Mamee Double-Decker (M) Sdn Bhd is making news lately. The F&B giant may be relisted but may not be in Malaysia. The company, which is expected to achieve sales of RM800 million in 2015 (USD186 million), is considering the possibility to list either in Singapore or in Hong Kong to fetch a higher valuation. Malaysia contributed 50-60% to revenue. Australia is the biggest foreign market contributing RM30 million per year. Mamee is in more than 80 countries and Southeast Asia is the key focus. Exports sales is about RM320 million, growing at 20%.
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| Summary of Mamee projected sales in 2015 based on The Star article on 28 October 2015 |
Mamee will be announcing its joint venture with Japan’s DyDo DRINCO Inc. in November 2015. The Japanese beverage company with sales of about USD1 billion announced on 28 August 2015 it had approved the proposal to acquire a stake in the beverage division of Mamee Double-Decker. The plan involves the acquisition of a 49% stake in MDD Beverage Sdn Bhd, which is into the manufacturing of beverages, and a 51% stake in Milk Specialties Distribution Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in the sale of beverages. Mamee said it signed the deal in September 2015 and the deal would be activated in 2016. Details will be announced in December 2015.
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| DyDo’s acquisition of Mamee beverage division |
Milk Specialties Distribution distributes products such as Nutrigen Lite-Yo (yogurt drink and yogurt) and Nutrigen (cultured yogurt drink). MDD Beverage owns the Cheers, Diamond Spring and King Cola brands, which are less well known. Products under Cheers include carbonated soft drinks, soya drink, grass jelly drink and other Asian drinks.
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| Milk Specialties Distribution |
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| Cheers and Cool Tea |
Why would DyDo buy into Mamee’s beverage business?
1.) Malaysia as the hub for the Islamic region as Malaysia’s halal certification is trusted worldwide. Mamee’s factories are all halal certified. By producing products in Malaysia, DyDo’s products will come with the halal logo, making them easier to be exported to the Middle East, a market with 1.6 billion potential consumers.
It also comes at an opportune time with Mamee building its first Middle Eastern factory in Saudi Arabia.
DyDo currently has a joint venture with Indonesia’s PT Tarami Aeternit Food to produce fruit jelly for Indonesia and neighboring countries (ASEAN etc.).
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| Malaysia serves as DyDo’s entry into the Islamic region |
2.) DyDo’s expansion into Malaysia will complement Mamee’s existing lineup.
DyDo’s core strength is in RTD coffee with over 50% of its annual revenue from RTD coffee.
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| DyDo’s core strength is in RTD coffee |
DyDo recently acquired three beverage companies of Yildiz Holding A. Ş. The targeted businesses in Turkey are water, CSD and juice. In Turkey, DyDo will be complementing the existing lineup with new coffee, tea, and other functional drinks.
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| Future brand lineup in Turkey |
Based on the Turkish example, DyDo will likely be doing the same in Malaysia. According to the author’s conversation with Mamee staff, the company is looking at the possibility of rolling out, biscuit, isotonic/energy drink and coconut water in the future. Another clue about the plans for Malaysia is the acquisition “will spearhead the beverage and wellness as well as the ready-to-drink market in Malaysia,” said Mamee Sales and Marketing General Manager Pierre Pang.
We can only speculate at the moment what products will be launched but energy/isotonic drink will be one of the most likeliest product to be introduced in the local market as DyDo has existing products in this segment through DyDo Gym. The market for isotonic/energy is also large compared to RTD coffee. For RTD coffee, there is a speculation DyDo will go the Asahi’s Wonda route to challenge Nescafe’s dominance.
Update:
Mamee DyDo Cool Tea is the first product of the Mamee-DyDo joint venture. The official launch was held in early December 2015. There are plans to leverage on DyDo’s expertise in vending machine to introduce cutting edge vending machine in Malaysia. Mamee will also tap into the technology of Daido Pharmaceuticals, a DyDo unit, which produces beauty supplements and antioxidant beverages.
The launch also showcased three flavours of Mamee DyDo Cool Tea – herbal tea, herbal tea + chrysanthemum flower and herbal tea + green tea.
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| Images from The Bi Girl World blog |
