Lower density regions to lead consumer growth in Asean

Singapore

IT is not densely populated mega-cities, but less populous "middleweight" regions that will be the main drivers of growth in Asean's consumer markets for up to 2030, said a report by performance management company Nielsen and economic strategy firm AlphaBeta.

The report, titled "Rethinking Asean", said while cities like Jakarta, Manila, and Bangkok are important consumer markets, they do not dominate Asean's consumer demand.

The analysis looked into the current and future consumer demand for over 700 cities and regions within the seven largest economies of Asean and covered ten product categories: chocolate, instant noodles, carbonated soft drink, beer, cigarettes, shampoo, la…