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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.

  • Domestic rice prices reach new peak

    Domestic rice prices reach new peak

    Vietnam’s domestic rice prices have surged to a new record amid rising export demand while authorities ensure there is no supply shortage for consumers.

    Rice seller Thanh in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District said that he has recently sourced price the popular Dai Thom rice from manufacturers at VND21,000 ($0.85) per kilogram, up 5% from last month and 16% year-on-year to a new record.

    Other types rose 7% from a month ago, he added.

    In Go Vap District, rice shop owner Hoa said prices had risen 12% from last month for certain brands.

    “Manufacturers say that prices will continue to rise as they have already placed orders at farmers who demanded higher prices,” he said.

    Supermarkets are also selling at prices 5-10% higher year-on-year.

    WinMart has raised prices on most of its rice, while Central Retail said that it has yet to adjust retail prices, to support consumers, even though suppliers have raised prices by 10%. Saigon Co.op is considering raising prices.

    Businesses that use a lot of rice are feeling the heat. Hoang Oanh, owner of a rice noodles manufacturer in HCMC, said that she had to reduce production to minimize risks of losses as rice prices have surged recently.

    Dinh Ngoc Tam, deputy CEO of rice exporter Co May, attributed the price rise to surging global demand.

    As India’s ban on some rice variety exports remains, the world is seeing a 40% drop in supply from the country, while other countries such as Indonesia, China and the Philippines still have high demands.

    Indonesian businesses are willing to buy from Vietnamese exporters at up to $650 per ton, a record high, according to data from exporters.

    There is no concern about domestic supply, but as traders are competing and paying more to ensure they can fulfil export orders, prices are rising, Tam said.

    Other industry insiders say that Chinese importers are buying more to ensure supply for their Lunar New Year holiday next year, which pushed up prices.

    Nguyen Nhu Cuong, head of the Department of Horticulture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that there was no concern about a shortage in the domestic rice market.

    The rice crop area has increased by 30,000 hectares year-on-year, he added.

    In the first season of next year, yield is set to rise from 2022 to reach 20 million tons of paddy as farmers’ techniques are improved, he said.

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  • Yum China posts record revenues

    Yum China posts record revenues

    Yum China, which operates the KFC and Pizza Hut chains in China, logged a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues to US$2.91 billion for the third quarter ended September 30.

    The company’s system sales were up 15 per cent, with both KFC and Pizza Hut reporting increases of 15 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. The growth was mainly attributable to the new unit contribution, same-store sales and lapping of temporary closures in the prior year.

    Operating profit increased 2 per cent to $323 million, primarily driven by sales leveraging.

    The firm opened 500 net new stores during the quarter, raising the store count to 14,102 as of September 30.

    “We delivered a record third quarter in total revenues, adjusted operating profit and net new store openings,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. “Our robust supply chain, industry-leading digital ecosystem and strong innovation capabilities have enabled us to stay agile in evolving market conditions.”

    Andy Yeung, CFO of Yum China, added the company achieved “robust results” despite macroeconomic headwinds, with same-store sales growth at approximately 90 per cent of the 2019 level.

    For the full year, the company expects capital expenditures to be in the range of approximately $700 million to $900 million.

    It aims to open 1400 to 1600 net new stores for 2023 and increase the total store count to 20,000 by 2026.

    Aside from KFC and Pizza Hut, Yum China also operates Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang stores in the country.

  • Coca-Cola raises outlook amid revenue growth

    Coca-Cola raises outlook amid revenue growth

    The US-headquartered company saw net revenues increase in most of its markets, including Europe, Middle East & Africa (10 percent), Latin America (24 percent), and North America (6 percent). Meanwhile, revenues in Asia Pacific declined 2 percent.

    Revenues of global ventures and bottling investments were up 15 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

    Global unit case rose 2 percent and operating income grew 6 percent, with earnings per share up 9 percent to $0.71.

    “We delivered an overall solid quarter and are raising our full-year topline and bottom-line guidance in light of our year-to-date performance,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

    “Our leading portfolio of brands, coupled with an aligned and motivated system, positions us to win in the marketplace today while also laying the groundwork for the long term.”

    The company expects to deliver organic revenue growth of 10-11 percent. For comparable net revenues, it anticipates a 4 percent currency headwind based on the current rates and including the impact of hedged positions.

  • Pomelo exports soar as New Zealand, US start buying

    Pomelo exports soar as New Zealand, US start buying

    Pomelo exports have surged this year after shipments to the U.S. and New Zealand began, with the figure for the first eight months standing at US$29.6 million. It represented a 144% year-on-year increase.

    Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Fruit and Vegetable Association, said pomelos, previously exported only to the EU and the Middle East, have been shipped to the U.S. and New Zealand since the end of 2022.

