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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.

  • City begins programme to trace vegetable origins

    City begins programme to trace vegetable origins

    Consumers in HCM City can now use a smartphone app to trace the origin of vegetables sold at Co.opmart, Lotte Mart, Big C and AEON supermarkets under a programme run by the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Digital Agriculture Association.

    Huỳnh Thị Kim Cúc, the department’s deputy director, said customers could use Zalo on Android or QR code scanning apps to scan the labels on the packages.

    The information they contain includes where and when the vegetables are grown, packaged and distributed and the types of pesticides and fertilisers used, she said.

    The initiative followed growing concerns about food safety, she said.

    The department and the association has surveyed and collected data on vegetable farming models since May last year.

    Now only two co-operatives – Phước An Co-operative in Bình Chánh District and Phú Lộc Co-operative in Củ Chi District – are part of the programme, and they are supplying 18 items, including cabbage, cucurbit, cucumber, bitter melon, broccoli, sweet potato buds, water spinach, and amaranth.

    The programme would be piloted at select supermarkets and VietGap-certificated vegetable co-operatives until March before being expanded to all VietGap-certified co-operatives and more retailers, Cúc said.

    She said her department and other relevant agencies would closely monitor vegetable quality, carrying out surprise tests and quick tests.

    Nguyễn Phước Trung, the department’s director, said a million tonnes of vegetables are consumed in the city every year, with 24 per cent supplied by farms in the city around and the rest by those in other provinces.

    The department said the city was paying more and more attention to the safety of vegetables, resulting in plant protection drug residues decreasing year after year.

    In fact, last year authorities did not detect any plant protection drug residues exceeding permissible levels in key growing areas, down from 1 per cent in 2015, it said.

    Last month, the city launched a programme to enable consumers to trace pork origins at nearly 350 modern outlets by downloading the QR Code decoding application from www.te-food.com to their devices.

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  • Vietnamese invest heavily in Australian cattle industry

    Vietnamese invest heavily in Australian cattle industry

    Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has unveiled that the first large-scale purchase of an Australian cattle ranch – for beef production – by a Vietnamese company has been made, in the Northern Territory, south of Katherine.

    The purchase of the US$13.6 million cattle ranch by An Vien Pastoral Holding and Agriculture Company is the first far-reaching Vietnamese agricultural investment in the land down under on record, says MLA.

    Per MLA, Pham Nhat Vu, chair of the An Vien Media Group holding company, was listed the official successful bidder of record for the purchase of the 200,000-hectare cattle ranch.

    The deal includes the purchase of 10,000 head of Brahman cattle.

    Commenting, an MLA spokesperson said: When you see high-net-wealth individuals and global corporations making beef investments in Australia, it shows confidence in the Australian beef industry and gives confidence that they believe the consumption of red meat globally is strong.

    Though An Vien did not initially respond to requests for comments on the deal by GlobalMeatNews, says MLA, it is widely speculated the impetus for the investment is that it is much easier for Vietnamese to invest in big ranches in Australia than procure the large amounts of land needed in the Southeast Asian country.

    It is a very complicated undertaking in Vietnam to get even a 100-hectare size plot of land, which is the bare minimum necessary to operate a large-scale ranching operation, says a local Vietnamese rancher.

    For comparison purposes, there are many cattle operations in Australia that cover thousands of hectares each, he says, adding that the move makes good strategic business sense.

    Even though Australian taxes are much higher compared to those in Vietnam, weather and market conditions are more favourable and even a comparatively small US$4 million investment could provide a solid rate of return.

    While Vietnam is better known for receiving foreign direct investment rather than providing it, in recent years, forward thinking Vietnamese companies have been looking to invest in numerous countries— from Laos to Russia, and Australia.

    A spokesperson for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) disclosed that in 2015, Vietnamese outward foreign direct investment into Australia was US$348 million, while Australian investment into Vietnam was an estimated US$1 billion.

    Vietnamese also are acquiring a growing taste for beef, and the An Vien Pastoral Holding and Agriculture Company might be targeting exports back to their home market.

    An Austrade spokesperson said there had been an exponential growth in the number of cattle exported by Australia to Vietnam over recent years, with a peak in 2015 of 360,000 head.

    He forecasts that 200,000-live head of cattle would be imported into Vietnam from Australia in calendar year 2017, in part fuelled by the lack of import tariffs from Australia to Vietnam.

    In addition, the Austrade spokesperson noted that the Vietnam government considers live cattle as a useful input that can have added value within Vietnam through slaughtering and processing.

    Beef consumption per capita per year in Vietnam, according to official sources, currently stands at 2.5 kilograms in a nation of an estimated 95 million people, which is expected to grow in coming years.

