Tag: Grocery

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Local gourmet grocer The Food Merchant has launched its latest signature concept store, ‘The Food Merchant Prelude’, to offer a curated and premium grocery shopping experience in Malaysia.

The Food Merchant Prelude features a grab-and-go concept that curates premium grocery shopping. It invites discerning shoppers and passionate food enthusiasts to indulge in an unhurried exploration of refined tastes.

From Michelin Guide-acclaimed Asian and Western delicacies to the understated charm of artisanal bakeries, every corner of the premium grocery speaks of elegance and quality that caters to everyone’s unique taste.

The debut of the new store is part of The Food Merchant’s two-year milestone celebration. It is exclusively situated in one of Kuala Lumpur’s prestigious addresses, the Pavilion Damansara Heights.

Together with the opening of the Prelude store, The Food Merchant is also giving out exciting promos like complimentary ‘Thank You’ gifts and collaborative voucher promos with foodpanda to invite people to visit their shop. 

The Food Merchant Prelude is also a ‘teaser’ for an upcoming Phase 2 that the company will reveal in 2024. The gourmet grocer continues to distinguish itself through its meticulously crafted, flag-adorned aisles that facilitate easy navigation as customers explore a treasure trove of unique imported products.

Ivan Tan, managing director at The Food Merchant, said, “We are delighted to mark our two-year milestone with the opening of The Food Merchant ® Prelude. This is a testament to our commitment to providing a haven where luxury and taste take centre stage. The Food Merchant®️ Prelude is described as a “Prelude” because it sets the stage for an upcoming Phase 2, targeted to open in the later part of 2024, which promises even more expansive and exciting experiences.”

“As a gourmet grocer, we not only bring diversity and quality grocery offerings to our customers. We also bring a distinguished dine-in experience featuring authentic international cuisine, seamlessly bringing together flavours from East Asian oceans to European vineyards, all within a single, inviting space. Some of the key features of TFM include the variety of local and international cuisine the gastronomy halls offer, renowned trolley service, and our commitment to sustainability, exemplified by eco-friendly packaging initiatives,” Tan further added. 

Australia – Due to its commitment in providing high quality products with affordable prices, supermarket chain ALDI Australia has launched a humorous campaign titled ‘Shop ALDI First’, to convince the Australian shoppers that it is the top choice when it comes to buying grocery needs, despite the existing supermarket competitions.

In partnership with creative agency BMF, the 30-second campaign highlights a shopper who looks at her remaining item on the shopping list after buying at Aldi. Later on, a cashier told her that it would be cool if she found it in another supermarket. 

The customer leaves the supermarket, uttering the words, ‘you will always be my first’ – sounded like they’re in a television drama, but it implies the message that Aldi will always be their first choice in grocery needs.

Jenny Melhuish, marketing director at ALDI Australia said that they understand the shoppers if they have choices in supermarkets. However, she also highlighted that it’s more worth it to shop at ALDI due to its cheaper prices compared to other supermarkets, given that Australian shoppers spend a lot during post-christmas and holiday season.

This campaign also comes after research revealing that 45% of Australian shoppers chose ALDI based on their parents’ brand of choice despite their savings.

Other works from the campaign will also be posted on television, OOH channels, print, digital and social.

Singapore – South Korean grocery app Market Kurly is entering the Singapore market via a tie-up with local online grocery service RedMart, Bloomberg first reported.

According to the report, Singaporeans will be able to buy Market Kurly’s ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals via the app. The initial launch is composed of 44 products, ranging from frozen snacks and Korean-style cold soba from Gwanghwamun Mijin, a decades-old restaurant in Seoul.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Sophie Kim, CEO at Market Kurly said that the initial product lineup will be gradually expanded to chilled food and possibly non-food daily products in the future.

“Singapore is a melting pot of culture and food. Lazada and RedMart’s nationwide reach allows us to tap their expertise and skills, and the ability for us to use that data for future product roll-outs,” Kim said.

This marks Market Kurly’s first overseas expansion since it was first established in 2015. It has attracted around KRW1b in investment during its IPO. Some of its investors include Millennium Management, Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital.

Manila, Philippines – Local social commerce startup SariSuki has successfully raised US$7.1m, aimed at driving the startup’s expansion into the quick commerce scene. The funding round was led by Openspace, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Global Founders Capital (GFC), Saison Capital, JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Foxmont Capital Partners.

