Brand New: Nestle, Lotte, Coca-Cola and more big names feature in our round-up

‘Historic’ challenges: Nestle hopes nutrition strategy will boost recovery after APAC inflation and FX strife​

Nestle is hopeful that its new nutritional labelling and marketing strategy will play a strong part in its sales recovery, after seeing a drop in sales across many APAC markets due to ‘historic’ inflation and foreign exchange challenges.

The firm recently announced its nine-month sales results for FY2023. This was not published as a Q3FY2023 financial results document and hence did not include any information on revenue or profits, both of which were positive as of Q2 this year​.

The focus was on sales volumes and the company’s preferred measurement of Real Internal Growth (RIG) which is an alternative measure defined as the ‘impact on sales of volume increases or decreases’.

Wider appeal: Lotte Thailand targets biscuit innovation for older consumers and religious groups​

Snacking giant Lotte Thailand hopes to increase brand appeal beyond kids by developing more products targeted at older consumers and catering to all religions with more halal and vegetarian offerings.

Lotte is a South Korean multinational firm, and its major headquarters in the South East Asian region lie in Thailand, primarily focusing on biscuit snacks Koala’s March and confectionery such as Xylitol chewing gum.

“Koala’s March has seen great success in this region with products such as chocolate and strawberry biscuits, initially focusing on mothers and children - but in major markets for us such as Thailand and Japan, we have realised that these are becoming increasingly ageing societies, so focusing solely on this segment may not be sustainable in the long run,”​ Lotte Thailand Marketing Research and Analysis and New Product Development Manager Mao Ogino told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

More than the Real Thing: Chinese consumers want emotion and culture, not just drinks - Coca-Cola​

Product innovation, technology and data alone are no longer sufficient to make strides in the China beverage sector with consumers increasingly wanting ‘emotion and culture’ alongside their drinks, claims Coca-Cola.

The firm has branched into five major beverage categories in China, spanning its trademark soft drinks to coffee, tea, sparkling water, juices, dairy, alcohol and more.

With such an enormous portfolio of products, the company is no stranger to innovation and the science behind creating new drink options.

But the firm now believes that there is a need to go beyond the R&D and tug at consumer heartstrings in order to remain at the forefront of the beverage sector in China.

Fonterra posts record NZ$1.6bn profits on the back of strong protein and cheese margins​

The New Zealand co-op forecasted improved margins across consumer and foodservice channels for FY24 and said there were indications that demand for milk powders will begin to return from early 2024.

Fonterra’s normalized profit after tax was NZ$1.3bn, an increase of NZ$738m compared to the same time last year. The co-op completed the divestment of its Chilean business Soprole (a gain of NZ$260m) and China JV, China Farms, resulting in profit after tax of NZ$1.6bn, up NZ$994m.

Favorable margins across Ingredients, particularly in the protein and cheese portfolios, and improved performance in the Foodservice and Consumer channels were among the key drivers behind the results, which helped deliver a return on capital of 12.4% (up 6.8%) for the last 12 months. However, the co-op adjusted the long-term outlook for Asia Brands and Fonterra Brands New Zealand, resulting in full-year impairments of NZ$101m and $NZ121m respectively.

Promotion and formulation: Blackmores eyes China and Indonesia boost, plus NPD with Kirin’s flagship ingredients​

Blackmores is set to ramp up advertising to boost brand awareness in China and Indonesia, while also formulating new products with Kirin’s ingredients post the Japanese giants acquisition of the firm.

This comes as Blackmores revealed net profit increased by 37 per cent in FY23, but headwinds in the international markets and soaring raw material costs have pulled down its gross margin. 

Blackmores’ CEO Alastair Symington announced the results during parent company Kirin’s Health Science Day held in end September. Kirin completed the acquisition of Blackmores​ in August for AUD$1.88bn (US$1.24bn).