    With the quality of Vietnam’s green-skin pomelo improving rapidly, it is becoming popular in many countries, he said.

    Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T Export Import Service Trading Company, which accounts for 60% of all fruits and vegetables exported to the U.S., said Vietnamese pomelos face competition from China and Mexico, but are gaining a stronger foothold in the market.

    In the U.S. market, Vietnamese pomelo is sold at $9 per kilogram and Chinese varieties at only $2, but the former has won over more and more consumers due to its quality, he said.

    “This is the first year my company exports pomelos to the U.S., but volumes have increased sharply each quarter. In the first three months of this year we exported four 40-foot containers a month, now we export 16.”

    Fresh pomelo is the seventh fruit after mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan, and star apple that Vietnam exports to the U.S.

    The Plant Protection Department said pomelo is exported to 12 countries and territories.

    Vietnam has 105,400 hectares under the fruit and an annual output of 905,000 tons.

    Most of the green-skin pomelo is grown in the Mekong Delta.

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  • Durian export rises 14 time

    Durian export rises 14 time

    Vietnam’s durian export reached $1.63 billion in the first nine months, 14 times higher than the figure of same period last year, according to statistic of the General Department of Customs.

    In the reviewed period, fruit and vegetable exports totaled $4.21 billion, a surge of 72.5% equivalent to $1.77 billion year on year.

    Durian has surpassed jackfruit, dragon fruit, watermelon, banana and lychee to become the biggest foreign currency earner in Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry, accounting for 38.7% of the industry’s total export value.

    China is the largest importer of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables with a turnover hitting $2.75 billion, skyrocketing 160% compared to the same period last year.

    Currently, Vietnamese durian is exported mainly to China. Vietnam has 422 growing areas and 153 packaging facilities eligible to export the fruit to China.

    Sixty four other growing areas and 15 packaging facilities are completing procedures to have Chinese authorities to grant codes for the export. In addition, more than 600 growing area codes and 50 packaging facilities will apply for codes for the export of durian to China.

  • Coca-Cola raises outlook amid revenue growth

    Coca-Cola raises outlook amid revenue growth

    The Coca-Cola Company has raised its full-year guidance after its net revenue expanded 8 percent to US$12 billion for the third quarter.

    The US-headquartered company saw net revenues increase in most of its markets, including Europe, Middle East & Africa (10 percent), Latin America (24 percent), and North America (6 percent). Meanwhile, revenues in Asia Pacific declined 2 percent.

    Revenues of global ventures and bottling investments were up 15 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

    Global unit case rose 2 percent and operating income grew 6 percent, with earnings per share up 9 percent to $0.71.

    “We delivered an overall solid quarter and are raising our full-year topline and bottom-line guidance in light of our year-to-date performance,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

    “Our leading portfolio of brands, coupled with an aligned and motivated system, positions us to win in the marketplace today while also laying the groundwork for the long term.”

    The company expects to deliver organic revenue growth of 10-11 percent. For comparable net revenues, it anticipates a 4 percent currency headwind based on the current rates and including the impact of hedged positions.

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  • Shrimp exports to US surge in September

    Shrimp exports to US surge in September

    Shrimp exports to the U.S. in September increased 23% compared to the same period last year, marking the third consecutive month of positive growth.

    The 23% growth in September was also the highest compared to the previous two months, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

    However, in the nine months of 2023, shrimp exports to the U.S. reached $520 million, down 23% compared to the same period.

    The bigger export is due to higher consumption in the U.S. market. The International Monetary Fund raised its U.S. growth projection for this year by 0.3 percentage points, compared with its July update, to 2.1%. It hiked next year’s forecast by 0.5 percentage points, to 1.5%, according to CNBC.

    Vietnam’s shrimp exports to all markets reached $2.5 billion in the first nine months of this year, down 26% from 2022.

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  • Nestle begins work on ‘companion products’ for weight loss drugs

    Nestle begins work on ‘companion products’ for weight loss drugs

    Nestle on Thursday said it has started work on products to “companion” weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s game-changing Wegovy, hoping to cash in on their growing popularity.

    The Swiss food giant’s CEO Mark Schneider said Nestle had not seen any impact from such drugs on sales so far, referring to the threat they pose to the packaged food industry that has spooked investors in recent weeks.

    Nestle shares fell this month after Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, said it saw a slight pullback in food consumption with people taking appetite-suppressing drugs.

    “We’re working already on a wide range of products that could serve as companion products,” Schneider said during an earnings briefing, noting that some supplements can help with the “loss of lean muscle mass” and “rapid regain of weight”.

    “The largest parts of our portfolio will not be affected” by this new breed of weight loss drugs, he said.

    Globally, Nestle’s biggest businesses are coffee and pet care, while frozen food, confectionary and ice cream make up 15 per cent of sales.

