LLAO LLAO

Malaysia - Llao's Llao's next big opportunity

 

Our group believes Malaysia, specifically Kuala Lumpur, represents a huge opportunity for Llao Llao. This is due to the following reasons:

 

A) Consumer trends in Malaysia are aligned with targeted consumer behaviour. In addition, consumer lifestyles in Malaysia are very similar to Singapore, which has proven to be a very successful market for Llao Llao.

 

B) Why Kuala Lumpur in particular

- Target customers are the Malaysian Chinese in Malaysia.

- While Malays account for the largest ethnic group, Malaysian Chinese are a socio-economically, well established, middle class ethnic group that make up a highly disproportionate percentage of Malaysia's upper middle class, with a record of high educational achievement.

- Malaysian Chinese are dominant in both the business and commerce sectors, and account for an estimated 70% of the Malaysian economy.

- Malaysian Chinese account for 8 out of the top 10 richest persons in Malaysia

 

A study done on Consumer Lifestyles in Malaysia (EuroMonitor, August 2014) revealed the following key consumer trends:

 

1) Twice as healthy

In line with wider global trends in better-for-you food products, Malaysians are increasingly demanding products with less sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fats. Healthy alternatives are especially popular amongst younger consumers and young families.

Consumers in their twenties and thirties are the most sensitive to influences from global media through digital and mass media. Young, educated, and wealthy professionals and some tweens and teenagers with financial freedom are setting trends in food consumption in urban centres. The demand for healthier eating is hugely popular amongst the same set of consumers, teens and people in their early twenties in particular. Upmarket menus in existing chains and high-end fast food restaurants that advertise themselves as being health oriented are generally popular.

 

Implication: Llao Llao’s healthy image would likely resonate well with the target customer segments – young, educated and wealthy professionals as well as teenagers with financial freedom, in Malaysia.

 

2) The rise of the new “must-have” and connected youth generation

Social media networking is dominating the lives of youths. Identity-seeking teenagers are enjoying having super-fast connectivity in the palms of their hands. Popular sites and mobile apps include Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, Instagram, Snapchat, and LINE. This influence is especially strong as teenagers are tying many aspects of their lives, including shopping, sports and exercise, learning, health and wellbeing, research, and simply communicating, to new apps and digitally connected peripherals. The relatively confident young adults are bombarded by marketing campaigns, instilling a new culture of “must-have”.

 

Implication: Llao Llao’s marketing efforts primarily focused on word-of-mouth and social media sharing on popular sites like Instagram and Facebook will likely effective with the target customers in Malaysia

 

3) Busy Malaysians dining out more often

Faced with long commutes, ever-busier lifestyles and the need for convenience, modern Malaysian consumers are choosing to dine out more often, particularly consumers in living in fast-paced urban areas. According to a recent report in the newspaper The Star, ―Malaysians eat out almost as much as they eat at home, and of those who do eat from the comfort of their dining table, many still get their meals from outside, taking advantage of such services as drive-through and home delivery.

Implication: The emergence of Malaysians increasingly dining out increases the potential for Llao Llao as target consumers in Malaysia are more likely to be exposed to the brands today.

 

A study by Nielson reveal that  While Europe and North America make up the majority of worldwide snack sales (US$167 billion and US$124 billion respectively), Southeast Asia’s developing nations are contributing significantly to the category’s growth, posting 3.6% year-on-year growth compared to 2% globally (Nielsen, Southeast Asia loves a good snack, 2014).

 

4) Fresh snacks are the top choice

Consumers in Southeast Asia are looking for fresh snacks which offer health and nutrition benefits, but they’re also looking for an occasional treat. On the whole, consumers in the region are relatively healthy snackers, with fresh fruits topping the list of most popular snacks.

 

 

5) Taste and health attributes matter as well

To fulfil a craving and heighten the snacking moment for Southeast Asian consumers, fresh, crunchy and indulgent snacks resonate as the most important taste/texture attribute in the snacks they eat. Apart from freshness, flavour is also an important taste/texture attribute for the majority of consumers in the region.

 

6) A region of spontaneous snackers

Many consumers in the region exhibit characteristics of spontaneous snackers, including trying new snacks, buying a variety of snacks, and making unplanned snack purchases. Spontaneous snackers often eat snacks as soon as they buy them and tend to buy snacks at the check-out counter. Conversely, getting products in high visibility areas, particularly in front-of-store locations, is key to cornering the impulse-driven snack market.