MARKET King’s Creameries Group of Companies is a whollyowned subsidiary of F&N Foods Pte Ltd. The acquisition took place in December 2010 when food & beverage and property conglomerate Fraser & Neave (F&N) subsidiary, F&N Foods, acquired the King’s brand along with King’s Creameries. Renamed to F&N Creameries, the Group of Companies was previously owned by Australia’s largest food and beverage company, Lion Nathan National Foods. The company has manufacturing facilities in East and West Malaysia, and produces a full range of ice cream from take-home tubs to novelties in both unique and traditional flavours. The ice creams are marketed to a myriad of customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol marts, retail shops, schools, itinerant vendors, restaurants, coffee houses, hotels, ship chandlers and caterers. For key channels such as supermarkets, the company adopts a direct sales and distribution approach. Besides being distributed in Singapore and Malaysia, King’s products are also exported to Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, and the Philippines.
ACHIEVEMENTS Both its production plants in East and West Malaysia are certified ‘Halal’ and have been awarded the Veterinary Health Mark (VHM). This is a mark of quality and safety awarded to Malaysian manufacturers in compliance with quality assurance and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programmes. The VHM certification marks another milestone in the Group’s objective in achieving product excellence while delivering great value to its customers. The company has always believed in giving back to the community, and has generously given to charities that support the underprivileged. Some of these charities include Pertapis Children Home, Club Rainbow, Asian Women’s Welfare
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Association (AWWA), Darul Ehsan Orphanage, Muhammadiyah Home, Chen Su Lan Methodist Children Home and Club Rainbow.
in Singapore. The business eventually branched beyond Singapore’s borders and its manufacturing plants extended to East and West Malaysia.
The export market will feature more importance in the near future as the King’s brand continues to grow regionally.
In the 1990s, Mr. Tan sold his shares. This marked a milestone for the company, and the beginning of an interesting series of takeovers. The shares were sold to two parties: venture capitalist company H&Q which held about 76%, while the rest were acquired by Malaysian Dairy Industries. This was followed by another turn of events in 2005, when H&Q sold their shares to Filipino food conglomerate, San Miguel. By 2006, San Miguel transferred their shares to National Foods Ltd, an Australian company, which was part of the San Miguel group. Later in the year, San Miguel sold National Foods Ltd to Japanese corporation, Kirin Holdings. In 2009, National Foods bought the remaining shares from Malaysian Dairy Industries. Another major milestone was created when F&N Foods bought the whole Group of Companies from National Foods in December 2010 to become a leading ice cream player in ASEAN.
Having just celebrated its 35th birthday in February 2010, the company’s other achievements include Superbrands’ endorsement for the second year running. In addition, the latest audit by leading market research company, The Nielsen Company, shows that King’s Potong Multipack ice cream remains Singapore’s No. 1 Potong Multipack ice cream for the period of July 2008 to June 2009.
HISTORY Incorporated in 1975, King’s Creameries has grown from its humble beginnings as a small local brand into one of the leading ice cream companies in Singapore and Malaysia. The local company was started by entrepreneur Mr. Tan Kim Chye in Singapore. The business grew and at one stage, even had a production plant
PRODUCT King’s extensive range of products includes its signature flagship traditional Potong ice cream, as well as premium single-serve ice creams such as the King’s Grand Minicup and King’s Mochi. King’s Grand Minicup has been a favourite with major international airlines, having been served onboard since 2002. Its novel approach to product development and innovative concepts has produced some of the industry’s leading products such as King’s Potong. The Group was also the first to introduce the local dessert flavour, ‘Pulut Hitam’ (black glutinous rice), for its ice creams. King’s Grand range also offers international flavours with special ingredients made affordable to the masses. This includes the latest addition of perennial favourites such as Tin Roof Brownie.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS The export market has also played an important part for the King’s brand. The latest breakthrough was its
penetration into the Hong Kong market, so residents of Hong Kong can now enjoy the same promise of quality and value that the ice cream promises. Moving forward, King’s will further develop other export markets which have indicated great interest in the brand and its range of products, especially for its signature Potong ice cream. To keep up with the needs of today’s healthconscious consumers and their desire for better variety, the company also successfully attained the Healthier Choice status for its Mr Froyo frozen yogurt range of Blueberry & Peach flavours. This endorsement by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board is a sign of King’s commitment to cater to its young and health-conscious consumers a healthier dessert alternative.
PROMOTION As a company that is strongly committed to giving its customers value-for-money deals, King’s is well-known for the super value promotions it rolls out in the year. What sets these deals apart from other market offers is its true value and savings to customers, and not treated as an avenue to clear stocks. Customers and
fans of the ice cream can always look forward to the launch of these super value deals during special occasions such as National Day and May Day. The company has also conducted much research in the area of customer behaviour so as to cater to customers’ wants more accurately. In order to pass on direct savings to the customer, King’s opts for below-the-line promotions. It prefers to run joint advertisements with major supermarket chains such as NTUC Fairprice and Sheng Siong as opposed to heavy investments into thematic television or print advertisements. Along with numerous in-store promotions, shoppers at supermarkets such as Fairprice Xtra at Ang Mo Kio Hub would have also come across ‘King’s Ice Cream’ areas with bright umbrellas set-up, contributing to a festive atmosphere. As part of the company’s 35th anniversary celebrations, it ran an islandwide lucky draw promotion with partner retail outlets. Popular digital products such as the Nintendo Wii and digital cameras were given away as prizes in the promotion’s lucky draw. Participation in food fairs and road shows have also been part of King’s promotional strategy, with involvement in at least four major food fairs a year. The ice cream brand receives a lot of visibility in all major food fairs such as the World Food Fair. Such fairs often attract huge turnouts and visitors never fail to make a beeline for King’s ice cream deals. However, nothing can compare to its highly successful Members’ Sale, the mother of all ice cream fairs. During the Members’ Sale, King’s directly-owned database of 12,000 customers, also known as King’s Cool Club Members, are invited to its factory for super value buys. To reward its loyal
customers, prizes such as Japanese branded 32-inch LCD television sets are given away for its members’ lucky draw. From the savings that could have been spent on above-the-line advertising, King’s invests them into free premiums, such as shopping bags and umbrellas, for its customers.
BRAND VALUES Providing value-for-money deals for the customers has always been the heartbeat of King’s Creameries. The Group is dedicated to marketing, manufacturing and distributing excellent quality products at the best delivered value to customers in order to provide a profitable return on shareholders’ investments. The Group does not believe in just being a business corporation. It cares for its employees and their families by establishing a work environment with company policies that build character, strengthen individuals, and nurture families. This results in a staff strength that not only has good working rapport, but one that is also tight and close-knit, reflecting one huge family. It also aims to improve the quality of life for the local community through active participation in events that supports the causes of children, the underprivileged and aged.
www.fnncreameries.com THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT F&N CREAMERIES
• F&N Creameries Singapore distribute not only King’s but also Magnolia and Meadow Gold ice cream. • The King’s brand portfolio comprises more than 200 stock-keeping units (SKUs).
SINGAPORE’S STRONGEST BRANDS
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