Global News and Digital Insights
for the Consumer Goods Industry

February 10, 2022

Indonesian e-commerce ranked highest among other Southeast Asian countries

As per the study from GfK Market Intelligence, Indonesian e-commerce excelled up to 43% among other Southeast Asian countries in 2021. This hike in Indonesian online sales resulted in significant contributions to the Technical Consumer Goods TCG industry. The market value for TCG increased up to 23% in 2021 compared to the 19% increase in 2020. Similarly, e-commerce in Singapore and Thailand grew up to 22%, contributing more than 20% to the overall TCG market value in 2021. Read more from Retailasia

Asahi beverages focuses on the sustainability targets to develop a durable ecosystem

Asahi beverages, including Cool Ridge water, Schweppes soft drinks, Victoria Bitter, and Carlton Dry beer has presented their sustainability program to establish and develop a sustainable future and ecosystem for New Zealand and Australia. The agenda ranges from sourcing hydroelectricity to debuting 100% recyclable packaging by 2025. Plus, the firm aims to minimize the carbon emissions up to 30% by 2030 and then emit zero carbon by 2050. The brand also plans to introduce 100% bio-based material for their PET bottles by 2030. Asahi beverages has already established a solar project at an Australian brewery in Queensland to source hydroelectricity. The beverage firm has collaborated with Linfox, a logistic and supply chain firm, to deliver beer via electric trucks to reduce carbon emissions. Read more from Foodmag

PepsiCo Europe plans to replace fossil plastic with recyclable plastic for its chips packaging

PepsiCo Europe aims to cut fossil plastic, made from oil, from all of its chips packaging by 2030. Instead, the brand plans to use 100% recyclable and compostable plastic containing polypropylene, also known as mono-materials. Initially, the shift in packaging will be implemented on the Lay’s range in France, followed by Walkers, Lay’s and Doritos range in Europe in 2022. PepsiCo is investing in design, infrastructure, and packaging material to establish a circular economy for packaging in Europe to fulfil its pep+ or PepsiCo positive goal. Read more from Packaginginsights

FedEx and Microsoft branched out their partnership to debut a logistics cross-channel

FedEx and Microsoft are broadening their association by debuting a supply chain cross-channel known as logistics as a service. This platform will use FedEx delivery information on a Microsoft channel to allow suppliers to ship orders with efficiency and fulfilment. Information coordination between FedEx, Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management, and shippers’ online businesses intend to help organizations increase customer satisfaction, offer delivery status updates, and flexible return options. This move is crucial for the long-term partnership of these firms to develop supply chain strategies involving AI and data to offer efficient delivery services. Read more from Supplychaindive

Thai Union entered into the Asian market through strategic partnership in India

Thai Union Group PCL (a seafood manufacturer), R&B Food Supply PCL (RBF), and Srinivasa Cystine Private Limited (SCPL) have stepped into a strategic partnership to establish a new firm in India, aiming to offer quality-driven food ingredients. This joint partnership will strengthen the market value of the Thailand-based ingredient firm, R&B, and Indian-based marine food processing firm SCPL. Initially, the start-up will promote and sell R&B’s products that range from coating materials to numerous flavours, but within the due course, the firm will establish its production unit in India. Read more from Esmmagazine

Mall of the Emirates opened the store of the future with AI

Dubai Mall of the Emirates has entered into a partnership with an IT and digital transformation firm, Cisco, to open the store of the future known as THAT concept store. The platform will raise the conventional shopping experience by fusing advanced retail to acquaint clients with a modern shopping venture. The outlet is equipped with Cisco’s five technological components, involving Digital Display Canvas, Lift & Learn, Magic Mirror, Beauty Mirror, and Store Analytics. The store’s digital display screens aim to promote personalization by creating an enchanting ambience via AI and augmented reality. THAT concept store is the first-ever stop-shop providing a glimpse of the future through its demographics, footfall heatmaps, dwell times, and sentiment analysis. Read more from Arabianbusiness

Nestlé extends its health and wellness business by purchasing the majority shares of Orgain