    “We’re watching this carefully and will keep you updated,” Schneider said.

    Wegovy has been shown to help patients reduce body weight by around 15 per cent when used along with exercise and lifestyle changes. It is so far available in the United States, Norway, Denmark and, as of late July, Germany.

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  • Vietnam rice export price climbs amid thin supply

    Vietnam rice export price climbs amid thin supply

    Vietnam’s rice price continues to rise as the harvest season ends, creating a shortage of supply.

    Vietnam’s 5% broken rice is now at $623 per ton, 7% higher than that of Thailand and 10.7% higher than that of Pakistan.

    The domestic paddy price has also been rising to unprecedented levels. Japanese paddy J02 is now priced at up to VND14,000 ($0.57) and Khang Dan VND9,000, which have never been recorded before.

    Traders have been buying in large orders amid a decline in supply as the season ends, and this is why paddy prices are high, farmers said.

    Huynh Thi Bich Huyen, CEO of rice trading company Ngoc Quang Phat, said that she can only buy several hundred tons of paddy each day, which is one-third of last month.

    This shows a shortage in supply and that is why prices are hiked, she added.

    Rice exports surged 40.4% year-on-year to $3.66 billion in the first nine months of this year. It is forecast to reach a new peak of $4 billion by the end of the year.

    The average export price was $553 per ton in the first nine months, up 14% year-on-year.
    Farmers have seen their profits double from last year.

    The Vietnam Food Association forecast that rice prices will stay at a high level in the remaining months as supply will still be low globally.

    Countries such as Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Turkey and Chile have all upped their imports.

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  • Vietnamese lobsters half price as Chinese orders dwindle

    Vietnamese lobsters half price as Chinese orders dwindle

    Diminishing exports to China’s massive market has Vietnamese ornate rock lobsters selling for VND1-1.3 million (US$42-54) a kilogram, half the price of two months ago.

    According to lobster harvesters in the central province of Khanh Hoa, prices are at the lowest point in two years.

    China is the biggest importer of Vietnamese lobsters.

    Lobster vendors in the province said they have decided to stop selling their lobsters or now in hopes prices will spike for the Lunar New Year early next year.

    Seafood shops in Ho Chi Minh City are selling ornate rock lobsters for VND1.4-1.7 million per kilogram.

    Tuan, a lobster trader, said domestic and overseas demand for seafood is down.

    “China currently favors painted spiny lobsters because their prices are lower.”

    Nguyen An, people’s committee chairman of Cam Binh Commune in the south-central-coastal province of Cam Ranh, said that Vietnam has mainly exported painted spiny lobsters to the Chinese market since mid-year, not ornate rock lobsters.

    He said this was because Australian ornate rock lobsters are cheaper than Vietnam’s, “so it is difficult to compete in China.”

    According to the Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Vietnam exported lobsters worth a total $76 million to China in the first eight months, a year-on-year decline of 42%.

    While reducing imports from Vietnam, China is now buying more lobsters from Canada, Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, Cuba, India, Brazil, and Mexico.

    According to Vietnamese firms, the two countries should agree on official lobster quotas to boost lobster exports to China.

    A project launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aims to develop Vietnamese lobster production and exports by 2025, with total output of 3,000 tons per year and annual export turnovers of $200 million.

    The largest lobster farming provinces are Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, in the north-central regions, and Kien Giang in the southern region’s Mekong Delta.

     

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  • Catfish exports to China plummet

    Catfish exports to China plummet

    Pangasius exports to China in the first eight months of this year fell 28%to US$406 million, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

    Since September Chinese demand for the fish has not increased much even as it has stepped up imports from Norway, South Korea, Australia, and Chile.

    The director of a pangasius export company in southern An Giang Province said that demand from Chinese hotels and restaurants for catfish is low now.

    Chinese consumers prefer fresh seafood over frozen products.

    Besides difficulties in exporting, Vietnamese pangasius firms are also facing high input and farming costs.

    According to data from catfish exporters, farmers’ production costs are now VND26,500-27,000 (over US$1.1) per kilogram while their selling price is VND300-500 lower.

    The average export price is $2.5-2.6 per kilogram, down from $3.2 a year ago.

    “We are trying to sustain production, but this year profits have dropped sharply,” the export company director said.

    According to VASEP, demand for Vietnamese pangasius will increase again in the fourth quarter, the peak season in China.

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  • Flash Coffee ceases operations in Singapore

    Flash Coffee ceases operations in Singapore

    Flash Coffee has shut its Singapore operations to focus on other markets, the company told CNA on Friday (Oct 13) in response to queries about its business here.

    The Singapore-based coffee chain had 11 outlets in Singapore, including one at Jurong Point where a sign on Thursday said employees were “on strike” over late salary payouts.

