
Its parent company, Dairy Farm International
Holdings Ltd, is allocating about RM25 million
(US$6.04 million) to revamp all 57 Giant stores
and open 10 Giant Minis.
Dairy Farm CEO for Southeast Asia Food
Business, Chris Bush said small brand
under the group, namely Giant Express and
ShopSmart! will also be converted into Giant
Minis.
Giant has consolidated with the closure of
some of its Giant stores earlier amidst the
challenging market. Bush said it has been over
40 years since the Giant logo was last refreshed.
He added, “The importance of rebranding is not
just about a new logo, it’s about a number of
big changes that we’ve made in our stores over
the last 4 or 5 months in preparation for the
relaunch of Giant.”
Giant will focus on supplying quality fresh
products at competitive pricing to its Malaysian
consumers. It has also introduced new
offerings such as a RM3 zone at selected
stores to reinforce Giant’s position as the price
leader. It also launched the World of Food line,
which offers selection of import products and
local delicacies from about 10,000 local small
and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as
bringing over 2,000 new products across fresh
food, groceries and household essentials,
among others.
Dairy Farm also introduced the Meadow brand
in Malaysia, with 40 products have so far been
launched exclusively for Giant and a further 200
to 300 items planned in the next few months.
HONG KONG
Booming growth of ‘Instant Grocery
Services’ in HK
Instant grocery services have become the
latest growth market for popular delivery apps,
as the pandemic has made Hongkongers seek
the convenience of shopping via a few taps on
their mobile phones.
Foodpanda, the Singapore-headquartered
delivery platform, was among the first to launch
‘quick-commerce’ in Hong Kong. It rolled out
Pandamart in late 2019, delivering groceries
from its warehouses round-the-clock and as
quickly as within 15 minutes.
Foodpanda Managing Director Ryan Lai said
orders for instant groceries grew sevenfold
through the pandemic, between May last year
and March this year. “We believe the typical
e-commerce experience is super competitive
but it’s not enough any more. Waiting for a day
or for a couple of days is just not enough, so
quick-commerce became a good differentiating
advantage in this space.”
Another of Hong Kong’s largest online
retailers, HKTVmall, also has plans for its own
version of instant groceries. Its HKTV Express
service is due to start in May, with the target
of delivering groceries in under an hour to the
main residential districts.
Karana enters HK food service with
retail by year end
Karana, a Singapore-based food start-up
that uses ‘jackfruit’ as a plant-based meat
alternative, is now heading into Hong Kong
after partnering with 2 of the city’s best known
chefs, Shane Osborn of Arcane and Manav Tuli
of Indian restaurant Chaat.
Karana plans to have its products available for
Hong Kong home cooks by the end of the year.
Co-founder Blair Crichton and Dan Riegler
said that Karana chose jackfruits due to its
taste and sustainability. Supply of jackfruits is
abundant as such it is a good crop for use as
meat alternative.
CHINA
UK bakery Baker & Baker eyes on
China market
Baker & Baker, a re-branded UK bakery
business, is targeting expansion into China.
The business has emerged under its new
brand following the sale by private-equity owner
Rhone Capital and CSM Bakery Solutions’
ingredients division to European investment
group Investindustrial in October.
Baker & Baker CEO John Lindsay said the
newly re-branded business, which has a legacy
turnover of US$480.5 million, will supply a
Distribution News
European-wide and international customer
base from 12 sites in 7 countries.
China is one of Baker & Baker’s list of new
markets to target as consumer taste and
preferences are changing with growing cravings
for western-style bakery products.
Baker & Baker sells its products across different
channels including large supermarkets, bakers
and foodservices. The company also makes
and distributes a range of bakery products
on behalf of confectionery giant Mondelez
International under the Cadbury, Oreo, Milka
and Daim brand names. It also has a licensing
brand agreement with Disney.
The group’s trading brands include Doro,
Baker & Baker and Goldfrost and product lines
include doughnuts, cookies and muffins.
HK-based French patisserie Paul
Lafayet eyes expansion into mainland
China
Hong Kong-based patisserie Paul Lafayet
plans to ramp up its expansion plan with 100
new stores on the mainland by 2025, as it
eyes China’s growing market for western-style
desserts.
The French patisserie, which has gained a
faithful following in the city for its creme brulee
and macarons, now wants to expand its fan
base in mainland China as soon the border
reopens. Toni Younes, Chief Executive of Paul
Lafayet said, “China is a huge market and the
new generation in China is also becoming more
oriented to this kind of western products.”
Paul Lafayet currently has 8 stores in Hong
Kong and 4 in mainland China. The stores
offer colourful macarons starting at HK$22
(US$2.80) each, to signature creme brulee
made with fresh Madagascar vanilla beans, as
well as birthday cakes.
China’s market for cakes and pastries is
expected to grow by over 36% to US$37.6
billion in the next 5 years ending 2025. This is
far higher than global average of 9.4%, based
on Euromonitor International data.
Another research agency, Mordor Intelligence
reported that “Chinese people prefer to buy
novel products that have a mix of ingredients
and encompass different flavours. Furthermore,
the combination of a high young population
demanding Western-style baked goods and
convenience are some of the underlying factors
driving the growth of the market.”
Paul Lafayet has stores in Shanghai and
Shenzhen with further expansion in Beijing,
Chengdu and Chongqing. According to Younes,
its expansion plan will resume once the border
opens back between Hong Kong and mainland
China.
During the pandemic, it also relies on online
sales which grew 280% in the 1 st quarter of
2021.
Tyson partners Dada Group to
penetrate China on-demand delivery
market
Tyson Foods, a leading global frozen meat
supplier, is partnering with mainland China’s
Dada Group (DADA).
Tyson hopes that with the partnership, it will
be able to promote its digital transformation via
JDDJ, Dada Group’s on-demand retail platform
to reach out to more Chinese consumers.
This platform will be a win-win situation for both
parties, where Tyson foods is able to promote
their superior fresh meat products to Chinese
consumers, and JDDJ having more established
companies on board.
JDDJ is Tyson Foods’ first strategic partner
as they look to achieve higher growth via the
launch of the omni-channel marketing and
promotion model.
49 Asia Food & Beverages