Nestlé’s health science division is all set to purchase most of the shares of Orgain, a protein powder, bars, and shake manufacturing firm. The agreement, however, allows the founders of Orgain to own minor shares of the firm and continue serving as the CEO of the company. This move would speed up Nestlé’s endeavours over the past couple of years to develop and extend its wellbeing and health business. Read more from Fooddive

The future of delivery: KFC Australia to deliver fried chicken and burgers via drone

KFC Australia has collaborated with a drone delivery company, Wing, to deliver burgers and the most favourite fried chicken to households and workplaces. Initially, the drone service would cover a 10km radius around the Logan area and deliver coffee, cheeseburgers, and other fried items through 5kg Styrofoam drones, designed to carry weight up to 1.5kg. In the initial test series, the residents of South East Queensland suburbs of Kingston, Logan Central, Slacks Creek, Underwood, and Woodridge would be able to enjoy drone delivery. Later on, the brand plans to cover other nearby locations and promote drone delivery across the country. Read more from Retailnews

Local sourcing: A solution to the supply chain disruptions

The pandemic affected multiple industries and supply chains, being one of them, faced issues regarding shipping and food shortages. The South Carolina Restaurant Association informed WHNS, a news channel, that weak links within the supply chain industry hindered restaurants from finalizing their menu for State’s Restaurant Week. Some operators believe that these issues can be resolved if restaurants partner with local distributors and regional suppliers. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y., sources many ingredients and products from local suppliers. Consequently, the restaurant does not face any supply chain disruptions. For some eateries, those source items from nearby purveyors, the goal is to achieve sustainability. Sourcing food from adjacent suppliers results in less travel time and low energy emission, which helps develop a friendly ecosystem. Read more from Smartbrief

Four trends reshaping the e-commerce and payment methods in the APAC region

Checkout.com, a cloud-based payment firm, surveyed 12,000 consumers from the Asia-Pacific region to explore the recent payment and online business trends. As per the report from Payments Optimization in APAC: Innovation from the Global Frontier, there are visible differences in the payment methods opted by consumers. 1, The results from the survey revealed that 95% of Asia-Pacific’s consumers regularly shop from online channels, and the number is expected to grow in the coming years, signifying the importance of e-commerce in the post-pandemic era. 2, Checkout.com claims that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service is transforming the conventional modes of the transaction into easy and flexible instalments. 3, Social commerce is expanding in the APAC region at a fast pace, as China generated US$6 billion in revenue from social commerce. The future of e-commerce involves the innovational internet web3 and cryptocurrency known as social tokens. 4, There is an overlap between centralised and decentralised means of transaction. Recent research from VISA unfolds that Singapore and Hong Kong are ready to accept cryptocurrency for payments. Read more from Insideretail

Chinese luxury brands have deployed AI and machine learning to facilitate consumers

Chinese luxury brands adapted Machine learning and AI to use consumers’ data securely and reduce cost while offering quality-driven customer services. Burberry utilizes the Image Recognition Technology, featuring advanced algorithms offered by an AI-based firm, Entropy. The feature allows Burberry to identify fake or replicated products. Plus, the firm manages its inventory via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) that enables the brand to track stock availability. Prada deployed Adobe Experience Cloud Solutions and teamed up with Sprinkler, a customer experience management firm, to offer efficient customer experience and establish a digital space. Alibaba launched chatbots to leverage its customer-centric marketing. Alibaba also partnered with Guess, a lifestyle brand, to debut an AI store in Hong Kong, where consumers can register with customized Taobao QR codes and facial recognition. Louis Vuitton joined hands with Alphabet Inc., a technology firm, to boost stock optimization. Read more from Jingdaily

Asia’s two brands are the leading naturally sustainable brands in the APAC region

