Retail News CRM

Category: Food

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Food and Food & Beverage news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Arnott’s buys Kiwi biscuit maker 180 Degrees

    Arnott’s buys Kiwi biscuit maker 180 Degrees

    Arnott’s has bought New Zealand artisan biscuit maker 180 Degrees to add to its stable of sweet and savory crackers.

    The FMCG company bought the business from private equity investor KKR, for an undisclosed sum.

    Founded in 2001 by Frank Lawton, his partner Jill Seton, and Nigel Cranston, 180 Degrees has steadily built a distribution network across New Zealand and into Australia, where its products are stocked by Coles.

    Seton told the National Business Review the business was founded on passion and grew into a premium business. She said Arnott’s shared the founders’ appreciation for legacy and would continue to build the brand.

    Seton and Lawton describe themselves as “massive foodies” who used to travel the world as a butler and chef duo.

    “After years of experiencing the best of international food we settled back into New Zealand life,” she explains on the company’s website. “Our passion for entertainment and good food inspired us to make a beautiful selection of crackers and biscuits to be enjoyed on all social occasions.”

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  • Stride launches four new chewing gum flavours in Australia

    Stride launches four new chewing gum flavours in Australia

    Sugar-free chewing gum brand Stride is to add four new flavors to its range in Australia this month.

    The four new options are Mango Peach, Lim Passionfruit, Lemonade, and Cool Peppermint. Stride’s new range will be available exclusively at Coles and Coles Express stores from tomorrow (May 10) at RRP $3 per bottle.

    “We’re eager to unleash Stride chewing gum in Australia, delivering an enjoyable chewing experience via four delicious long-lasting flavors,” said Paul Chatfield, senior marketing director at Mondelez International ANZ.

    Launched in 2007, Stride was created by Mondelez International-owned Cadbury. The chewing gum range now consists of 20 flavors, including its Stride 2.0 line.

  • Pepsi virtual restaurant matches fizz with foods

    Pepsi virtual restaurant matches fizz with foods

    PepsiCo in the US has launched a digital kitchen called Pep’s Place to encourage consumers to experiment with matching foods with various Pepsi beverages.

    From this week, consumers can visit a dedicated website to select from eight Pepsi drinks and match them with renowned American dishes like cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, Cajun chicken sandwiches, chopped pork sandwiches, spare ribs, and chicken caesar salads. Orders will be fulfilled by major food-delivery services Uber Eats, Door Dash, and Grub Hub, or by Pepsi itself.

    Customers order by first choosing a drink – Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Pepsi Real Sugar, Pepsi Wild Cherry, Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry, Pepsi Mango, and Pepsi Zero Sugar Mango. After that, they are prompted with a selection of food items Pepsi believes complements the drink.

    “For years we have known that Pepsi is the perfect complement to a variety of foods,” said Todd Kaplan, VP of marketing at Pepsi. “But even though consumers know that food tastes Better With Pepsi, they often still forget to order a beverage with their favorite meals.

    “With the launch of Pep’s Place, we have designed a new ‘fast beverage’ restaurant delivery concept that features a menu and experience literally built around the idea of what foods go best with Pepsi, allowing consumers at home to fully optimize their meals,” he said.

    Pep’s Place will trade for a month, supported by eight television commercials broadcast nationwide. The company says the ads were filmed without “unrealistic, idealistic perfection” of food, instead depicting “the celebration of unapologetic love of foods like juicy, drippy cheeseburgers, topping-heavy hot dogs, and pizzas with the extra-long cheese pull”.

    As the example below shows, some are amusing…

  • Vinamilk leaps six notches in Top 50 global dairy companies

    Vinamilk leaps six notches in Top 50 global dairy companies

    Vinamilk has climbed six ranks to 36th in the top 50 world dairy producers with the highest turnovers, according to Plimsoll, a British financial analysis agency.

    With revenue of $2.6 billion in 2020,Vinamilk is the only representative in Southeast Asia to be listed among the Top 50 leading dairy companies in the world. The top 10 include firms from the U.S., New Zealand, Europe, and China.

    In 2017, Vinamilk made the list for the first time. After four years, the company’s revenue has continuously improved in the chart rankings. In 2020, despite Covid-19 impacts, Vinamilk still posted a 5.9 percent increase in revenue over the same period in 2019 and 17 percent compared to 2017, rising six ranks on the world dairy industry map.

