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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.

  • Jollibee expands into Alberta eyeing 100 new restaurants

    Jollibee expands into Alberta eyeing 100 new restaurants

    Jollibee Canada is continuing its expansion, opening its first store in Alberta this Friday, (August 16) at Edmonton.

    The store will be the Philippine-founded fast-food group’s fifth store in Canada, as it sets out to build a network of 100 outlets there within five years.

    The chain recently opened other locations in Winnipeg and the Greater Toronto Area where it says local consumers lined up for hours.

    “Since opening locations in Scarborough and Mississauga over the past year, Jollibee Canada has been looking forward to serving Edmonton and making it easier for them to satisfy all of their Jollibee cravings,” said Maribeth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Foods Corporation North America.

    “Although Jollibee is wildly popular among Filipino-Canadians, the brand also attracts a diverse mix of adventurous foodies, curious locals and families alike.”

    She says that since the company announced plans to enter Canada it has received a high level of feedback from expatriate Filipinos across the country and others who have got to know the Jollibee brand in other countries it already operates, such as Vietnam, Singapore and parts of the US.

    Jollibee is the flagship brand of Jollibee Foods Corporation’s 14 brands, which now has more than 4500 stores in 21 countries.

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  • Tokyo restaurant Kikanbo opens first Hong Kong Outlet

    Tokyo restaurant Kikanbo opens first Hong Kong Outlet

    Tokyo restaurant brand Kikanbo is to open its first Hong Kong restaurant in Causeway Bay, its third international market.

    From today, Hong Kong customers can enjoy a taste of the restaurant known as Tokyo’s “perennial long queue store”, and which sells 27,000 bowls of ramen each month

    Kikanbo, described as a karabishi miso ramen restaurant, features a dark ornamented restaurant design with red lighting and a counter seat from which guests can witness the entire ramen-making process closely.

    Multiple tables for two or four diners are available inside, with 29 seats overall.

    The brand’s president Masakazu Miura trained at a ramen restaurant for more than 10 years before establishing the first Kikanbo in Tokyo’s Kanda district. The brand is known for its five levels of spiciness and numbness for its miso soup with 25 soup base varieties.

    Kikanbo has opened at 530 Jaffe Road, its eye-catching shop front guarded by a painting of Aka Oni (red demon) and Ao Oni (blue demon) on either side of the entrance along with the gigantic Kanabo (oni stick).

    Established in Kanda in 2009, Kikanbo has three domestic branches in Tokyo, Kanda and Ikebukuro in Japan and two international branches in Taiwan.

  • Blue Bottle Coffee’s industrial-style flagship opens in Seoul

    Blue Bottle Coffee’s industrial-style flagship opens in Seoul

    Blue Bottle Coffee’s first South Korean cafe which opened in Seoul’s artsy Seongsu neighborhood earlier this year, features an industrial-style design with steel surfaces and red-brick fixtures.

    The cafe was designed by Schemata Architects, which has already created several of the brand’s branches in Tokyo, Japan.

    South Korea is the second international market for the US coffee company, which opened its first Tokyo cafe in 2015, inspired by the hospitality of traditional Japanese kissaten (coffee house) culture.

    In the new three-floor, 14,000sqft Seongsu location, each level is dedicated to a different use. The cafe has been designated to the basement – a decision made by the practice after seeing that the ground floor overlooked a busy road often blocked with traffic.

    “Having the cafe in the basement provides a calm and peaceful space away from the bustle on the ground,” the design team explained to Dezeen.

    At its centre is a huge stainless-steel service counter, above which a section of the ceiling has been cut away to provide views to the upper floor.

    Large stacks of red bricks – a material typically used to clad the facades of buildings in Seongsu – have been dotted throughout the space, where brand merchandise like packets of coffee and mugs can be displayed.

    “As a mark of respect for [Seongsu’s] history, we decided to also use brick inside the building,” explained the practice.

    A short set of stairs leads down to a lowered seating area that’s dressed with timber tables and chairs, as well as a couple of long beige sofas.