In total, SariSuki has earned a total of US$10.5m in funding. Furthermore, the new funding will be used to increase the business’ product assortment, dark warehouses, and geographic expansion.

The startup is founded by Bam Mejia as chief commercial officer, Philippe Lorenzo as chief operating officer, Angelo Lee as head of strategy and fundraising and Brian Cu as chief executive officer. For SariSuki, hyper-convenience is a key strategy in breaking down more barriers to e-commerce adoption and creating an end-to-end e-grocery platform.

Cu said, “We are a set of founders that grew up in the Philippines and have an understanding of our market. This, combined with our background in scaling up large tech companies in the region, made us realise that we can do more with the supply chain infrastructure we have built. Quick commerce is a way for us to expand into serving the segment of our market that seeks hyper-convenience for a hyper-local product mix for their daily needs.”

SariSuki started in 2021 with a mission to empower communities with more options to shop for high quality groceries online – which it achieves by buying fresh produce in bulk from local farmers and offering them to the local community at a discounted price.

To address long-existing supply chain inefficiencies, SariSuki adopts an agent-assisted model, servicing its consumers through ‘Community Leaders’. Members of communities who set up their business as a ‘Community Leader’ see meaningful income expansion as they profit from selling produce whilst performing the last mile fulfilment. This model has enabled SariSuki to offer supermarket quality products at wet market prices.

Manila, Philippines – Fast-leading retail company, Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) in the Philippines, has unveiled its roster of initiatives to boost its e-commerce presence. 

The company targets to launch its official store in e-commerce apps Lazada and Shopee in the fourth quarter to take advantage of the expected holiday shopping surge.

“All these developments we are doing are in line with our commitment to grow our e-commerce business and ultimately enable us to continue meeting the changing customer demands in today’s digital environment,” said Manuel C. Alberto, president and chief operating officer at MRSGI.

For its supermarket vertical, MRSGI is looking to expand its reach by adding multi-service superapp GrabMart to the list of their on-demand goods delivery service partners. Metro Supermarket customers in select areas of Metro Manila and Cebu can purchase from an assortment of more than 3,500 goods and have these delivered to their homes through the Grab app.

At present, Metro Supermarket in Ayala Center Cebu and Market! Market! in Taguig have this convenient arrangement, and plans are underway to include six more stores to join GrabMart before the year ends.

MRSGI is also working to integrate its Metro Rewards Card with customers’ Metro online accounts, allowing loyalty cardholders to earn points for all purchases made from shop.themetrostores.ph and even use accumulated points to pay for their online purchases.

In addition, the company is on track to introducing a Progressive Web App (PWA), which is considered more efficient and convenient as they have reduced memory requirements and battery usage, and are expected to load faster and provide better navigating experience for users.

“Our customers can look forward to a more exciting and pleasant online shopping experience. We have lined up a number of strategic initiatives that are geared towards making e-commerce an important component of MRSGI’s overall value proposition,” said JJ Moreno, chief strategy officer and head of e-commerce at MRSGI.

Manila, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have recently collaborated in pushing a digital market platform that is based on an end-to-end system between farmers and consumers.

The platform is called Deliver-E, and allows buyers to directly access agricultural products and other basic food items. As the system eliminates middlemen, products are sold fresh at low prices.

In a press statement, DA Secretary William Dar (depicted in the banner picture) pledged that the recent platform development is part of the department’s pledges for the agricultural sector, upscaling the agriculture value chain and improving overall food security in the country even beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

“With the sheer size of agricultural supply chains, only a multi-stakeholder approach to their management could free up the bottlenecks. This event sparks hope that many heads are coming together to assist key supply chain players with their technological needs and constraints. Online is the new byword of food security. We are fully embracing the digitalization of the agriculture sector as we journey towards the 4th Industrial Revolution, or Agriculture 4.0,” Secretary Dar stated.

Developed by tech startup Insight Supply Chain Solutions (InsightSCS), the platform has also received support from private sector partners, farmer cooperatives, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

DTI Secretary Mon Lopez commented, “Let us try to create a Better Normal where all Filipinos can enjoy the fruits of our country’s inclusive growth and shared prosperity for all.”