As per the report from IDG, a commercial Insight firm, two Asian brands, including L’Occitane in Hong Kong and Starbucks Greener Store in Shanghai, China, are leading in sustainability development in the APAC region. L’Occitane, a skincare and beauty brand, has debuted its first sustainable store, where customers would be offered gifts for recycling empty plastic bottles to boost the sustainable plastic economy. The brand arranges Eco-themed workshops to convince people to participate in recycling programs. Starbucks Greener Store in Shanghai has been launched to promote recycling and reduce waste. Other brands that made it to the IGD’s list of leading Naturally Sustainable Brands are Interspar in Vienna, Austria, Rewe in Wiesbaden, Germany, Lidl in Almere and Jumbo in Goor in the Netherlands, Gridserve in Braintree, and Budgens in Hassocks in the UK, Erewhon in Los Angeles, USA, and Coles in Moonee Ponds, Australia. Read more from Retailasia

Yandex’s RouteQ branched out in the Middle East by launching its services in Dubai

RouteQ, a subsidiary firm of Yandex, which provides and develops cloud-based delivery management software solutions, has branched out in the Middle East by launching its services in Dubai. The firm will effectively help retailers and suppliers with an extensive route plan and delivery tracking capability to carry fleet operations smoothly. As the e-commerce market in UAE is expected to reach $8bn by 2025, RouteQ holds that digital transformation will determine the future of logistics in Dubai. RouteQ’s technologically-empowered supply chain services would enable the organizations to reduce their delivery vehicles by 30%. Consequently, decreasing the carbon emission percentage and offering sustainable operations. Read more from Gulfbusiness

GSK’s Brian McNamara: An insight to the pandemic challenges and future consumer behaviours

The CEO of GlaxoSmithKline GSK Consumer Healthcare, Brian McNamara, mentioned some of the global challenges his company experienced during the pandemic and expected consumer behaviour. He said that the home-based working model during pandemic improved the performance of employees, fostered shorter and clearer virtual meetings, and helped them focus more on decision making. However, the increased demand and consumption of goods raised supply chain disruptions. Firms solved this issue by sourcing raw materials from China and India and exhibiting flexibility. Regarding consumer behaviour shifts, he claimed that over-the-counter (OTC) e-commerce is the next prevalent trend. He believed that digital technologies would help upgrade customer experience and improve the quality of products. Plus, consumers would become health-conscious and try to have their vitamins and minerals regularly. Read more from Mckinsey

Indonesian e-commerce ranked highest among other Southeast Asian countries

As per the study from GfK Market Intelligence, Indonesian e-commerce excelled up to 43% among other Southeast Asian countries in 2021. This hike in Indonesian online sales resulted in significant contributions to the Technical Consumer Goods TCG industry. The market value for TCG increased up to 23% in 2021 compared to the 19% increase in 2020. Similarly, e-commerce in Singapore and Thailand grew up to 22%, contributing more than 20% to the overall TCG market value in 2021. Read more from Retailasia

Asahi beverages focuses on the sustainability targets to develop a durable ecosystem

Asahi beverages, including Cool Ridge water, Schweppes soft drinks, Victoria Bitter, and Carlton Dry beer has presented their sustainability program to establish and develop a sustainable future and ecosystem for New Zealand and Australia. The agenda ranges from sourcing hydroelectricity to debuting 100% recyclable packaging by 2025. Plus, the firm aims to minimize the carbon emissions up to 30% by 2030 and then emit zero carbon by 2050. The brand also plans to introduce 100% bio-based material for their PET bottles by 2030. Asahi beverages has already established a solar project at an Australian brewery in Queensland to source hydroelectricity. The beverage firm has collaborated with Linfox, a logistic and supply chain firm, to deliver beer via electric trucks to reduce carbon emissions. Read more from Foodmag

PepsiCo Europe plans to replace fossil plastic with recyclable plastic for its chips packaging

PepsiCo Europe aims to cut fossil plastic, made from oil, from all of its chips packaging by 2030. Instead, the brand plans to use 100% recyclable and compostable plastic containing polypropylene, also known as mono-materials. Initially, the shift in packaging will be implemented on the Lay’s range in France, followed by Walkers, Lay’s and Doritos range in Europe in 2022. PepsiCo is investing in design, infrastructure, and packaging material to establish a circular economy for packaging in Europe to fulfil its pep+ or PepsiCo positive goal. Read more from Packaginginsights

