7-Eleven Malaysia has improved the visibility of its Fresh to Go bread and bread products by placing them in the common bread aisles. Now Fresh to Go shares the same rack as the leading brands Gardenia, Massimo and Mighty White. Previously, it was hidden inside the glass cabinet.
7-Eleven Fresh to Go bread on the left and Gardenia bread on the right (image above)
Wider varieties
7-Eleven Fresh to Go bread products come with wider varieties including montego delight and mexican bun to differentiate it from national brands. All the Fresh to Go bread products are made by Fuji Bakery Supplies (M) Sdn Bhd, a private company that supplies bakery products to supermarkets, hypermarkets, cafés and convenience stores.
The price of Fresh to Go is slightly cheaper than branded equivalent. For example, the Fresh to Go sardine bun is selling at RM 1.00, which is RM 0.05 cheaper than Gardenia, which makes perfect sense as private label is meant to be cheaper.
The Fresh & Go initiative is part of the wider strategy by 7-Eleven Malaysia to grow the food and beverage segment. According to 7-
Private label blurring the lines
Private label is evolving from being generic with bland branding and packaging to one that looks and feels more than national brands. Grocery store brands are now less likely to be easily picked out on grocery store shelve as many now have their own unique brand names.
A good example is GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, which runs the Giant and Cold Storage grocery chains as well as Guardian beauty and personal care store. In the past few years, GCH Retail has introduced a series of private label products under names like Sun Harvest (cereal and jam), Snapmax (snacks) and Feather Soft (household paper products). They all come in attractive packaging.
In Indonesia, the country’s leading minimarket chain Indomaret has recently introduced Prime Bread, which does not feel like a private label brand. Prime Bread is made by PT Gardenia Makmur Selaras, a subsidiary of PT Indomarco Prismatama, the operator of Indomaret.
What Mini Me thinks
Even though Fresh to Go bread is now more visible, thanks to better shelf placement, the key challenge is to improve the aesthetic value of the product to make it more attractive to consumers.