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  • Has Starbucks met its match?

    Has Starbucks met its match?

    Vietnam – known for its deep-rooted coffee culture – has become one of the most diverse markets in Asia for the uplifting beverage, with scores of global giants, local chains and small cafés severing a wide variety of freshly roasted beans.

    Domestic chains are competing well against international brands including coffee giant Starbucks, which has opened 24 outlets across Vietnam since its debut in the country four years ago.

    Not long after Starbucks entered Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s southern business hub where people drink coffee from sunrise to sundown, local chain Phuc Long stepped up its game and presented a direct challenge to the global giant.

    At a main intersection at the heart of the city, a Starbucks shop is under fierce competition from two Phuc Long stores just a few steps away.

    Phuc Long has shown a determined attempt to take on international brands like Starbucks by building up its presence in busy downtown areas across Ho Chi Minh City that are densely crowded with office buildings and shopping malls.

    Where there’s a Starbucks outlet, there’s a Phuc Long store to draw in those who otherwise would be Starbucks clients, mostly upper- middle class consumers willing to pay a few extra bucks for a cup of premium-branded coffee.

    “We are not overwhelmed by international brands as we have targeted young consumers who enjoy international products at reasonable prices,” said a Phuc Long executive.

    Phuc Long is definitely not the only local coffee chain going head-to-head with foreign players.

    A survey conducted by Financial Times Confidential Research of 1,000 consumers in each of the five biggest economies in Southeast Asia found that Vietnam was the only country where Starbucks was not as frequently visited by local coffee lovers as local brands Trung Nguyen and Highlands Coffee.

    There remains far more growth potential, with more homegrown chains entering the market.

    Saigon Café opened its first shop in July last year. Since then the domestic chain has reportedly invested about $50 billion ($2.2 million), excluding rental costs, in 10 outlets across the city.

    “Despite increasingly fierce rivalry from international brands, we started generating a net profit not long after our first store opened,” said a Saigon Café executive. “Currently, each outlet is reporting monthly revenues of VND1.5 billion on average. Our estimate is that net profit can range between 20 and 25 percent.”

    Despite the fact international coffee chains such as Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have been well received in the Southeast Asian country, there has been a surge in the establishment of homegrown brands.

    On one hand, local coffee chains are confident that locals will stick to the strong taste of Vietnamese coffee. On the other, they have been responsive to the demands of a growing upper-middle class urban population who are more interested in sampling the ambiance of the store than the taste of coffee.

    According to Euromonitor International, a U.K.-based market research organization, annual growth of coffee franchises in Vietnam is currently standing at 7 percent.

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  • McDonald’s Japan stake for sale

    McDonald’s Japan stake for sale

    McDonald’s has reportedly invited bids for a “significant stake”  in its McDonald’s Japan unit.

    The Wall Street Journal has quoted “people familiar with the matter” saying the company is looking for buyers for up to 33 per cent of the shares, from its nearly 50 per cent stake in the listed Japanese company.

    The report said initial bids were due to be lodged this week and that a number of private-equity firms are considering the opportunity.

    Last week McDonald’s released terms of its sale of 80 per cent of its China and Hong Kong business, giving 20-year rights to the brand to state-backed Citic Ltd and private equity company Carlyle Group.

    The beleaguered Japanese business last February reported its first increase in customer numbers in nearly three years after a tumultuous period in which sales plummeted and the store network was heavily rationalised.

    Internal company figures showed footfall at stores open for more than one year rose by more than 10 per cent Japan-wide. Better yet, same-store sales rose by as much as 30 per cent, according to a report by Reuters.

    McDonald’s Holdings Co (Japan) has projected a net profit of about 1 billion yen (US$8.47 million) for the year to December 2016 – which would mark its first time out of the red in three years since a food safety scandal relating to expired chicken hit the brand in 2014. In January 2015 sales plunged 38.6 per cent, customer ranks depleted by 28.5 per cent.

    In April 2015 the company unveiled a plan to cull its restaurant network and revamp remaining stores after a US$319 million loss.

    It also revised its menu, adding salads which has clearly drawn customers back to restaurants.

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  • McDonald’s McMasala Breakfast Menu Options Meet ‘Meh’ Response in India

    McDonald’s McMasala Breakfast Menu Options Meet ‘Meh’ Response in India

    McDonald’s India has added two new breakfast burgers, the “Masala Dosa Brioche” and “Masala Scrambled Eggs” burgers, to its product line-up to woo local customers amid rising competition from Domino’s and Burger King.

