Speaking to FoodNavigator-Asia at the Fi Asia 2018 exhibition in Jakarta, Luc Steenwelle, FrieslandCampina Kievit Product Group Manager Beverages Asia, elaborated on the meanings behind these trendy terms.
“Put simply, ‘Glocalisation’ is a combination of ‘global trends’ and ‘local tastes’, meaning that we put localisation at the forefront when translating current global trends to effective applications for customers in the region” said Steenwelle.
“’All about experience’ speaks to the importance of the overall experience we want to present when our products are consumed, so looks are essentially becoming as important as taste. This is especially applicable to millennials, especially in this age of social media and digitalisation – Does the product look good? Is it Instagrammable?”
“Finally, ‘Better for you’ refers to the healthier aspect we try to bring to our products. We see more and more emphasis being placed on ingredients being healthy, sustainable, ethical and honest, and have answered these demands,” he added.
Putting these together, FrieslandCampina Kievit’s focus can be said to be more on the premium end. As it is, the company currently stands as the creamers market leader for premium products in Asia Pacific, according to Steenwelle.
FrieslandCampina Kievit innovations for Asia Pacific
The company’s presence in Asia goes as far back as the late 1980s, with production initiating in Indonesia in 2005, and in Philippines in 2015.
“The Philippines production plant established in 2015 has more than doubled our capacity,” said Steenwelle.
Given this, it is not surprising that FrieslandCampina Kievit has a 95% focus on beverages in this region, especially in South East Asia.
Moving forward, further plans for expansion in the beverage industry include continued focus on the premium market, as well as on crafting experiences for customers.
“We want to make sure that the ingredients we provide taste good, are convenient to use, and that we are contributing to better ideas and concepts,” added Steenwelle.
“For example, one of our most successful launches ever was that of our foaming creamers, which both tasted great and was cold soluble for added convenience.”
The company has also placed added focus on what is deemed ‘Hi-Dairy’, a product developed to contain approximately 70% of dairy ingredients.
“What’s important here is that it will provide better taste while giving lower levels of sucrose and higher levels of protein,” he added.
This was developed based on increased demand for ‘real’ ingredients as well as increased awareness of dairy benefits in the South East Asian region.
Added consumer focus
Although FrieslandCampina Kievit is primarily a B2B company, it conducted several consumer studies across South East Asia in order to identify needs and trends at a consumer level.
Some of the countries in which the studies have been conducted are Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.
What’s next for the Asia Pacific beverage industry
Moving forward, technology and digitalisation are trends expected to shape the beverage business in Asia Pacific.
“Digitalisation will have a big impact on the region’s beverage industry,” he added.
“It is already getting more common to see out-of-home concepts being brought back and consumed in-home, for example ordering a Starbucks to be delivered to your house. It’s all about the convenience factor.”