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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.

  • BreadTalk Group to bring new tea cafes to Singapore and Thailand

    BreadTalk Group to bring new tea cafes to Singapore and Thailand

    BreadTalk Group has partnered with Shenzhen Pindao Food & Beverage Management to introduce tea beverages to Singapore and Thailand.

    BreadTalk’s wholly owned subsidiary Together Inc and Shenzhen Pindao have formed a JV, BTG-Pindao Venture. Together Inc will hold a 90 per cent stake of the JV, with Pindao holding the balance. Under the S$3 million (US$2.2) agreement, BTG-Pindao will run and manage tea beverage brands Nayuki and Tai Gai in Singapore and Thailand, with a first right of refusal for Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

    The first Tai Gai store outside China is slated to be launched late this year. While it offers a novel way of appreciating tea, Nayuki brings a new cafe concept of premium tea creations complemented by European-inspired artisanal breads. Tai Gai first opened in China in July 2015, followed four months later by Nayuki.

    “It took us just three years to build both Nayuki and Tai Gai to more than 100 stores in China, despite a landscape where international beverage chains were capturing the hearts of many young consumers,” says Pindao CEO Zhao Lin.

    Founded as a bakery brand in Singapore in 2000, BreadTalk has become an award-winning F&B group with bakery, restaurant and food-atrium footprints. With nearly 1000 retail stores across 17 territories, its brand portfolio comprises Bread Society, BreadTalk, Din Tai Fung, Food Republic, So, The Icing Room, Thye Moh Chan and Toast Box.

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  • China no longer ‘easy’ on Vietnamese agricultural produce

    China no longer ‘easy’ on Vietnamese agricultural produce

    Vietnam should expand its agricultural exports to other markets instead of being dependant on China where standards on export items are being tightened, a meeting heard on Tuesday.

    China is now following international practices, tracing food origins and performing quality checks on imported agricultural produce, including those from Vietnam, said Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade at the National Assembly meeting.

    The northern neighbor used to allow 100 Vietnamese businesses to export rice, but now only 27 of them are permitted, Anh said.

    For years, China’s fluctuating agricultural demand has also been hurting Vietnamese farmers. Many Chinese dealers have cancelled their deals with Vietnamese farmers, resulting in an oversupply of seasonal produce that are often exported to China through informal channels like watermelon and chili.

    Last year, volunteers in Hanoi had to start “rescue campaigns” to sell nearly 300 tons of watermelons which were being left to rot as there was a lack of demand.

    “If we keep focusing on the Chinese market and don’t look for alternatives, the consequences will be grave,” the minister said, adding that Vietnam should have new policies to remove export barriers.

    China is by far the biggest importer of Vietnam’s agricultural produce, accounting for 77 percent of total export turnover in the first four months of this year, whereas the U.S. only made up about 2.8 percent and Japan 2.7 percent.

    Large population, proximity and established trade relations explain China’s dominance. The country is also known to offer Vietnamese farmers attractive incentives.

    Vietnam exported about $36.37 billion worth of agriculture and fisheries products last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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  • UNIQLO hits Hawaii with Ala Moana Center store

    UNIQLO hits Hawaii with Ala Moana Center store

    Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo will open a 2500sqft pop-up store at Ala Moana Center on June 1, ahead of the grand opening of its first Hawaii store at the same mall.

    With the concept “A Little Pop From Tokyo”, the pop-up will feature 200 men’s, women’s and children’s t-shirts depicting Tokyo pop culture.

    In March, the company announced it would occupy a retail space of about 17,300sqm across two levels at the centre, the country’s largest outdoor shopping mall.

    Uniqlo has more than 1900 stores in 19 markets worldwide including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

  • DBE Gurney to open Harumi fried chicken brand quick service restaurants in Thailand

    DBE Gurney to open Harumi fried chicken brand quick service restaurants in Thailand

    D.B.E. Gurney Resources Bhd’s subsidiary, D.B.E. Poultry Sdn Bhd (DBEP) has on May 23, 2018 entered into a joint venture agreement with Farmmesh Foods Co LTD (FFCL) to open and jointly operate Quick Service Restaurant operations with Harumi™ fried chicken brand concept in Thailand.