    The ground level hosts a roastery, a storage room for coffee beans and an area dedicated to cupping: the practice of observing the taste and aroma of brewed coffee. It is all fronted by glass allowing pedestrians outside to see the coffee-making process.

    “The basic design rules for Blue Bottle Coffee cafes remained the same in this project, which is to use a limited number of materials to create a space with a sense of unity and to create a flat relationship between the customers and the staff over the counter,” the practice’s founder, Jo Nagasaka said.

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  • Subway under investigation for underpaying work force

    Subway under investigation for underpaying work force

    Subway has said it could terminate franchisees that fail to meet their financial responsibilities amid an investigation launched by the Fair Work Ombudsman into the underpayment of its workers.

    The sandwich retailer said franchisees are required to meet regulatory, financial, workplace and employment requirements, and failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action.

    “Failing in their commitment to uphold these will result in enforcement action and continued non-compliance may lead to termination,” a Subway spokesperson said, which reported the underpayment investigation on Monday.

    “All Subway restaurant employees are entitled to payment for hours worked, including for training. Any employee who believes they have been paid incorrectly by a franchise owner is encouraged to report this to Subway for investigation, through a dedicated employee hotline.”

    Local newspapers spoke to several Subway employees, who had seen thousands of dollars paid incorrectly over the years, as well as mentioning a general laissez-faire attitude adopted by the Subway head office.

    “The only things Subway head office care about is your name badge, your uniform, it is all about the image,” one employee said.

    A Subway spokesperson said these statements have not been reported to it, and that it takes matters such as these very seriously.

    “More than 10,000 employees are hired by franchise operators and work at the 1353 individually-owned Subway restaurants across Australia,” the spokesperson said.

    “While restaurant employees are hired by franchise owners, any concerns raised by employees are investigated by Subway immediately.”

    Subway is not the only retailer grappling with underpayment issues. Wage theft has been uncovered at Michael Hill, Domino’s, Super Retail Group and Chatime over the past year, though most said it was a result of the complexity of modern awards.

    However, an informal poll revealed almost 60 percent of more than 200 respondents believe underpayment is mostly intentional, due to businesses trying to cut costs.

    A recent report by the Australian Payroll Association found that almost a third of payroll managers admitted to making employee payment or entitlement mistakes at least once a month, and claimed that the larger the business, the more likely mistakes are to occur.

    However, the report claimed only 16 percent of businesses with fewer than 50 staff said they made such mistakes each month – a position most franchisees likely fall into.

  • Starbucks India Speeding up store rollouts

    Starbucks India Speeding up store rollouts

    Starbucks India plans to ramp up its store rollout. The global coffee chain opened 25 new stores in the last financial year and 30 new stores this year with local partner Tata Global Beverages – but plans to open a far greater number of new stores in the near future, according to Tata Starbucks CEO Navin Gurnaney, with an investment of more than US$6.4 – 7.1 million.

    “We spend anywhere between $213,000 and $284,000 to build a store,” said Gurnaney in an interview with the Business Standard. “We would not be being aggressive with our store growth if we didn’t see potential. We think the market is very strong. Excellence is always well received and we believe we have an excellent experience, partners and products. We are extremely bullish on India. India is one of the top five growing markets for Starbucks internationally.”

    Starbucks India stores serve an average of 270,000 customers per week, with 90 percent of their chosen beverages being coffee.

    “People don’t come to us just to buy a sandwich,” added Gurnaney. “It is always an accompaniment with a beverage. The coffee category has been growing with all groups of people and the millennials are certainly gravitating towards coffee. But not just millennials, it is also the 30 years something upwardly mobile, better traveled and better-educated people which are growing in India.”

    While there has been some speculation that Starbucks Tata is considering an acquisition of a rival brand, Gurnaney insisted that Starbucks India outlook is extremely optimistic, and that future plans are to be “thoughtfully aggressive”.

    Starbucks entered India with its first store in Mumbai launching in 2012.

