Untapped potential? FrieslandCampina Kievit targets instant coffee and tea growth in the Philippines

02 Oct 2018 --- FrieslandCampina Kievit has conducted consumer research in the Philippines into coffee, tea, and hot chocolate usage and preferences, giving beverage manufacturers in the region insights in trends and how best to innovate and grow their businesses. At the same time, the company has opened a brand-new Innovation Kitchen in Manila, to help partners tailor-make relevant concepts for the market.

The Innovation Kitchen and accompanying research are part of Kievit’s broader strategy in South East Asia to bolster future development. The Innovation Kitchen is housed in the same production facility where FrieslandCampina is producing its beverage creamers, which includes the company’s sensory lab and other research and development facilities. 

This enables the creation of all-round purposes in the Innovation Kitchen, bringing existing and potential customers together with experts regarding marketing strategy, taste testing, and new product R&D, according to the company. 

This is the third kitchen of its kind for Kievit, following the openings in Wageningen, the Netherlands and Shanghai, China.

The accompanying market study showed several key findings:
- The instant coffee market in the Philippines is massive: 80 percent of coffee drinkers consume 3-in-1 coffee on a daily basis.
- Cold soluble concepts like iced coffee and milk tea got high scores from the consumer-led tasting panel, with iced coffee scoring 8.2 out of 9 and iced milk tea even scoring 8.4. This is the highest score ever achieved in a Kievit consumer test.
- Instant beverages that contain dairy are highly liked (75 percent of respondents).
- Foamy concepts (both coffee and chocolate) are well-received because of their appearance and taste. Sixty-one percent of respondents say that they would buy these products.

Kievit says that, if leveraged properly, these findings could translate to growth opportunities for manufacturers of instant coffee, chocolate and milk tea. 

The Innovation Kitchen will enable manufacturers to build on these insights and translate them into new opportunities, says FrieslandCampina Kievit, which has a long history of working closely together with the world’s leading food and beverage manufacturers to create ingredients solutions that enrich consumers’ everyday products.

 “We’re very excited to have opened the Kievit Innovation Kitchen in Manila. Now, we can work side-by-side with our customers in the Asia Pacific region, exploring new possibilities, innovating together, sharing thoughts, and strengthening our relationships,” says Luc Steenwelle, Product Group Manager Beverages Asia, on the Innovation Kitchen and market study.

“Coupled with the findings from our market study, we are sure that we will help create successful, tailored concepts that meet market needs and can bring them to the market fast.”

The Philippine market study was carried out in five cities, among people aged 18-55. Twelve products were tested, all prepared in the same way and randomly tested by consumers. This was accompanied by usage and attitude studies, conducted in these same cities to gain maximum insights.