    The two new products will be served alongside more familiar fare such as vegetarian and non-vegetarian burgers, waffles, hotcakes and hash browns.
    The Masala Dosa Brioche burger features a grilled vegetable patty topped with molaga podi chili sauce, a flavor popular in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The other burger features spiced scrambled eggs on a bun.

    The expanded menu has been rolled out across 44 restaurants, starting with Mumbai on January 13. Items on the McBreakfast menu cost between 30 rupees ($0.50) for a hash brown and 213 rupees ($3) for a meal.

    These items will also be served through McDelivery and takeaway kiosks. The menu will gradually be introduced across India.

    “Breakfast convenience on the go will increase as more people enter the segment. As a western quick service restaurant, we are going to grow the Indian breakfast market dramatically,” Amit Jatia, vice-chairman of Westlife Development, which runs over 240 McDonald’s restaurants throughout western and southern India, told the media.

    McDonald’s first launched its breakfast menu in India back in 2010. Six years later, the fast-food chain is anticipating a good response from its fans. However, initial reactions to the “Masala Dosa Burger” were lukewarm on Twitter, as well as outside its restaurants in Delhi’s Connaught Place where the product has yet to be launched.

    ​A regular McDonald customer told Sputnik, “If I have to east Masala Dosa, why would I come to McDonald’s. I will go to one of those south Indian cuisine restaurants.” Yet another said, “it is worth trying but it is not exactly a masala dosa, which is served with coconut chutney and sambar (a curry).”

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  • PappaRich Malaysia considering IPO

    PappaRich Malaysia considering IPO

    Food chain PappaRich Malaysia is considering a Singapore IPO, possibly this year.

    Insiders say the company, which opened its first restaurant in Malaysia in 2006, aims to achieve a valuation of at least S$200 million (US$140 million) in the share sale.

    PappaRich would follow other Southeast Asia-based restaurant chains including ABR Holdings, which runs Swensen’s ice cream parlours, and kopi tiam restaurant chain Oldtown in gaining a listing to fund expansion.

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    A PappaRich representative says a listing has always been a consideration as the company considers fundraising options to support its expansion plans.

    Oldtown, which makes instant coffee and runs cafes, has risen 18 per cent in Kuala Lumpur trading over the past 12 months, and shares of Thai dessert chain After You, which raised US$21 million in a Bangkok IPO last month, have surged 167 per cent from their offer price.

    More than a million customers dine at the PappaRich outlets monthly, according to its website. The company has about 100 outlets globally including Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore and the US.

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  • Sharetea bubble tea arrives in Vietnam

    Sharetea bubble tea arrives in Vietnam

    Taiwanese bubble-tea brand Sharetea has launched into Vietnam with a store on the walking street of Nguyen Hue in central Ho Chi Minh City.

    Sharetea has more than 450 stores in more than 18 countries. Its drinks are made from tea leaves and ingredients shipped directly from Taiwan.

    It says its customers’ favourite drinks include coffee milk tea, kiwifruit tea, whole-lemon green tea and pearl black milk tea.

    Vietnam’s bubble-tea market has yet to reach its potential, say business owners in the sector. Sharetea is competing with other overseas brands like Chatime, Gong Cha and Koi.

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  • Movie company VShine Brothers opens oyster bar

    Movie company VShine Brothers opens oyster bar

    Movie investment and production company VShine Brothers has opened an oyster bar in Beijing.

    Its VShine Oyster Bar features interior design by A+A Workshop Design, Beijing, inspired by a marine concept.

    A+A Workshop Design says the aim was to create “historical charm” from the 1930s-1940s era. “We use some marine elements such as a cruiseship door, a scuttle, reef stone … the materials used include brass, brick wall, walnut timber wall panels and ceramic tiles.”

    The floor combines marble mosaic and wood, while the ceiling is made of vintage tin-tiles.

    There is a sculptural installation at the entrance – a fake reef stone made of concrete studded with oyster shells.

    At the end of a corridor is a hidden door, which leads to a cigar room with industrial pendant lighting and a vintage Chesterfield sofa as decoration.

    Another touch is glass display cabinets with items including a full suit of armour.

    VShine Brothers was established as Wei Shi Brothers in 2011 and is now a group of companies working in the movie, television and internet sectors. It even has a clothing brand with movie star endorsements.

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  • Jennifer Lopez’s footwear steps out with Giuseppe Zanotti

    Jennifer Lopez’s footwear steps out with Giuseppe Zanotti

    Jennifer Lopez’s footwear collection debut with Italian designer Giuseppe Zanotti, christened #GiuseppexJennifer, will hit the brand’s website and US stores on January 23.