    “Contrary to reports, our staff in Singapore are not on ‘strike’,” the company said.

    “We ceased operations at our 11 stores, and consequently, our baristas are not required to report to work.”

    Flash Coffee said that to build a profitable and sustainable business, it decided to “further consolidate our future efforts and to double down on our most promising markets”.

    “To facilitate this renewed focus, we ceased operations in Singapore yesterday, comprising 11 stores out of our (around) 200 global stores,” it added.

    A search on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) portal showed that the company’s status was “in liquidation – creditors’ voluntary winding up”.

    Launched in 2020, Flash Coffee, with its iconic yellow storefront, also operates in Asian markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

    In 2021, it had almost 30 outlets in Singapore.

    Flash Coffee, a non-unionized company, said it is “proactively assisting” affected team members.

    “Most of our Singapore head office staff have been offered roles in other markets or with our regional team. Additionally, we are actively trying to connect our baristas with opportunities in other coffee chains,” it added.

    A union said on Friday night that Flash Coffee’s employees affected by the sudden closure of the outlets are owed outstanding salaries and Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions. They also had prevailing leave entitlements.

    Salaries owed to workers comprise the balance of 75 per cent of their September salaries, as well as wages for work done until Oct 12. It also includes the encashment of remaining leave days, said the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union (FDAWU).

    “The workers engaged by the union shared that there were no explicit plans to put up any coordinated action following companies’ sharing of the situation at hand,” the FDAWU added.

    The union also said it is assisting affected members with salary-related claims and will provide job assistance support.

    CNA has contacted Flash Coffee to ask about the outstanding salaries owed to workers.

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  • Duck Donuts opens its first Thailand store in Bangkok

    Duck Donuts opens its first Thailand store in Bangkok

    Pennsylvania-based Duck Donuts has opened its first store in Thailand in partnership with local franchisee The Great Restaurant Group Co.

    Located at the Siam Discovery shopping centre in Bangkok, the outlet is the first of 10 Duck Donuts stores The Great Restaurant Group Co. plans to open across Thailand by the end of 2028. “Bringing Duck Donuts to Bangkok is a momentous occasion for us.

    We’re excited to introduce our made-to-order donuts to the vibrant city of Bangkok and offer the local community a delightful, customizable experience. We believe in the power of sweet moments, and we can’t wait to create memorable experiences for our guests in Thailand,” said Betsy Hamm, CEO, Duck Donuts.

    Thailand is Duck Donuts’ third market entry in 2023, following its debut in Egypt and Qatar in February and August, respectively.

    Founded in North Carolina in 2007, the bakery café chain currently operates 131 stores across the US, alongside two stores in each of Canada and Puerto Rico and a single site in Saudi Arabia.

    Further international expansion is also on the cards, with Duck Donuts planning to open first stores in Pakistan and Curacao in 2024, alongside franchise agreements to enter the UK, Australia, the Bahamas and Iraq.

  • Hendrick’s unveils latest addition to its Cabinet of Curiosities series

    Hendrick’s unveils latest addition to its Cabinet of Curiosities series

    Hendrick’s Gin has introduced its latest creation from the Cabinet of Curiosities series, Flora Adora.

    The Cabinet of Curiosities is the brand’s series of limited-edition gin releases known for their unique botanical combinations and unconventional flavors.

    Crafted at the Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Scotland, the new gin departs from traditional profiles, featuring ingredients like juniper and coriander combined with cucumber and rose to deliver a “refreshing and balanced taste experience”.

    “To welcome a magical and immersive experience, try a tantalizing floral fusion with the Flora Adora Wildgarden Cup,” suggests James McRae, brand ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin.

    “A balanced medley of fresh mint, cooling cucumber, and juicy raspberries lengthened with a refreshing lemon soda.”

    Hendrick’s Flora Adora is available for an RRP of $86 in Dan Murphy’s BWS, Liquorland and First Choice stores nationwide.

  • Hunt and Brew launches Ethiopia-sourced cold brew black coffee

    Hunt and Brew launches Ethiopia-sourced cold brew black coffee

    Coffee maker Hunt and Brew has launched its new single-origin cold brew black coffee without added sugar.

    The company sources the beans of the new cold brew black coffee from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. The product will be sold in 400ml bottles in Coles supermarkets starting October 16 and in Woolworths supermarkets in Western Australia beginning November 6.

    It will also be available in select independent and convenience stores.

    “Our new Ethiopia Cold Brew Black Coffee caters to an emerging consumer segment that’s seeking dairy-free alternatives and healthier beverage choices,” said Jake Calabrese, brand manager at Hunt and Brew.

    “It’s also perfect for busy professionals on the lookout for quality and convenience in their lives.”

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