Brand New: Carlsberg, Unilever, Asahi and more big brand names feature in our round-up

Inflation and taxation: Carlsberg Malaysia retains cautionary outlook despite over 200% profit growth this quarter​

Carlsberg Malaysia has retained a cautionary outlook for the company’s overall growth citing concerns over inflationary and taxation pressures, despite announcing year-on-year growth of over 200% in net profits in its Q3FY2022.

For the quarter ending September 30 2022, Carlsberg Malaysia announced an increase in revenue of 63.7% to RM571.6mn (US$171.3mn) and a profits rise of 236.3% to RM102.4mn (US$22.3mn).

However, Carlsberg Malaysia Managing Director Stefano Clini has stressed this to be a result of the low base profits seen in FY2021 that were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the brewery’s operations suspended for almost three months throughout June all the way to mid-August.

Tea defies inflation: Unilever India drops prices due to commodity cost and localisation improvements​

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the company’s India arm, has attributed its move to reduce tea prices to its successful ‘Winning in Many Indias’ business model as well as a rare drop in commodity pricing for tea.

HUL recently announced a 16% year-on-year growth in turnover for Q4FY2022 to hit INR148.7bn (US$1.8bn) from INR128.4bn (US$1.6bn) in the same quarter in FY2021; as well as a 20% growth in profits to INR26.2bn (US$448.5mn) from INR21.9bn (US$266.4mn) the previous year.

Beer is back: Asahi Japan sees sales bounce back but cautions over low-to-no​

Beverage giant Asahi has seen a resurgence of consumer interest in beer in Japan, but believes that some challenges are upcoming for other segments including low-alcohol and non-alcoholic products.

When Asahi announced its H1FY2022 results earlier this year, the firm had highlighted plans to focus more strongly on its canned beers segment in Japan, a move which appears to have paid off for its beers business.

This was reflected in its recently-announced Q3FY2022 financial results, where beer emerged as the top category driving revenue and profit growth over the three months from July to September 2022 in the country.

Functional future: Premium milk brand Koita eyes NPD spurt to maintain Asia momentum​

UAE premium milk brand Koita is doubling up on efforts to introduce new product lines, including functional beverages, as it seeks to maintain its growth in Asia.

The firm has seen business boom by 87% in the region this year, largely on the back of its organic dairy and plant-based ranges.

‘Not a shiny new toy’: How ofi’s new Singapore site will lead to ‘holy grail’ localised innovation​

Localisation strategies are crucial in order to achieve the ‘holy grail’ of food innovation in the Asia Pacific region, by combining health, taste and convenience, according to Olam outfit ofi.

Ofi is a new Olam operating arm that focuses on the food products and ingredients aspects of the business, covering the five major areas of dairy, cocoa, coffee, nuts and spices across the entire value chains of these from farm to manufacturing.