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  • Nestle starts selling Starbucks-branded coffee in China

    Nestle starts selling Starbucks-branded coffee in China

    FMCG giant Nestle started selling Starbucks-branded coffee in Mainland China today, seeking to tap growth in a market where it says coffee consumption per capita remains low compared to global standards.

    Nestle last year paid US$7.15 billion for exclusive rights to sell the US chain’s coffees and teas globally and began selling Starbucks-labelled products in Europe, Asia and Latin America in February.

    The world’s largest food company will start selling 21 Starbucks-branded capsule and instant-coffee products on Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba’s Tmall and JD, as well as to offices and hotels in tier-1 cities, both companies said.

    “We believe China is the most exciting market in general but especially for coffee because… per capita cup consumption is quite low as compared to Asia,” said Rashid Aleem Qureshi, Nestle’s CEO for the Greater China region.

    “Right now the overall soluble coffee [market] in China is growing between 3 to 5 percent a year and we believe that by bringing this exciting new business opportunity we should be able to grow faster than that,” he said, referring to a category that includes capsule and instant coffee.

    Nestle’s move comes as the Swiss company experienced slower first-half growth in China, its second-largest market, where other categories like mainstream baby foods have struggled compared to pricier options.

    China’s per capita coffee consumption is about six cups a year, compared to 400 in Japan and 300 in South Korea, Nestle said.

    The partnership with Starbucks would help Nestle add a premium coffee option to the range of products it already sells in China, such as Nescafe instant coffee range and Nespresso capsule coffees, Qureshi said.

    Starbucks China CEO Belinda Wong said the Nestle deal would open two new avenues to sell its products in China, where it has been investing heavily in its store network and delivery amid tougher competition from local startups.

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  • Taiwanese bubble-tea brands caught in Hong Kong protest backlash

    Taiwanese bubble-tea brands caught in Hong Kong protest backlash

    Internet users on the Chinese mainland have blacklisted popular Taiwanese bubble-tea brands after a Hong Kong franchise urged solidarity with street protesters in the Asian financial hub.

    The online furore began when Yifang Fruit Tea, a maker of the tea-based drink, closed one of its Hong Kong shops for a day and put up a sign that said in Chinese: “Stand together with Hong Kongers”.

    Photos of the sign circulated on mainland social media this week, angering users who accused the firm of backing Hong Kong independence. Calls for a boycott spread to other Taiwanese bubble tea brands like Gong Cha, HeyTea, CoCo and A Little Tea.

    Yifang and the others were blacklisted by users of China’s microblog Weibo. A white list promoted “good” brands.

    “Rest assured, I won’t spend another cent on you. Yifang is rubbish,” a Weibo user named ProfiteroleK wrote in a comment that received more than 1500 likes.

    Hong Kong is facing its worst crisis since returning to China from British rule in 1997, as sometimes violent protests since June against a now-suspended extradition law have become a direct challenge to the city’s government and Beijing.

    Bubble tea was invented by Taiwan, a self-ruled island considered by Beijing as a renegade province. On the mainland, Weibo posts containing the hashtag “Taiwanese bubble tea shops” were read 350 million times in recent days.

    The run-in with Chinese social media users is another example of how companies can get caught in political issues.

    In January, Apple and Amazon were called out by a mainland state think-tank for “incorrect” Taiwan and Hong Kong references.

    The mainland franchisee of Yifang Fruit Tea said in social-media posts the company fired the part-time staff who put up the notice and permanently closed the outlet.

    However, Amigo Cheung, the brand manager of the Yifang franchise in Hong Kong, told Reuters by phone that nobody had been dismissed yet and no outlet had been shut.

    HeyTea and Gong Cha, on their social media accounts, affirmed their support for “One Country, Two Systems” or “One China”, in hopes of distancing themselves from the backlash.

    Fellow Taiwanese bubble-tea brands CoCo and A Little Tea could not be reached for comment.

    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote in a Facebook post this week that “China’s political power has invaded into various nonpolitical areas,” citing tea as an example.

    “For people living in a society with freedom and democracy, we need to stay on high alert for issues like this,” Tsai wrote, along with a picture of a cup of ice fruit tea.

