Jan 17, 2013

Durian ice cream, soy-sauce KitKats and green tea Oreos: Brands cater to Asian tastes

As the gravity of economic power shifts to Asia, brands are becoming more adventurous about altering existing products to suit Asian consumers' palates. Here, we present some effective examples of food and beverages tailored for Asian markets. In these products, we see vivid examples of marketing in its purest form--delicious reminders that success is all about understanding your customers' needs. Have a favourite you'd like to see here? Tweet it @CampaignAsia.

whatsapp 0 whatsapp 0 Facebook 0 Tweet 0 linkedin 0

KitKat Japan has produced lots of unique flavours including Candied Sweet Potato, Watermelon & Salt, Toasted Soy Flour, Green Tea and even the not unexpected Wasabi flavour. But even so, we were surprised when we found out about the soya sauce KitKat. Bet the R&D team at Nestle's Swiss HQ couldn't have imagined how far their product extension could go in the Far East.

Durian, nicknamed the 'King of fruits' in Asia, is an acquired taste. Durian flavoured products such as the ice cream pictured here are common and well established in China and Hong Kong. In Malaysia, durian chocolates are popular, and Nestle Malaysia offers a combination of spicy chili and the fruit in its Sambal Durian Sauce.

Lay's offers its Pepsi Cola Chicken flavour of potato crisps in China, capitalising on local affection for chicken wings cooked in Cola.

Kraft has gone all out to alter the 100-year-old Oreo for local tastes across Asia. Among the many variations, green tea and orange-mango (pictured) sell well in China, while a chocolate and peanut variety is available in Indonesia.

Sweet Touch and Green Apple are part of Taiwan Beer's marketing initiative to rejuvenate the brand with innovative new products. The new offerings target 18- to 29-year-old female consumers.

Starbucks is not only mushrooming all over Asia, but also busy coming out with new beverages that blend east and west. Hojicha is a combination a roasted Japanese green tea with Earl Grey tea jelly, while Green Tea Frappuccino now comes with premium red beans.

Coca-Cola's Minute Maid Pulpy reached the US$1 billion sales mark in 2011, only five years after it was launched in China in 2005.

Flavours travel in both directions. Take Taiwanese signature drink Bubble tea. Although it has long been popular in Hong Kong, China, Japan, and even among Chinese communities in North America, it came as a surprise to find that McDonalds added bubble tea to the menu of 800 McCafes in Germany last summer.

Knorr, which originated in Germany but now belongs to Unilever, is most famous for its chicken-soup products but now offers Mast Masala soup mix in markets including Singapore. Mast Masala, originating in India, literally means "Fun Spice".

The Kellogg Company's Pringles brand also is not afraid to try adventurous flavor combinations for Asian markets. Examples we've seen include grilled shrimp, soft-shelled crab, and seaweed, as well as the Indonesian satay and Bangkok grilled chicken seen here. We have no explanation for blueberry and hazelnut (where is that a thing?), but that doesn't mean we wouldn't try it in a heartbeat.