Quaker plugs health to drive oatmeal sales

KUALA LUMPUR As more competitors enter the oatmeal category, Quaker has kicked off a new branding offensive to boost low consumption rates amongst Malay women.

"Our target audience is Malay housewives, aged 28 and above," said Melati Abdul Hai, marketing manager of Pepsico Malaysia. "The Malay female is not a regular consumer of oatmeal, simply because it's not really a part of our heritage."

Local celebrity Amy Mastura has signed on as an endorser, and will appear in a television ad, created by BBDO, as well as cooking show demonstrations, recipe leaflets and point-of-sale communication.

"We want to impress upon our audience that oats can easily be built into their daily cooking, for example as a replacement for cornstarch. This gives the food loads of heart-healthy nutrition," said Malanti, who added that heart disease was a leading cause of death in Malaysia.

The campaign follows Quaker's package re-design implemented last June, which was refreshed to give the long-established product "a more contemporary look."

In Malaysia, the hot cereal category faces slow growth rates that hover between one to two per cent per annum, and is split amongst a growing number of players. Aside from long-time competitors, such as Nestum and Captain Oats, the segment has seen a recent proliferation of in-house brands from Giant, Tesco and Carrefour.