    Jennie, a mainland student studying at a Hong Kong university, said she had sympathy for protesting students but also felt caught in the middle.

    “Seeing the locals around disliking mainland people so much, I fear I’ll be driven out (from Hong Kong) by them in the future,” she told Reuters.

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  • Aldi growing three times as fast as competitors

    Aldi growing three times as fast as competitors

    Australians top priorities in grocery shopping are convenience, quality and pricing – with the latter surprisingly coming in third.

    Dunnhumby’s latest Australian Grocer Retailer Preference Index found that Woolworths is the go to “one-stop-shop” for wide product variety while rival Coles is the chosen grocery for promotions and rewards. However, discount grocer Aldi beats them both on price.

    “Aldi has built the strongest emotional connection with its customers by delivering consistently low prices, quality products and higher perceived ‘value’,”said Keri-Jane Jacka, commercial director ANZ, dunnhumby.

    “Further, our findings show Aldi customers are more likely to recommend the retailer to their friends and family and be sad if their nearest store closed.  This strong emotive response suggests that Aldi has really strong brand equity – a driver for long-term customer loyalty and continued success in the market.”

    Woolworths beats Coles as Australians’ preferred grocery retailer with an RPI score of 95 versus 91. However, Aldi is hot on the heels, described as an ‘accelerating threat’ with an RPI score of 69. The discount grocer is growing three times faster than its competitors, and can potentially double its market share in the next 10 years, dunnhumby said.

    “With Aldi outperforming on all price attributes and developing a real connection with its customers, in order to remain the preferred grocery retailers amongst shoppers, Woolworths and Coles must continue to invest in data-driven retail strategies to foster loyalty and build trust. They must offer lower prices across the board instead of focusing on discounts, and more convenient, easy shopping experiences that delight customers,”
    Jacka said.

    The index shows that the ‘big two’ supermarket giants, Woolworths and Coles, capture two-thirds of shopper visits. One third of shoppers buy at Woolworths, Coles and Aldi in the last month.

    The report found that Australian grocers face intense pressure from e-commerce and discounters that leverage customer data to engage and retain shoppers today. It’s the ‘new normal’ strategy for retailers to win and retain the modern shopper.

    “Retailers need to be far more strategic in their approach to pricing and promotions. To remain competitive, they need to think introspectively on how they can maximize personalization and create the most value for their customers by leveraging the huge amounts of customer data at their disposal,” Jacka said.

    Five primary customer pillars

    Dunnhumby reported that there are five primary customer pillars. These are convenience and quality; easy shopping experience; price; operations and drive time.

    It ranked the five retailers with Woolworths ahead of Coles. Aldi comes in third as the “dark horse in the race”, while IGA and 7-Eleven currently trailing.

    Convenience matters for Aussie shoppers

    Aussies value time so convenience, quality and easy-shopping experience are on the top of their priorities for overall preference driver. But for Woolworths and Coles customers, it is less important as long as they are satisfied with their items.

    Woolworths and Coles are the strongest on quality goods and convenience. IGA’s strongest in good customer service and clean stores. While Aldi offers also good quality products, but trails behind the two supermarket giants on convenience. 7-Eleven’s biggest issues are cleanliness and perishables, but the retailer wins in ready-to-eat items.

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  • The Salted Plum opens at Suntec City

    The Salted Plum opens at Suntec City

    Southern Taiwanese restaurant The Salted Plum has opened its second outlet in Suntec City.

    The outlet features a spacious dining area with a street ambiance, a self-service system and new dishes exclusive to the venue. The brand, which serves tapas-style Taiwanese dishes, began as a pop-up called FiveTen before launching its first permanent location on Circular Road.

    “The Salted Plum is the embodiment of how a great zi-char restaurant should be; home-style cooking that is full of comforting flavors, hearty, affordable, satisfying and above all, enjoyed with the people you love,” said founder and MD Shawn Kishore.

    “We are excited at the opportunity to welcome larger groups of diners at our new outlet while maintaining our essence and commitment to serve quality food at a reasonable price. With the ongoing labor crunch in Singapore, our self-service system is one of the ways for us to pass on the savings to our customers and ensure that they do not need to break the bank for a wholesome meal in the city.”