    The deal is following a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the parties on March 8, 2018.

    DBEP will hold a 30% interest in Super Harumi Thailand, while FFCL will take the remaining 70%. DBEP will inject an initial capital of RM37,000 into the joint venture, along with providing training and the running of the business.

    DBE Gurney said the JV business will enable it to expand its retailing business through HARUMi products and allow it to expand to Thailand following its early expansion into Taiwan, in addition to the existing outlets in Malaysia.

    The stock trading half a sen lower at three sen with some 1.3 million shares changing hands.

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  • Gambero Rosso’s TopItalian Wines Roadshow 2018 Celebrates Italy’s Finest Wines

    Gambero Rosso’s TopItalian Wines Roadshow 2018 Celebrates Italy’s Finest Wines

    The annual Gambero Rosso’s Top Italian Wines Roadshow welcomed about 1,000 wine lovers at CHIJMES Hall today in a celebration of Italy’s wine craftsmanship. The one-day roadshow will be opened by the Ambassador of Italy to Singapore, H.E. Raffaele Langella; Mr Marco Sabellico, Senior Editor-in-Chief of Vini d’Italia; and Mr Lorenzo Ruggeri, Editor of Gambero Rosso Top Italian Restaurants in the World.

    Steeped in a wine-producing history that dates back many millenia, Italy has mastered the art of winemaking and secured an international reputation for producing a wide array of quality wines highly regarded by wine connoisseurs. At Gambero Rosso’s Top Italian Wines Roadshow’s stopover in Singapore today, columns of tasting tables offered an exquisite selection of around 300 wines from over 70 Italian wine producers to an assembly of appreciative wine lovers. Masterclasses hosted by Mr Marco Sabellico, who is also Gambero Rosso’s wine expert, led trade visitors and wine lovers on insightful expeditions to discover the characteristics of signature wines from a total of 68 wineries in Italy.

    With a growing reputation as the wine hub of Asia, Singapore presents itself as the ideal gateway for Italian wine producers and distributors to access the region. Italian wine is estimated to flourish at a total volume CAGR of 3% to reach 2.6 billion litres in 2021 (Euromonitor, 2017), supplying fine-quality wine which is in high demand due to Asia’s roaring economies and rising affluence. GlobalData (2017) expects the Asia-Pacific wine market to flourish at a CAGR of 9.4%, the quickest in the world, and register a volume CAGR of 4.5% to more than 4 million litres by 2021.

    From March to November 2018, Gambero Rosso will bring the annual celebration of Italy’s wine craftsmanship on a tour around the globe, with visits to São Paolo, Brazil, and Houston, USA, last month. After Singapore, the Top Italian Wines Roadshow’s next stops in Asia will be at Bangkok, Thailand on 24 May, and Hong Kong, China on 31 May.

    Established in 2007, Gambero Rosso’s Top Italian Wines Roadshow has firmly become a strategic platform for penetrating emerging markets and grasping new business opportunities. Italian wine offerings are so rich and have a wide selection. To address this, the selections at Gambero Rosso represent a guaranteed way for promoting knowledgeable, attentive and curious developments of Italian territories. The basic framework employed comprises an extremely rigid selective criteria of quality used for decades by the Vini d’Italia guide. Now in its 31st edition, the guide is the result of a year of work by an expert team of 53 tasters who tasted 45,000 wines and interviewed wine producers at wineries across Italy, including Ticino in Switzerland for the first time this year. In this edition, 22,000 wines from 2,485 wineries were awarded scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses, with 436 wines receiving the highest, prestigious rating ofTre Bicchieri.

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  • Seoul Garden celebrates 35th anniversary with exciting deals

    Seoul Garden celebrates 35th anniversary with exciting deals

    Asian-Korean restaurant chain Seoul Garden has marked its 35th anniversary with a celebration at its first Malaysian outlet, in Gurney Plaza, Penang.

    The brand’s grill and steamboat buffet included marinated meats such as coffee chicken and beef bulgogi.