    Comprising six designs, the collection channels the singer/actress’s flashy personal style, reports CPP-luxury.com. The star piece looks set to be a pair of lace-up, bejewelled stiletto boots in metallic silver, echoed by a pair of gladiator sandals.

    jennifer-lopezs-footwear-giuseppe-zanotti

    Photos released by the star in July, when the collaboration was announced, showed Lopez trying on a pair of knee-high snakeskin-heeled sandals.

    The project marks Zanotti’s first major celebrity collaboration, and it is also Lopez’s first high-end fashion series following a long-standing partnership with budget retailer Kohl’s, which featured her first collection in 2011.

    Meanwhile, the star is busy this year with a music collaboration with rapper Drake, a Spanish-language album, her Las Vegas residency show All I Have running through October and the second season of her TV show Shades of Blue premiering on NBC in March.

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  • Habeco to debut on Hose in Jan

    Habeco to debut on Hose in Jan

    Hà Nội Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) will start trading with code BHN on the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE) on January 19, the southern bourse announced on Wednesday.

    Habeco will list its entire 231.8 million shares, equivalent to the total listing value of nearly VNĐ2.32 trillion (US$103 million), at the reference price of VNĐ127,600 ($5.65) per share, the bourse said in a statement. The share price is allowed to fluctuate +/-20 per cent on the first trading day.

    Shares of the North’s largest brewer are trading at some VNĐ128,000 per share on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), which is under the management of the Hà Nội Stock Exchange.

    HCM City’s exchange on December 30, 2016, approved the company’s filing to move its listing from the UPCoM to HOSE.

    By changing its listing to HOSE, which is the main bourse in Việt Nam, with total market capitalisation of some $68 billion, Habeco is expected to improve its reputation and draw more investments.

    The company has become a ‘phenomenon’ on the UPCoM since its debut on October 28 last year, when its price shot from an initial VNĐ39,000 per share to a peak of VNĐ225,800 per share on December 16.

    Headquartered in Hà Nội, it is the largest beer producer in the North and the third-largest beer company in Việt Nam, with popular brands such as Hanoi Beer and Truc Bach Beer. It owns 17 subsidiaries and six affiliated companies, with total production capacity of over 800 million litres of beer per year.

    Ending September 2016, Habeco reported total combined revenues of nearly VNĐ7.65 trillion, down 5 per cent year-on-year. Its net profit declined by a steeper 23.5 per cent year-on-year to VNĐ960.5 trillion.

    The company has not increased its charter capital from the 2008 initial public offering, which remains at over VND2.3 trillion. Its cumulative annual profits are mainly distributed to its investment and development fund, which amounted to VNĐ2.54 trillion until September 30, 2016.

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  • Indonesia’s seaweed exports estimated to shrink 30 percent in 2016

    Indonesia’s seaweed exports estimated to shrink 30 percent in 2016

    The Indonesian Seaweed Association (ARLI) estimated that the countrys exports of seaweed shrank 30 percent in value from US$205.4 million in 2015.

    ARLI general chairman Safari Azis attributed the decline to weak demand amid the global economic crisis and U.S. policy in organic products.

    “In 2016, (seaweed exports) dropped around 30 percent . There was issue in 2016 that the United States would exclude processed seaweed from its list of organic products,” Safari said in a discussion here on Tuesday.

    Based on statistic data at the Marine and Fisheries Ministry, the countrys production of seaweed totaled 1.12 million tons in 2015. Around 21 percent or 236,900 tons of the production were exported to various countries including 97 percent in raw material and 3 percent in processed products.

    The exports of raw seaweed were valued at US$160.4 million and exports of finish products of seaweed was worth US$45 million or 22 percent of the total value.

    In 2016 , in the first 8 months , exports of raw seaweed totaled 121,500 tons valued at US$80 million ; and exports of processed products of seaweed totaled 4,000 tons valued at US$25.4 million.

    Apart from the report that the United States would exclude processed products of seaweed from its list of organic products, there are many factors hampering exports of that commodity, such as export restriction and plan to slap export tax on seaweed.

    “The government plans to impose an export tax of 20-40 percent on raw seaweed . The plan, however, has been shelved. The export tax was planned without consultation with the business players,” Safari said.

    The government is expected to offer incentives for the business players especially investors in seaweed cultivation and industry, he said.

    ARLI predicted that in 2017, exports of seaweed would increase both in raw material and processed products.

    ARLI also hopes more support from the government to develop and boost business in seaweed in the upstream as well downstream asn integrated industry.

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  • A cloud of dispute above McDonald’s Korea franchisee

    A cloud of dispute above McDonald’s Korea franchisee

    McDonald’s Korea has become mired in a high-profile dispute with a franchisee.