    The new 76-seat venue is described as “a pimped-up version of the flagship outlet”, offering diners the option of all-day Taiwanese dining experience on a budget. After placing orders at the cashier, guests are assigned order numbers for self-collection; made easy with single tray pick-ups – all dishes ordered will be placed onto a single tray.

    The Salted Plum Suntec City is decked out with communal-style high-top tables, high ceilings and street-style decor against navy-blue walls featuring vivid illustrations of signature dishes; all aesthetically lighted to capture the mood of outdoor city dining. Countertop seats and small tables are designed for a quick bite while the restaurant’s larger tables can accommodate bigger parties.

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  • New lease-reporting standard will ‘significantly’ impact Xiabuxiabu results

    New lease-reporting standard will ‘significantly’ impact Xiabuxiabu results

    Chinese restaurant operator Xiabuxiabu says the impact of the new International Financial Reporting Standard 16 (IFRS 16), which changes the way leases are treated in financials, will seriously impact its profit this year.

    The Hong Kong-listed company issued a profit warning yesterday saying profit attributable to shareholders for the six months to June would decrease “significantly” compared with last year.

    “The application of IFRS 16 will result in a higher total charge to the statement of profit or loss in the first few years of the lease, and such expenses will decrease during the latter part of the lease term, therefore there is no impact on the expenses recognized during the lease term. As the group currently operates a large restaurant network with more than 1000 restaurants, the effects of the application of IFRS 16 will be significant,” said chairman H O Kuang-Chi.

    “As the results for the six months … have not been finalized, the information contained in this announcement is only a preliminary assessment by the board based on information currently available including the unaudited consolidated management accounts.”

    Xiabuxiabu will release its interim results by the end of this month.

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  • Restaurant openings sap Jumbo Group profit

    Restaurant openings sap Jumbo Group profit

    Jumbo Group profit fell 24.8 percent in the third quarter to S$1.7 million (US$1.2 million) as new restaurant openings added to expenses.

    The Singapore-listed restaurant group opened three new outlets in Singapore: a Jumbo Seafood at Jewel Changi, along with Zui Yu Xuan Teochew Cuisine and Chao Ting Teochew Pao Fan eateries at Far East Square.

    Sales were affected by the closure of the Jumbo Seafood restaurant on Riverwalk for one month during renovations.

    Group sales rose by 0.8 percent to $36.4 million.

    For the first nine months of the financial year, Jumbo Group profit was up 6.2 percent to $9.1 million on revenue down 0.4 per cent to $113.1 million.

    The company said in its results announcement that operating costs and tough competition across its Southeast Asian markets will continue to pose a challenge. However, the company expects new restaurants will help strengthen its market position in Singapore, “the bedrock of earnings growth”.

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  • Smashburger weighs down Jollibee results

    Smashburger weighs down Jollibee results

    Jollibee’s Smashburger and Red Ribbon business units significantly dragged down the restaurant operator’s first-half profits.

    Jollibee Foods Corporation says the company’s net income attributable to shareholders was P1.1 billion (US$21.1 million) in the second quarter – half that of the preceding three months. First-half profit was down 34 percent on the same period last year.

    The company blamed the decline on losses relating to the Smashburger chain and lower sales by its Red Ribbon bakery business.

    “On Smashburger, we introduced major changes that created short-term disruption in sales and profit but will drive sustainable sales growth and strengthen the brand health,” said Jollibee CFO Ysmael Baysa.

    While Smashburger, a relatively recent acquisition for the company, was not yet performing, Baysa says Jollibee has considerable experience restructuring businesses it buys into more profitable operations, namely Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan in China, and the Highlands Coffee business in Vietnam.

    The poor performance of Red Ribbon during the quarter was attributed to a shortage of supplies relating to the transfer of the company’s commissary kitchen to new premises south of Metro Manila.

    Last month, Jollibee announced the purchase of California cafe chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for US$350 million. It expects that business to contribute to Jollibee’s bottom line within 12 to 18 months.