    Seoul Garden Group COO Siow Yong Wu says the brand has come a long way since its establishment in Singapore in 1983 as an a-la-carte eatery catering to Korean expatriates. He says they switched to a buffet concept before entering the Malaysian market in 2005 with the Gurney Plaza outlet.

    Penang franchisee Joseph Lee says Seoul Garden outlets were among the most popular dining venues because of their vast buffet, offering about 120 items.

    With 35 outlets across peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, the brand has also obtained halal certification.

    Group CEO Andrew Lee says all food items come from halal suppliers. “We have also re-engineered our proprietary grilling system to give customers a more comfortable, smoke-free dining environment.”

    Siow says the group intends to expand heavily, both within Malaysia and in neighbouring countries. Currently, the brand has a presence in Indonesia (Medan), Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Myanmar.

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  • Jollibee re-enters Guam with new Restaurants

    Jollibee re-enters Guam with new Restaurants

    Jollibee, the largest and most popular fast food chain in the Philippines, is re-entering the Guam market with the ongoing $2 million construction of a restaurant within the Micronesia Mall compound in Dededo. The restaurant is expected to open by early 2019.

    The restaurant is being built within the parking area of Micronesia Mall, by the corner of Marine Corps Drive and Army Corps Drive. Construction began in March.

    Construction cost is $2 million and the permit fee is $12,820, based on copies of the Department of Public Works building permit posted on a barrier wall at the construction site.

    Construction of a Guam branch of Jollibee, the most popular fast food chain in the Philippines, is ongoing within the vicinity of Micronesia Mall in Dededo.
    Haidee Eugenio/PDN

    Isagani Baluyut, owner of Isagani Baluyut Construction, on Monday said his company has a one-year contract to build the Jollibee restaurant. Baluyut said he is not privy to the restaurant’s actual opening date but his company’s construction contract ends in April 2019.

    Jollibee started as an ice cream parlor

    Jollibee, known for its Chickenjoy, hamburgers and sweet-tasting spaghetti and its iconic red bumble bee mascot, used to have restaurants on Guam and Saipan but declining sales forced the branches to close.

    An international Jollibee franchise applicant is required to have a minimum net worth of $5 million, according to Jollibee’s corporate website.

    Jollibee started in 1975 as an ice cream parlor that evolved into a burger chain, and has become the largest fast food chain in the Philippines. It has also embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan in the United States, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei.

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  • Despite growth, Vietnam’s beer market remains established giants’ playing field

    Despite growth, Vietnam’s beer market remains established giants’ playing field

    Many big companies have failed to tap into Vietnam’s competitive beer market despite steady growth, industry experts said.

    Nguyen Van Viet, chairman of Vietnam Beer, Alcohol, and Beverage Association (VBA), said that only big brands such as Heineken and Sabeco are doing well, while others are struggling.

    Take Sapporo for example, the company has maintained low levels of profit despite growing sales because of high operational and advertising costs, Viet said.

    Other big players have been even less successful. Masan Food, whose products are staples in Vietnamese families, has yet to dominate supermarket shelves with its White Lion premium lager beer four years after its launch.

    Another example would be, local dairy giant Vinamilk and British brewing company SABMiller (now belonging to Anheuser-Busch InBev). The two companies joined forces in 2006 to open a brewing venture. Their product has, however, failed to compete against other established brands and remains largely unknown. Vinamilk withdrew from the venture after just two years.

    However, the market is still considered a promising ones. Vietnam’s beer industry has seen a stable 5 percent annual growth even though world’s average consumption hasn’t budged in the past decade.

    According to Euromonitor’s Southeast Asia beer consumption report, Vietnam will be a noteworthy market in upcoming years given the current momentum.

    The international market research company also called Vietnam as “the next battlefield for brewers.”

    Vietnam consumed more than 4 billion liters of beer in 2017, according to VBA’s report.

    The industry aims to produce 4.1 billion liters of beer in 2020 and 5.5 billion liters in 2035

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  • Manila’s Jollibee introduced a purple yam pie today

    Manila’s Jollibee introduced a purple yam pie today

    Manila’s favorite colorful root vegetable, the ube, or purple yam, has found a new home today: stuffed deep inside a flaky, crusty, warm pastry and served up hot, fresh, and cheap at everyone’s favorite Filipino fast food joint, Jollibee.