    A report from Nielsen also shows Vinamilk is leading the domestic dairy market in key segments, including liquid milk, powdered milk, and condensed milk. Vinamilk has recently introduced new products to consumers, including Vinamilk Green Farm fresh milk, fresh milk with bird’s nest, premium juice Fruit Love, and Hero fruit milk. With a wide variety of new and quality products that meet diverse nutritional needs, the Vinamilk brand has been the most chosen by Vietnamese consumers for eight consecutive years, according to Kantar Worldpanel’s Asia Brand Footprint 2020.

    Vinamilk currently owns 13 factories, 13 farms, with a herd of about 150,000 cows, producing more than 250 types of products.

    The company has exported its products to 56 countries and territories, with a total turnover of more than $2.4 billion. Since 2017, Vinamilk’s export revenue has grown continuously along with the expansion of new export markets.

    In the first quarter of 2021, Vinamilk’s export revenue increased by 7.9 percent over the same period last year.

    To rank higher on the world dairy industry map, Vinamilk has promoted corporate governance and sustainable development as its focal points in the future direction.

    A sustainable development strategy aims at ensuring sustainable values for the economy, society, and environment.

    Mai Kieu Lien, general director of Vinamilk, said the company would maintain stability in production and business and further promote cohesion and value sharing with stakeholders.

    “At Vinamilk, sustainable development will be oriented towards advanced models of the world dairy industry. Specific action plans and initiatives would be implemented along all parts of the value chain, from research and development, farm systems, factories to supply,” Lien maintained.

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  • Fiji Kava names new CEO

    Fiji Kava names new CEO

    Health and wellness company Fiji Kava has appointed Dr. Anthony Noble as its new CEO effective May 31.

    Noble is currently the MD and CEO of Australian Biotherapeutics and has experiences in natural product development, sales and operations management.

    “Anthony’s experience and background in the natural products and biotechnology industries are directly transferable to Fiji Kava, including operational supply chain excellence and in growing the availability of our Fijian Noble Kava across key international markets with new and existing partners,” said Fiji Kava chairman, Dr. Andrew Kelly.

    “We were extremely impressed by the success of Australian Biotherapeutics under the leadership of Anthony including the role he played in securing investment and commissioning their $10m greenfield production facility in Queensland.” Prior to Australian Biotherapeutics, Noble spent 10 years at SFI Health, SFI Research as global head of innovation, and head of North Asia, GM of the company’s Chinese joint venture, and global head of business to business.

    Nicholas Simms, who has been acting as interim CEO, will continue as a non-executive director with founder Zane Yoshida on the Fiji Kava Board.

  • Vodka-based drinks lead 40 per cent surge in RTD sales

    Vodka-based drinks lead 40 per cent surge in RTD sales

    Ready-to-drink sales have recorded double-digit growth over the past year, primarily driven by vodka-based drinks, according to Liquor Marketing Group (LMG).

    In a 12-month period starting from March 2020, the RTD category achieved 40.2 percent growth in dollar sales across the group’s stores, which include Bottlemart, SipnSave, Harry Brown, and Thirsty Camel. RTD sales in this year’s first quarter across the stores surged 39.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.

    Meanwhile, the vodka subcategory saw the strongest demand with a 72.3-per-cent increase, followed by bourbon and seltzer.

    “LMG’s dollar sales growth for the category has continued to be higher than the total market average,” said Scot Hayman, national merchandise manager for beer, spirits, and RTDs at LMG.

    “This trend has been consistent in each state and for all RTD segments.”

    The strong performance of RTDs sales was recorded in WA, with more than 50-per-cent growth, followed by NSW with 44.7 percent.

    According to Hayman, the strong performance of RTDs sales can be attributed to the increasing demand for healthier options.

    “RTDs with low and zero sugar, light RTDs – particularly in vodka and gin, and Seltzer align with this trend and have given shoppers a reason to rediscover and re-engage with RTDs, while simultaneously attracting new buyers across different demographics and life stages,” said Hayman.

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  • Taco Bell makes Malaysian debut

    Taco Bell makes Malaysian debut

    Indulge your guilty pleasures with time-tested regret eating when Taco Bell opens its first Malaysian outlet next month at the Cottage Walk commercial center in Cyberjaya, Selangor.

    Rather than coming to Petaling Jaya as originally announced, the American fast-food chain, famous for cheap Tex-Mex cuisine often consumed to wash down a night of partying, will bring its cheese-heavy range of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and nacho bowls to KL’s startup bros starting April 2.

    “Malaysians can look forward to an exciting and globally-famous Taco Bell experience which offers a twist to familiar Mexican favorites such as tacos, burritos, and more,” Taco Bell said in a press statement. The Cyberjaya outlet will be open 10 am to 10 pm daily for dine-in and takeaway.