    Global sales by Jollibee rose 13.8 percent in the first half, to P113.8 billion (US$2.11 billion) . Most of that growth came from its international operations, which grew by 24.9 percent, far faster than the 13.8 percent of its domestic business.

    Between January and June, the company opened 170 stores, 111 of those in its home market.

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  • Habit Burger Opening in Cambodia

    Habit Burger Opening in Cambodia

    The Habit Restaurants is set to expand its Habit Burger Grill franchise throughout Cambodia in partnership with Amory F&B in a 25-store development agreement.

    The first outlet is expected to open in Phnom Penh in spring next year.

    “We quickly developed a passion for The Habit Burger business when we saw how much focus there is on great customer service,” said Kampuchea Tela Company CEO Okhna Chhun On. “This is something we strongly believe in, and we are excited to bring the Habit experience and great food to the people of Cambodia.”

    “The Habit’s excellent brand, best-in-class systems, and experience will help us to go the extra distance to become national leaders in the burger segment,” said Amory F&B Company CEO Chhun Sophearoth. “As an organization, we keep developing and investing in our people, much like The Habit Burger, and this will be an important part of our success.”

    “We are thrilled to continue to expand our brand internationally and to see Amory F&B Company bring our unique style of hand-crafted-to-order food, chargrilled burgers and high-quality customer service to the people of Cambodia,” said The Habit Restaurants president and CEO Russ Bendel.

    “Amory is comprised of a team of experienced, committed operators who share our dedication to customer satisfaction and enthusiasm for The Habit brand.”

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  • Hoshino Coffee chains eye Asian expansion

    Hoshino Coffee chains eye Asian expansion

    Upmarket Japanese coffee businesses are expanding into other Asian markets in an attempt to win over customers from global leaders such as Starbucks.

    Specialty brands Sarutahiko Coffee and Hoshino Coffee are among those reaching into major Asian markets, with Sarutahiko entering Thailand and Hong Kong, and Hoshino moving to Taiwan.

    “Consumers who frequent Starbucks are ready to embrace Japanese-style service,” said president and CEO of Sarutahiko Tomoyuki Otsuka.

    Mitsubishi has taken a 15 percent holding of Sarutahiko for around 500 million yen ($4.6 million), with a view to expanding the brands’ network from the current 16 stores (including three in Taiwan) to 30 outlets.

    Hoshino Coffee already trades well in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia and will launch in Taiwan in the next fiscal year.

  • BreadTalk Group Profit Down

    BreadTalk Group Profit Down

    Expansion-related costs saw Singapore-listed BreadTalk Group’s quarterly profit more than halve despite rising sales.

    According to a stock-exchange filing, net profit was down by 57.9 percent to S$1.02 million for the June quarter, but sales rose 9.8 percent to $163.3 million.

    Besides its namesake brand of bakeries, BreadTalk’s portfolio includes Toast Box, Food Republic, and The Icing Room, along with a host of franchises including Din Tai Fung, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh and Wu Pao Chun Bakery.

    Net profit for the half-year was down 35.3 percent at $2.34 on sales up 7.9 percent to $321 million.

    The higher costs are believed to relate to expansion into the UK as well as set-up costs for new Din Tai Fung outlets.

    Sales rose in the core bakery and food-court divisions, however, those gains were eroded by higher distribution and selling costs. The bakery division, which accounts for about two-thirds of BreadTalk’s sales, posted a loss over the half-year on a pre-tax basis.

    This was mitigated by strong performances of the food courts, especially in Hong Kong and Mainland China, where profits rose by 23.8 percent, thanks largely to low vacancy rates.

    BreadTalk is on track to open its first Song Fa Bak Kut Teh outlet in Taiwan later this year and plans to open more eateries in Thailand and Singapore. It will also continue to roll out new food courts, focusing on Greater China and Cambodia.

    “Efforts to turnaround the bakery business, particularly in China and Thailand, remain underway, while we continue to build on the strong performance of the business in Singapore,” the company said in its filing.

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