FedEx and Microsoft branched out their partnership to debut a logistics cross-channel

FedEx and Microsoft are broadening their association by debuting a supply chain cross-channel known as logistics as a service. This platform will use FedEx delivery information on a Microsoft channel to allow suppliers to ship orders with efficiency and fulfilment. Information coordination between FedEx, Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management, and shippers’ online businesses intend to help organizations increase customer satisfaction, offer delivery status updates, and flexible return options. This move is crucial for the long-term partnership of these firms to develop supply chain strategies involving AI and data to offer efficient delivery services. Read more from Supplychaindive

Thai Union entered into the Asian market through strategic partnership in India

Thai Union Group PCL (a seafood manufacturer), R&B Food Supply PCL (RBF), and Srinivasa Cystine Private Limited (SCPL) have stepped into a strategic partnership to establish a new firm in India, aiming to offer quality-driven food ingredients. This joint partnership will strengthen the market value of the Thailand-based ingredient firm, R&B, and Indian-based marine food processing firm SCPL. Initially, the start-up will promote and sell R&B’s products that range from coating materials to numerous flavours, but within the due course, the firm will establish its production unit in India. Read more from Esmmagazine

Mall of the Emirates opened the store of the future with AI

Dubai Mall of the Emirates has entered into a partnership with an IT and digital transformation firm, Cisco, to open the store of the future known as THAT concept store. The platform will raise the conventional shopping experience by fusing advanced retail to acquaint clients with a modern shopping venture. The outlet is equipped with Cisco’s five technological components, involving Digital Display Canvas, Lift & Learn, Magic Mirror, Beauty Mirror, and Store Analytics. The store’s digital display screens aim to promote personalization by creating an enchanting ambience via AI and augmented reality. THAT concept store is the first-ever stop-shop providing a glimpse of the future through its demographics, footfall heatmaps, dwell times, and sentiment analysis. Read more from Arabianbusiness

Nestlé extends its health and wellness business by purchasing the majority shares of Orgain

Nestlé’s health science division is all set to purchase most of the shares of Orgain, a protein powder, bars, and shake manufacturing firm. The agreement, however, allows the founders of Orgain to own minor shares of the firm and continue serving as the CEO of the company. This move would speed up Nestlé’s endeavours over the past couple of years to develop and extend its wellbeing and health business. Read more from Fooddive

The future of delivery: KFC Australia to deliver fried chicken and burgers via drone

KFC Australia has collaborated with a drone delivery company, Wing, to deliver burgers and the most favourite fried chicken to households and workplaces. Initially, the drone service would cover a 10km radius around the Logan area and deliver coffee, cheeseburgers, and other fried items through 5kg Styrofoam drones, designed to carry weight up to 1.5kg. In the initial test series, the residents of South East Queensland suburbs of Kingston, Logan Central, Slacks Creek, Underwood, and Woodridge would be able to enjoy drone delivery. Later on, the brand plans to cover other nearby locations and promote drone delivery across the country. Read more from Retailnews

Local sourcing: A solution to the supply chain disruptions

The pandemic affected multiple industries and supply chains, being one of them, faced issues regarding shipping and food shortages. The South Carolina Restaurant Association informed WHNS, a news channel, that weak links within the supply chain industry hindered restaurants from finalizing their menu for State’s Restaurant Week. Some operators believe that these issues can be resolved if restaurants partner with local distributors and regional suppliers. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y., sources many ingredients and products from local suppliers. Consequently, the restaurant does not face any supply chain disruptions. For some eateries, those source items from nearby purveyors, the goal is to achieve sustainability. Sourcing food from adjacent suppliers results in less travel time and low energy emission, which helps develop a friendly ecosystem. Read more from Smartbrief