    The ube pie was introduced this morning and can be experienced for P29 for a single pie, or P82 for three.

    The chain has been teasing the new menu item in viral posts on their page for the last few days, revealing the purple color and texture — which Pinoys immediately guessed to be ube — but not the product itself. The most popular guess for the colorful new addition was ice cream or a sundae. However, most people just tagged their friends and said that they needed to go and try it.

    Ube has long been used in Filipino desserts, and is popular in Thailand as well, where it’s served sweet or savory and known as man muang. Recently, though, the colorful, antioxidant-packed yam has been gaining traction all over the world, being called “the new matcha” due to both it’s fast-growing popularity and supposed health benefits.

    Though Jollibee also has outlets in Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the US, it appears the viral new purple pie is a treat reserved only for customers in the Philippines.

    Jollibee has not announced if the new pie is a limited-time item or permanent edition to the menu.

  • Rare bottles of whisky fetch record US$1m each at HK auction

    Rare bottles of whisky fetch record US$1m each at HK auction

    Two bottles of rare 60-year-old Macallan whisky fetched a total of more than US$2 million under the hammer on Friday in Hong Kong, Bonhams said, with both sales shattering the previous world auction record for the spirit.

    One bottle, bearing a label designed by British pop artist Peter Blake – who helped create the sleeve of The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” – was sold for HK$7.96 million (S$1.36 million).

    The other bottle, whose label was designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami, went for HK$8.63 million, a new world record for whisky sold at auction.

    Both 750-milliliter vintage bottles were distilled in 1926 and matured in a sherry hogshead cask until being bottled in 1986. Only twelve of each Macallan were ever produced.

    “These two bottles are not meant for sale. They were given to some of the Macallan’s most loyal business partners or clients,” said Daniel Lam, head of wine and whisky at Bonhams in Hong Kong.

    Whisky prices have soared in recent years, with buyers shifting their attention from bigger names to rare bottles from Scotland and Japan among others, according to Bonhams.

    In 2014, a bottle of malt whisky – Macallan ‘M’ Decanter 6-litre Imperiale – set the last record of HK$4.9 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

    The value of Macallans 18 years and older has doubled in value over the past year, Mr Lam said in an interview.

    While new whisky tends to be more industrialised, in the ’80s and before that it was handcrafted, Mr Lam said, adding that well-kept whisky can last forever.

    In April, two other 60-year-old Macallans from 1926 were sold at a Dubai airport retailer for US$600,000 each, breaking the record for the most expensive whisky sold in retail.

    There is growing interest in whisky in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as in China, Bonhams said, especially among a younger generation of collectors.

    “Whisky is more like a young generation drink now, compared to cognac or even red or white wines,” Christopher Pong, wine and whisky specialist at Bonhams said.

    Wealthy Asian buyers have shown frenzied interest and deep pockets at art auctions in recent years, with sales of paintings, diamonds and ancient ceramics shattering world records.

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  • Coffee Concepts will open 20 Starbucks branches in Myanmar

    Coffee Concepts will open 20 Starbucks branches in Myanmar

    Hong Kong’s Coffee Concepts has won the rights to open Starbucks stores in Myanmar.

    The first Starbucks Myanmar store will open in Yangon, operated by a subsidiary Coffee Concepts (Myanmar), having received overseas investment approval.

    Coffee Concepts is a division of the Maxim’s Group, in turn a partly owned unit of Dairy Farm International. The company operates Starbucks in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia.

    Starbucks will be something of a late-comer to the Myanmar coffee with rivals Singapore-US joint venture The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Australia’s Gloria Jeans already operating in Yangon. The latter is a joint venture with local company Seezar Soesan.

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  • Golden first quarter for Shakey’s Pizza

    Golden first quarter for Shakey’s Pizza

    Pizza parlour chain Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures grew its first-quarter net profit by 6.4 per cent to PHP184 million (US$3.5 million), even as higher input costs tempered the impact of double-digit growth.