    The local arm of the US restaurant operator terminated the franchise agreement with McDonald’s Mangwon branch on December 1 of last year. According to McDonald’s, the restaurant owner had been failing to fulfill the terms of agreement, including paying the company franchise commissions amounting to a total of about 700 million won ($586,264).

    The owner retaliated by claiming he suffered losses from another McDonald’s restaurant opening nearby, refused to pay the overdue amount and shuttered the restaurant on December 4 after firing some 60 employees who were owed 50-million-won ($41,865) in unpaid wages.

    This week, former employees and members of the Alba Organization, Korea’s labor union for part-time workers, protested in front of the now-closed Mangwon outlet, affixing signs festooned with angry slogans to the front of the building.

    In an official statement, the Alba Organization demanded that McDonald’s advance the overdue wages and severance pay to the former employees, then demand indemnity from the owner. It also requested that the company provide jobs to employees who wish to continue working at McDonald’s.

    “For part-timers, wages are essential to survival. We demand that McDonald’s resolve this matter as soon as possible,” said a spokesperson.

    McDonald’s Korea responded by saying  it was doing its best to help the employees, and claimed to have already hired 19 of the former Mangwon outlet workers at other McDonald’s restaurants.

    However, as for unpaid wages, officials said, “we need the work data for the part-timers to pay their overdue wages, but only the owner can access the data,” adding that “trying to access the information without the owner’s consent is a violation of the law.”

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  • Korea food delivery app popularity booms

    Korea food delivery app popularity booms

    Food delivery has become more accessible than ever in South Korea.

    Korea food delivery apps have brought together thousands of restaurants across the country into a single location-based platform, growing significantly over the past few years.

    According to Woowa Brothers Corp., which operates the leading food delivery app Baedal Minjok, the monthly number of delivery orders exceeded 10 million for the first time last month at 10.7 million, which was an increase from 5.2 million in December 2014 and 7.12 million in 2015.

    Woowa Brothers added that the average number of orders per customer is also increasing steadily, from 3.2 orders per month in 2014 to 3.6 orders in 2015.

    Industry watchers expect the market to continue its growth, taking into consideration new types of food delivery apps with differentiated services entering the market, such as Shikshin Hero, which delivers food from famous restaurants that typically don’t provide delivery services.

    Newly emerging dining trends like eating or drinking alone are also expected to add to the continued growth of delivery apps.

    The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation predicted last year that “do it yourself hype” and “more food options for take-out or delivery” would drive Korea’s dining trends in 2017, forecasting a positive outlook for the food delivery industry.

    “A greater number of single-person households gave birth to more people drinking and dining alone, and a greater variety of food options are now available for delivery,” said a Woowa Brothers official. “Such factors led to the rapid expansion of the market.”

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  • Old Chang Kee expansion to UK

    Old Chang Kee expansion to UK

    Singapore F&B chain Old Chang Kee is forming a JV in the UK so it can expand and build its brand there, primarily in London.

    With Singapore company 13 Wonders, which is mainly involved in the general wholesale trade and food retail, it is forming Old Chang Kee UK (OCK UK), which will be a direct subsidiary of Old Chang Kee. Its initial paid-up share capital of £500,000 (US$608,400) comprises 500,000 shares.

    Under the agreement, Old Chang Kee and 13 Wonders will hold 60 and 40 per cent respectively of the shareholding interest in OCK UK, which will run food retail outlets as well as manufacture, distribute and trade food products in the UK.

    Old Chang Kee started in 1956 in a stall in a coffee shop near the former Rex Cinema in Mackenzie Road, attracting people from all over Singapore with its curry puff. The brand was bought in 1986 by Han Keen Juan who evolved it into a fast-food chain with its own production factory. Old Chang Kee now markets its range of snack products, including its signature curry puffs, through kiosks and retail outlets at petrol stations and shopping malls.

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  • McDonald’s Malaysia bans non-halal foods

    McDonald’s Malaysia bans non-halal foods

    McDonald’s Malaysia has decided to ban customers taking products that are not halal-certified into its restaurants.

    The fast-food restaurant chain says the measure is necessary to safeguard its own halal status, reports the Malay Mail.

    “This is in line with fulfilling requirements of our halal certification,” company official say.

    The new policy came to notice after an announcement was made in one of its restaurants that birthday cakes taken onto the premises must have halal certification or logo.

    McDonald’s Singapore and Malaysia franchise rights were sold last month to Saudi Arabian company Lionhorn as part of a broader plan by the US company to move away from direct ownership in Asia.

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