    Of course, like most fast-food chains that have opened their doors in Malaysia, can we hope to see localized versions of Tex-Mex fare like rendang tacos as a Ramadan special, maybe?

    Although the California-based chain last year named Petaling Jaya for its first location, a company representative told Coconuts over the phone that renovation of the site is not completed.

    Dozens of Malaysians took to Twitter to express their glee.

    “Yeay! I always see this in movies but now it’s coming to Cyberjaya,” @Thewaterlilies wrote.

    Be careful what you wish for, as any of Taco Bell’s biggest fans would readily warn.

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  • PepsiCo commits to recycled packaging across entire snacks range

    PepsiCo commits to recycled packaging across entire snacks range

    PepsiCo will convert to 100-per-cent recyclable packaging across its Smith’s, Red Rock Deli, Sakata, and Doritos brands.

    The company has also partnered with the sustainable organization, Clean Up Australia, to increase soft-plastic recycling in Australia.

    By the end of the year, all the packaging will be changed out and will sport the Australasian Recycling Logo. Consumers will be able to recycle all of their snack packagings via curbside recycling for cardboard and plastic trays, and through the Redcycle collection bins for soft plastics.

    “Increased recycling rates are critical to the success of a circular economy for soft plastics,” said PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand chief marketing officer, Vandita Pandey. “Key to this is making packaging recyclable and easy to recycle.

    “We are proud to have achieved the first step – designing 100 percent of our snacks packaging to be recyclable – meeting Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Target four years ahead of schedule.”

    PepsiCo pledged $650,000 at the Australian Government’s National Plastics Summit last year for the Greening the Green program developed by Clean Up Australia. The company partnered with Redcycle and Replas to work with local sporting facilities to streamline rubbish separation and collection as well as increase soft plastics recycling.

    Greening the Green is a 12-week program that targets to improve littering and rubbish collection via an interactive online learning experience.  A pilot testing is underway at the ELS Hall Park in Ryde, NSW and there are an additional 19 sporting grounds that have signed up, bringing the number to a total of 110 sporting facilities joining them for the next two years.

    Facilities can either collect recyclables like soft plastics and beverage containers via specific bins, which will be collected by Redcycle. These will be shredded and delivered to Replas so they can be moulded into seats, bollards, signage and sports trophies., and the end product will be given to each sporting group.

  • Australian firm seeks patent for Vietnam rice variety

    Australian firm seeks patent for Vietnam rice variety

    An Australian firm has sought a patent for Vietnamese rice varieties ST25 and ST24.

    According to intellectual property authority, IP Australia, T&L Global Foods Supply PTY LTD on April 22 sought to register ‘Rice; Best Rice of the World’ trademarks for the two varieties.

    It is the sixth company internationally – the other five are in the U.S. – to seek to appropriate ST25.

    Both were developed in Vietnam by farmer-scientist Ho Quang Cua, with ST25 going on to win the first prize in the 2019 World’s Best Rice Contest held in the Philippines and ST24 the second prize in the 2017 contest in Macau.

    Ngan Tran, director of Maygust Trademark Attorneys in the Australian capital Canberra, said it takes three to four months to carry out checks for patent registration.

    If an application meets all the requirements, the IP agency would issue a notice accepting the trademark and disclose the information enabling anyone with an objection to file within two months, she explained.

    If there is no objection, the patent would be granted, she said.

    Of the five applications for ST25 submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), only the one by I&T Enterprise Inc. has crossed the first stage.

    The Vietnam Trade Office in the U.S. is helping a Vietnamese company fight I&T.

    The USPTO is set to publish the application by I&T on May 4, and Cua and his son’s company need to file an objection by June 4.

    Several ministries are assisting Cua’s company, which has also hired a law firm.

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  • Wine marketplace Vivino launches in Australia

    Wine marketplace Vivino launches in Australia

    Wine marketplace Vivino has launched commercial operations in Australia, offering 50 percent reduction on commissions to local wineries for the remainder of this year.

    The online marketplace operation will be based in Sydney, NSW, and led by James Fildes, GM of Vivino Australia.

    Vivino now has more than 800,000 users in Australia and more than 51 million users globally. Australian users of the app will now be able to buy local wines as well as continue to share ratings and recommendations of wines they try.

    “It’s been a tough couple of years for winemakers and merchants in this market, but we’ve seen remarkable resilience in the domestic economy,” said Fildes.

