Horlicks Chocolate, first launched in Malaysia with a bash in 2014, appears no longer in the market. The product was even voted Product of the Year 2015/16 in the instant beverage category based on a survey of 2,000 people by Nielsen Malaysia.
During a recent store check, I noticed the chocolate variant is no longer available on the shelf in Aeon Big and Giant. Could it be GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Sdn Bhd (GSK) has discontinued the chocolate range to refocus on the original flavour to stand out of the crowd. Its competitors including Milo, Ovaltine and Vico are concentrated on the chocolate flavour.
Horlicks original surrounded by other chocolate instant malt drinks at Giant Superstore Taman Connaught, August 2017
Ho-Ho-Ho Horlicks! song
In the past few months, GSK has been airing the new Horlicks Ho-Ho-Ho music video on social media and on TV featuring a music produced by Faizal Tahir, a local singer-songwriter.
The Horlicks Ho-Ho-Ho song is indeed an improvement of the previous version. Milo has the “It is Marvellous what MILO can do for you” jingle/song that most Malaysians can still remember. The new Horlicks song does have the quality of a jingle that would stay inside your mind longer.
What Mini Me thinks
Horlicks has always struggle to compete with Milo in the malt drink segment because the brand message of Horlicks is not clear. Milo is about supporting grassroot sports from the early age and is related to energy, sport and success. Consumers can hardly find a word to describe what Horlicks stands for so except it is a malt drink.