    Shakey’s grew its first-quarter systemwide sales by 10 per cent to PHP2.2 billion. This was mainly attributed to a 2 per cent growth in same-store sales and a continued store network expansion strategy.

    Meanwhile, the company says earnings growth has been curbed by cost pressures relative to the previous year.

    “We continue to face a competitive environment, but this has been mitigated by the success of our marketing initiatives and the efforts we have made to improve the overall Shakey’s brand experience,” says president/chief executive Vicente Gregorio.

    For the three months to the end of March, the company grew total revenues by 6 per cent to PHP1.8 billion.

    During the quarter, Shakey’s added four outlets to take its nationwide store count to 212. It intends to open another 16 branches and is on track to taking its total Philippine store network to 228 by year end.

    Gregorio says the company is taking the brand to more locations beyond Metro Manila.

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  • Maki-san sushi chain to take a bow in Japan

    Maki-san sushi chain to take a bow in Japan

    Maki-san (“Mr/Ms Roll”), a Singaporean fast-food makizushi (rolled sushi) chain with 17 locations in its home country, is set to debut in Japan with an outlet in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi district in July.

    Maki-san has its own special take on the Japanese delicacy, saying it offers customisable sushi rolls and salad bowls including “a 60 per cent original Singaporean menu, 20 per cent original Japanese menu, and 20 per cent limited seasonal menu”. House specials are available for customers opting not to design their own sushi.

    Maki-san is also known for its cute posters and illustrations on social media.

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  • QSR and PETRONAS tie-up to open 50 new KFC drive-thru outlets

    QSR and PETRONAS tie-up to open 50 new KFC drive-thru outlets

    QSR Brands Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary QSR Stores has signed a memorandum of understanding with Petronas Dagangan to gradually open 50 KFC Drive-Thru outlets at Petronas gas stations within the next three years.

    QSR Brands MD Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil says the strategic collaboration provides an excellent opportunity for the quick-service restaurant group to expand its business and restaurant services in Malaysia.

    “While continuing to strengthen our core product and service offerings, we place a great emphasis on our expansion strategies to meet the elevated demands of our customers,” says Azahari.

    QSR has more than 1250 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia.

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  • Enjoy A Good Dram At The Third Edition Of The DFS Whiskey Festival

    Enjoy A Good Dram At The Third Edition Of The DFS Whiskey Festival

    DFS Group, the world’s leading luxury travel retailer, is to host the third edition of The Whiskey Festival at Singapore Changi Airport. Taking place from now until June 17, the festival is set to celebrate some of the world’s finest whiskies and provide travelers with a platform to expand their whiskey knowledge and immerse themselves in some of the classics.

    Throughout the festival, travelers will be invited to taste some of the world’s best whiskies, including rare and limited-edition items, some of which are exclusively available only at DFS. A line-up of interactive masterclasses will take place each weekend, where leading brand ambassadors will be on hand to guide guests through an interactive tasting of handpicked whiskies and offer expert advice.

    “As interest in whiskey continues to grow, we aim to provide our customers with the best selection of products as well as a unique and engaging retail experience,” said Wilcy Wong, DFS Group Managing Director, Singapore and Indonesia. “DFS Singapore, Changi Airport is home to the largest assortment of single malt whiskies in Southeast Asia, so we feel education is important. The Whiskey Festival offers guests an opportunity to really understand our brands, their craftsmanship and their heritage.”

    The Festival activities will take place at The Whiskey House, located in Terminal 2 (T2) and Terminal 4 (T4), at DFS Singapore, Changi Airport. Since opening in July 2016 in T2 and in November 2017 in T4, The Whiskey House has been a popular spot for travelers and whiskey aficionados alike. The space offers an intuitive and experiential shopping destination where guests can enjoy complimentary tastings of over 100 different whiskies from across the globe.

    Ms Teo Chew Hoon, Group Senior Vice President for Airside Concessions, Changi Airport Group, said, “Together with DFS, we reignite the senses as we showcase a rich blend of the world’s most loved whiskey at Changi Airport’s Whiskey Festival. The exquisite whiskey tastings and calendar of activities will craft one-of-a-kind experiences for travelers as they journey through Changi Airport. ”

     

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