    “This industry deserves a break, and Vivino can help Aussie winemakers by showing our users more of their wine, based on each individual’s unique taste and price preferences. Our data is unmatched.”

    Besides the discounts, Vivino also provides local producers data via its Merchant Dashboard illustrating how consumers interact with their brands. The insights will help winemakers and brands to identify their customers and prospects and drive sales.

    Fildes said the platform had proven its model internationally and could quickly provide new revenue streams for local wine producers.

    Vivino is now the world’s largest online wine marketplace and the most downloaded wine app. The concept allows wine enthusiasts to rate and share views on wine, which allows the app to use community data to make personalized wine recommendations, helping consumers discover new brands and blends.

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  • McDonald’s implements global inclusive workplace initiative

    McDonald’s implements global inclusive workplace initiative

    McDonald’s has unveiled an initiative to foster safe and inclusive workplace it calls Global Brand Standards.

    The policy will focus on four main areas: harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention; workplace violence prevention; restaurant employee feedback; and health and safety. The company says the standards have been set to further ensure physical and psychological safety for its employees and customers.

    “There are no shortcuts to ensuring that people feel safe, respected, and included at a McDonald’s restaurant,” said Chris Kempczinski, president and CEO of McDonald’s. “Our new Global Brand Standards reinforce our commitment to living our values such that at every interaction, everyone is welcome, comfortable and safe.”

    These standards will be implemented across 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants in more than 100 countries. From January, restaurants will be assessed and held accountable in accordance with the applicable McDonald’s market’s business evaluation processes. Training and reporting mechanisms will be established.

    McDonald’s said it will work closely with independent and third-party experts to support the implementation of the standards for franchisees.

    “McDonald’s has a responsibility and an opportunity to use our tremendous scale to drive change globally,” said Reto Egger, speaker group chair of the European Franchisee Leadership Group (EFLG) and franchise owner.

    “These refreshed standards and heightened measures of accountability are central to our culture, our business goals and the need in our society to foster more respect, safety, and inclusion.”

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  • Honey exports set for anti-dumping probe in US

    Honey exports set for anti-dumping probe in US

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has received demands for anti-dumping investigations into honey imported from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

    According to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam, for the first time ever the country’s honey products face the risk of being investigated for trade remedies in the U.S.

    The complainants are the American Honey Producers Association and the Sioux Honey Association, who have listed 12 Vietnamese firms in the petition and calculated the dumping margin at 207.08 percent.

    They want the anti-dumping investigations to be done for the period from October 1 last year to March 31 this year, and want damage investigation done from the beginning of 2018.

    Data from U.S. customs shows Vietnam exported 50,700 tons of honey products in 2020, or 25.8 percent of that country’s total honey imports.

    The DOC will decide whether to launch an investigation within 20 days.

    The U.S. International Trade Commission is reviewing the two associations’ lawsuits to assess the damage done to the U.S. honey production industry.

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  • Asahi takes on $1bn coffee market with AllPress acquisition

    Asahi takes on $1bn coffee market with AllPress acquisition

    Asahi Beverages is cementing itself as a local leader in the beverages market with the announcement of its foray into the $1 billion fresh coffee market.

    The business has snapped up Allpress Espresso, a global coffee brand that has operations in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, and Singapore.

    Established by Michael Allpress in Auckland over 30 years ago, the brand first came to Australia in 2000 and is now recognized around the globe, selling more than 1500 tonnes of coffee beans worldwide each year.

    Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi (pictured above) is confident that the acquisition puts Asahi Beverages in a powerful position in the local market at a time when Coca-Cola Amatil is moving under European ownership.

    “We’re the multi beverage supplier of choice in Australia … and we believe we can bring a better product and better service to consumers,” Iervasi told Inside FMCG.

    AllPress will continue to run as a standalone business with Asahi supporting the brand’s growth through its extensive customer relationships and expertise in the consumer goods space.

    Currently, the bulk of AllPress’ business is the supply of roasted coffee beans to boutique cafes and restaurants, but Asahi has big plans to grow the brand’s presence, including thorough expansion into licensed venues and grocery stores.

    AllPress has already produced a canned cold coffee range and sells ready-to-pour coffee shots in bottle and bag form. While its portfolio features around 10 proprietary blends, its flagship Allpress Espresso Blend and A.R.T Espresso Roast comprise over 80 percent of sales.

    The business also has a strong direct-to-consumer offer online and through more than a dozen Allpress cafes, including in Melbourne and Sydney.

    Allpress CEO Vaughan Magnusson told Inside FMCG that the two companies share the same values and expectations on quality and that Asahi is the perfect partner to support the growth of the business.

