Southeast Asia is a cultural melting pot comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Renowned for its incredible food offerings, stunning temples and beaches, and welcoming people, it is a tourist mecca.
Western cuisine is not widespread in Southeast Asia with just one western meal consumed per five local meals but tastes are changing. The region is seeing a rise in large-scale kitchens, specialty bakeries and lifestyle cafes all using milk products.
The Co-op has had a presence in the region for more than 50 years and over this period we have seen solid growth with its population of 640 million developing a taste for our milk products.
The Co-op now supplies thousands of food and beverage establishments across Southeast Asia (SEA).
Fonterra Philippines General Manager Jack Tan, who also wears the hat of GM Food Service for SEA, says food service in the region is experiencing significant growth, with a three-and-half-fold increase over the last three years, driven by the resurgence in tourism and some key strategic customer acquisitions.
“Our customer segments range from small street stalls to large establishments – we’re unique because we have access to all. Our focus in SEA is on bringing New Zealand dairy to everyday staples and to be an increasing part of the local diet,” he says.
“While there is demand for new dining experiences and convenient foods that contain dairy, we want to move beyond pizzas and pastas, to find ways to add our dairy to more traditional local cuisine. This could be things such as Bahn Mi, a delicious sandwich in Vietnam, or martabak, a local crépe-style of street food in Indonesia. We’re already a market leader in cheese and creams and Ube jam, a beloved yam spread in the Philippines, and egg tarts in Thailand all feature Anchor Food Professionals products as an ingredient. Dropping a slice of cheese in noodle soup, roasting coffee beans in butter or a dollop of cream on iced tea are interesting ways to bring our dairy, and more nutrition, into everyday street foods, which are a big part of the food culture here.”
Anchor Food Professionals recently hosted a bespoke Anchor Food Festival in Indonesia’s second largest metropolitan area, Bandung, celebrating innovative food experiences. Themed “Tasteventure”, the three-day public festival showcased more than 20 rising food and beverage businesses and highlighted the use of Co-op milk products in local and traditional Southeast Asian fare and Southeast Asian/Western fusion cuisine.
“We’ve seen considerable growth in the bakery market with around 50% of our products going to this segment. We’re also seeing local chefs and influencers use our products in traditional meals. It’s all about local flavour infusions – think Laksa with dairy cream in place of coconut cream. There is also a growing market for ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, and ready-to-cook meals appealing to convenience, which holds massive potential for the Co-op,” says Jack.
In October, Fonterra’s Anchor Food Professionals will be the Global Dairy Partner of the 2024 Worldchefs Congress & Expo, in Singapore. Ahead of the event, Anchor Food Professionals and 11 international chefs have compiled a digital cookbook “Taste of Tradition”, each reimagining a traditional dish from their home country with a modern dairy twist.
Indonesian Fusion Meals with Anchor products
Indonesian Chef, Author, and Anchor Brand Ambassador Devina Hermawan, regularly uses Anchor products in her traditional Southeast Asian recipes, which she shares on YouTube and social media to her three million-plus followers highlighting the benefits of the Co-op’s milk products.
“All Anchor products are made of grassfed cows’ milk, resulting in high-quality ingredients to create delicious, nutritious home-cooked meals. That includes Anchor Cheddar Cheese. It has a soft texture and milky taste for cookies, foods, and snacks. Your little ones will love it,” she told her viewers while making Lidah Kucing (Cat’s Tongue Cookies).
String Cheese in Malaysia
This year the Co-op established a new line in Dairymas, Malaysia's cultured plant, that will allow the company to produce string cheese for the Co-op’s global quick service restaurant customers. Made from New Zealand mozzerella, the manufacturing process blends, heats and extrudes the proteins of the cheese to create ‘string cheese’ – the perfect shape, width, and texture for creating melty and stretchable cheese inside pizza crusts. The factory can produce 4,000 metric tonnes of string cheese each year.
Download the Taste of Tradition Cookbook at worldchefs.org/taste-of-tradition
We will bring you stories highlighting what we’re doing to create sustainable value from your milk. If there’s a specific market or story you’d like to hear about, contact us at nzfss.enrich@fonterra.com.