SFMA, IE Singapore help local SMEs enter Indonesia's top supermarkets

OVER 100 food products from 12 participating Singapore small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be featured in top Indonesian supermarkets from Dec 23, 2017 to Dec 2, 2018 via the Tasty Singapore Food Aisle project, IE Singapore and the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA) said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Now in its third run and for the first time in partnership with SFMA, this concept allows different food manufacturers to collectively sell their products in supermarkets through a common Singapore branding.

The food aisle project will run in AEON, Diamond, FoodHall and Farmers Market - which is a new partner this year. SMEs including Chye Choon Foods which supplies Peacock branded rice noodles; Gold Kili which manufactures instant coffee; and Ha Li Fa which supplies BoBo fishballs will make their debut in these Indonesian supermarkets.

According to IE Singapore and the SFMA, 19 Singapore companies have secured permanent listings in Indonesian supermarket chains through the aisle since its first run in 2015. They added that Indonesia's huge domestic market of 250 million people and a rising middle class have created opportunities for food manufacturers as demand for quality and varied products increases.

"By clustering Singapore food companies and working with leading supermarkets to create shelf space, the companies benefit from synergies created by collectively marketing to Indonesian consumers," IE Singapore and the SFMA added.

Said Chee Seng Oil Factory's director of sales and marketing, Lim Kay Kheng, who took part in all three runs: "Participating in the Tasty Singapore Food Aisle allows us to leverage the Singapore branding to raise awareness of our product brand. On our own, it would have taken much longer to get into such top-tier supermarkets. Our distribution has improved since the first run, and we project a healthy growth of 2 to 5 per cent for the next three to five years."

Looking ahead, IE Singapore and the SFMA will be expanding the food aisle concept to growing markets such as India, besides Indonesia. They will also explore collaborating with overseas partners on digital concepts such as e-commerce platforms to help more SMEs scale up overseas, IE Singapore and the SFMA said.