    “They are the right organization to take Allpress to the next level,” he said.

    Under Asahi ownership, AllPress will also continue to expand the DTC business.

    Iervasi told Inside FMCG that Asahi has confidence in the brand because of its ability to deliver a premium coffee experience and superior customer service.

    “AllPress has a commitment to flavor, quality customer service, and a strong track record of growth,” he said.

    While no financial details of the deal were disclosed, Iervasi confirmed that the 240+ full-time staff at AllPress will remain, with management untouched and Michael AllPress remaining as an ambassador, and the day-to-day operations will not be affected.

    “No one’s losing their jobs,” Iervasi said.

    After welcoming CUB to the fold last year, Iervasi said Asahi is committed to supporting and creating jobs in Australia and New Zealand and expanding beverage offerings.

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  • Australia wine exports to China almost wiped out

    Australia wine exports to China almost wiped out

    Australian winemakers shipped just A$12 million ($9 million) of wines to China in the four months from December to March, from A$325 million a year earlier, industry figures showed, confirming that hefty new tariffs have all but wiped out their biggest export market.

    The figures from industry body Wine Australia on Thursday show the swift impact of measures taken by China’s commerce ministry and the country’s anti-dumping probe into imports of Australian wines last year.

    The figures also put a dollar value on a broader geopolitical dispute between Australia and its biggest trade partner which has spread to the sugar, lobster, barley, and coal and copper ore industries.

    From December to March, the period after China said it was investigating the Australians on suspicion of exporting wine at a loss to gain market share, or “dumping”, Australian wine shipments collapsed to almost nothing and stayed there at the start of 2021, the figures showed.

    That marked the end of a years-long run of double-digit growth in Australia-China wine exports, by dollar value, which lasted into October before crashing the following month, according to the figures.

    For the year to March, sales to mainland China, which takes nearly a third of Australian wine exports, fell 24 percent to A$869 million. The next biggest export market was the United Kingdom, up by a third to $461 million as winemakers redirected exports there.

    “They were out to play political games, they wanted Australia to get on its knees, unfortunately, we said no,” said Bruce Tyrrell, managing director of Tyrrell’s Wines, in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney, which previously sent up to a quarter of overseas sales to China.

    “We’ve got countries like U.S., UK, Canada, the traditional markets. We’ve now got to increase our distribution in the counties we deal with,” he told Reuters by phone.

    The value of wine exports to the United States rose 4 percent to A$432 million in the year to March, the Wine Australia figures showed.

  • Coca-Cola the latest global brand to ‘Adopt a Park’ in Brazil rainforest

    Coca-Cola the latest global brand to ‘Adopt a Park’ in Brazil rainforest

    Coca-Cola Co on Wednesday agreed to sponsor a protected reserve in the Amazon rainforest, joining beer maker Heineken and a growing list of global corporations signing up to the Brazilian government’s “Adopt a Park” program.

    Environmentalists say that the program, launched by the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro this year, amounts to “greenwashing,” or a cosmetic move aimed to improve the government’s image, at a time when deforestation is soaring.

    Acting via its Brazilian subsidiary, Coca-Cola is the eighth company to join the program by adopting the Javari-Buriti Area of Relevant Ecological Interest for 658,850 reais ($122,109) for a period of one year.

    The park occupies 132 square kilometers in the remote western portion of Brazil’s Amazonas state and includes one of the densest formations of Buriti palm forest in the world.

    Heineken earlier this month pledged 466,900 reais to sponsor a 93 square kilometer Amazon reserve that is home to a traditional community of escaped slaves in Maranhao state.

    More than 11,000 square kilometers were deforested in Brazil’s Amazon in the 12-months through July 2020, an area 14 times the size of New York City, according to the latest annual data available from government space research agency Inpe.

    Environmentalists blame the surgeon Bolsonaro, who has weakened environmental enforcement agencies and called for more development in protected areas. Adopt a Park is only an attempt to improve the government’s image, they say.

    “The government should reverse the environmental dismantling … instead of this program which opens up a huge space for greenwashing and doesn’t solve the problem,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, a conservationist with advocacy group Greenpeace Brasil, in a statement.

    The Environment Ministry and parks service ICMBio did not respond to requests for comment on that criticism. The ministry said the funds would pay for infrastructure improvements and environmental conservation, without giving further details.

    Coca-Cola Brasil said adopting the park is part of its long track record of conservation in the Amazon, without responding to questions about greenwashing.

    Heineken did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

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