Brand New: Carlsberg, Megmilk Snow, Baladna and more big brands feature in our round-up

‘Win-win’ pick: Carlsberg Malaysia commits to premiumisation to defend profit margins​

Brewery giant Carlsberg Malaysia has identified premiumisation as a crucial strategy for the firm to continue achieving profitable growth, even as the firm battles continued inflationary pressures, rising costs and consumer sentiment about price hikes

Carlsberg Malaysia recently announced its H1FY2022 financial results, reporting a healthy 74.3% growth year-on-year in net profits to RM180.5mn (US$40.3mn) and 29.4% growth in revenue to RM1.2bn (US$269mn); alongside even more exemplary Q2FY2022 results of 139.5% year-on-year growth in profit to RM88.9mn (US$19.9mn) and 64.4% revenue growth to RM574.2mn (US$128.3mn).

Despite the sharp rebound it has seen, the firm remains cautious about the future citing supply chain disruptions, rising commodity prices, the Ukraine-Russia crisis and inflation – and as a result moved to raise its product prices in the second half of the year, affecting most of its major portfolio items including beer, stout and cider.

Post-COVID-19 competitiveness: Japan’s Megmilk Snow’s sustainability-focused business plan gets government nod​

Japanese dairy giant Megmilk Snow has obtained approval from the Japanese government to implement its new sustainability-focused business plan, with completion targeted for 2025.

Japan’s Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act was enacted in 2003 with the aim of revitalizing the Japanese economy by reducing over-regulation, improving under-investment, and accelerating consolidations.

In the first quarter of 2021, the government announced further amendments to this Act in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in an overall GDP decline of 3.9%, hoping to stem this decline and break out of economic stagnation. These amendments primarily focused on sustainability and digitalisation, calling for local businesses to include more of these in their business strategies.

Daring dairy dive: Baladna confirms plans for 2025 dairy product commercialisation in Malaysia​

Qatar dairy powerhouse Baladna has confirmed plans for a dairy venture in Malaysia that is expected to produce hundreds of millions of litres of fresh milk to plug existing gaps in local production.

Baladna has been discussing its entry into Malaysia with local government and industry leaders since as far back as 2020, with then-CEO Malcolm Jordan telling us back then that Malaysia is a prime candidate to benefit from Baladna’s expertise in establishing dairy self-sufficiency.

“Malaysia is in a very similar situation [in terms of dairy supply] as Qatar was back in 2017 – we had a lot of foreign reliance as 90% of our dairy was being imported, and now Malaysia is also importing some 97% of its dairy as it has many farms but many of these do not produce dairy,”​ Jordan told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

From zero to US$30m: Thai Union’s high hopes for plant-based OMG Meat over next three years​

Thai Union has outlined ambitious goals for its in-house plant-based meat and seafood range OMG Meat over the next three years, including for its alternative protein sector to be bringing in US$30mn of revenue by 2025.

OMG Meat is Thai Union’s first alternative protein range which covers both meat (e.g. pork buns, chicken nuggets) and seafood (e.g. fish nuggets, crab shumai), and was launched just last year but the firm has already set some ambitious targets for it.

“We see our plant-based products as an integral part of our [sustainability] strategy , [especially as] we know that our consumers are changing, and we want to provide them with the choices they’re looking for,”​ Thai Union Managing Director Alternative Proteins Maarten Geraets told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Learning from Japan: Kirin to reveal its tips to maximise healthy ageing among world’s oldest population – Growth Asia Summit​

A senior exec from Japanese nutrition and beverage giant Kirin will be sharing exclusive insights on how the firm is meeting healthy ageing needs among the world’s oldest population at our forthcoming Growth Asia Summit in Singapore.

The three day event will take place at the iconic Marina Bay Sands venue in SIngapore from 11-13 October.