Four trends reshaping the e-commerce and payment methods in the APAC region

Checkout.com, a cloud-based payment firm, surveyed 12,000 consumers from the Asia-Pacific region to explore the recent payment and online business trends. As per the report from Payments Optimization in APAC: Innovation from the Global Frontier, there are visible differences in the payment methods opted by consumers. 1, The results from the survey revealed that 95% of Asia-Pacific’s consumers regularly shop from online channels, and the number is expected to grow in the coming years, signifying the importance of e-commerce in the post-pandemic era. 2, Checkout.com claims that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service is transforming the conventional modes of the transaction into easy and flexible instalments. 3, Social commerce is expanding in the APAC region at a fast pace, as China generated US$6 billion in revenue from social commerce. The future of e-commerce involves the innovational internet web3 and cryptocurrency known as social tokens. 4, There is an overlap between centralised and decentralised means of transaction. Recent research from VISA unfolds that Singapore and Hong Kong are ready to accept cryptocurrency for payments. Read more from Insideretail

Chinese luxury brands have deployed AI and machine learning to facilitate consumers

Chinese luxury brands adapted Machine learning and AI to use consumers’ data securely and reduce cost while offering quality-driven customer services. Burberry utilizes the Image Recognition Technology, featuring advanced algorithms offered by an AI-based firm, Entropy. The feature allows Burberry to identify fake or replicated products. Plus, the firm manages its inventory via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) that enables the brand to track stock availability. Prada deployed Adobe Experience Cloud Solutions and teamed up with Sprinkler, a customer experience management firm, to offer efficient customer experience and establish a digital space. Alibaba launched chatbots to leverage its customer-centric marketing. Alibaba also partnered with Guess, a lifestyle brand, to debut an AI store in Hong Kong, where consumers can register with customized Taobao QR codes and facial recognition. Louis Vuitton joined hands with Alphabet Inc., a technology firm, to boost stock optimization. Read more from Jingdaily

Asia’s two brands are the leading naturally sustainable brands in the APAC region

As per the report from IDG, a commercial Insight firm, two Asian brands, including L’Occitane in Hong Kong and Starbucks Greener Store in Shanghai, China, are leading in sustainability development in the APAC region. L’Occitane, a skincare and beauty brand, has debuted its first sustainable store, where customers would be offered gifts for recycling empty plastic bottles to boost the sustainable plastic economy. The brand arranges Eco-themed workshops to convince people to participate in recycling programs. Starbucks Greener Store in Shanghai has been launched to promote recycling and reduce waste. Other brands that made it to the IGD’s list of leading Naturally Sustainable Brands are Interspar in Vienna, Austria, Rewe in Wiesbaden, Germany, Lidl in Almere and Jumbo in Goor in the Netherlands, Gridserve in Braintree, and Budgens in Hassocks in the UK, Erewhon in Los Angeles, USA, and Coles in Moonee Ponds, Australia. Read more from Retailasia

Yandex’s RouteQ branched out in the Middle East by launching its services in Dubai

RouteQ, a subsidiary firm of Yandex, which provides and develops cloud-based delivery management software solutions, has branched out in the Middle East by launching its services in Dubai. The firm will effectively help retailers and suppliers with an extensive route plan and delivery tracking capability to carry fleet operations smoothly. As the e-commerce market in UAE is expected to reach $8bn by 2025, RouteQ holds that digital transformation will determine the future of logistics in Dubai. RouteQ’s technologically-empowered supply chain services would enable the organizations to reduce their delivery vehicles by 30%. Consequently, decreasing the carbon emission percentage and offering sustainable operations. Read more from Gulfbusiness

GSK’s Brian McNamara: An insight to the pandemic challenges and future consumer behaviours

The CEO of GlaxoSmithKline GSK Consumer Healthcare, Brian McNamara, mentioned some of the global challenges his company experienced during the pandemic and expected consumer behaviour. He said that the home-based working model during pandemic improved the performance of employees, fostered shorter and clearer virtual meetings, and helped them focus more on decision making. However, the increased demand and consumption of goods raised supply chain disruptions. Firms solved this issue by sourcing raw materials from China and India and exhibiting flexibility. Regarding consumer behaviour shifts, he claimed that over-the-counter (OTC) e-commerce is the next prevalent trend. He believed that digital technologies would help upgrade customer experience and improve the quality of products. Plus, consumers would become health-conscious and try to have their vitamins and minerals regularly. Read more from Mckinsey