Sydney, Australia – Japanese candy brand Hi-Chew is extending its ad campaign across Australia and New Zealand, adding to the growing social media campaign of Hi-Chew across Facebook and Instagram since October.

The ad titled ‘Hi-Chew Fruit Wrestlers’ is an animated commercial that depicts two friends battling against each other in a video game, who get transformed into a green apple and a strawberry. Other variants of the commercial are also available, with fruits corresponding to other available Hi-Chew Flavors.

“Young people are the heart of our market, and these media are best for reaching them. The digital campaign we launched in recent months has achieved success beyond my dreams, with over 500,000 video views.  The addition of TV will only increase that impact,” said Terry Kawabe, managing director of Morinaga Asia Pacific, the distributor of Hi-Chew.

The ad campaign for the ANZ market will also build a new theme called “Fortune Flavours the Bold,” which will also feature whimsical new ads that ask the question, “What’s your flavour?”

“The use of humor will increase viewing and sharing, and funny videos are far more likely to be viewed multiple times. We’ll further engage our audience with a challenge – asking them to nominate their favorite flavor,” said Cec Parnell, creative director of Australia-based ad agency Sponge.

In Australia, Hi-Chew is sold at selected supermarket chain Coles stores nationwide. In New Zealand, the fruit chews are sold at various retailers nationwide, including Pak ‘n Save and New World.

“Hi-Chew is Japan’s #1 selling soft candy for a reason. As we continue to expand our product line, and Hi-Chew continues to invest in marketing, sales will continue to grow,” said Anthony King, managing director of Australian distributor Grocery Corporation.

The brand shared the campaign will also promote the Hi-Chew website, so consumers can easily find nearby retail outlets. Meanwhile, the campaign will also see the promotion of  Coles Supermarkets. 

Singapore – Media company Clozette and online marketplace Sift & Pick have announced a new partnership to allow Japanese merchants enter the Southeast Asian e-commerce scene through a one-stop e-commerce solution.

Entailed within the collaboration is the leverage of discovery shopping platform Shoppin’guu, which is operated by Cool/JP, another Clozette partnership with Cool Japan Fund, that is supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry. Cool Japan Fund is a private equity fund focused on funding enterprises focusing on promoting Japanese products globally.

Along with Cool/JP’s growing editorial authority and Clozette’s rising number of partner influencers and creators, Clozette integrates its knowledge of content consumption behavior among millennial & Generation Z consumers to create a curated global e-commerce marketplace and physical retail store at Changi Airport in Singapore, alongside Sift & Pick’s e-commerce solutions, logistics experience,  and payment infrastructure development.

“Our special partnership with Sift & Pick allows us to offer merchants in Japan exciting market entry opportunities in SEA that were previously not possible. COVID-19 heightened global demand for increased digital touchpoints through social engagement solutions such as influencer marketing, snackable videos and livestream selling,” said Roger Yuen, founder  and chief executive officer at Clozette.

“As a pioneer in the social commerce space, we are uniquely placed to address the needs of today’s consumers given our proven proficiency in social storytelling, our extensive network and rich insights into the Southeast Asian market, having worked with over 300 global, international, and local brands over the past decade.” 

Roger Yuen, founder  and chief executive officer at Clozette

The new partnership between the two companies will see a close collaboration on  category development, supply chain, and fulfilment as well as data and influencer marketing, and social commerce, which seeks to help Japanese brands and sellers, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), gain collective resources and expertise of the alliance to face challenges specific to online retail in SEA.

“We are delighted to partner with Clozette to bring more Japanese brands into Southeast Asia. Adding to our carefully curated selection of fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and home and living products will provide our diverse customer base with a richer shopping experience. Shoppin’guu’s blend of storytelling is very well-suited to drawing out the heritage, high quality, and uniqueness of many Japanese brands that are often neglected, and we look forward to seeing how our collaboration will further delight shoppers with new brand discoveries on our marketplace,” added Cavin Poh, general manager at Sift & Pick.