Chicken, coffee and boycotts: Can global F&B brands bounce back in S-E Asia’s Muslim markets?

[JAKARTA] Western food and beverage (F&B) franchises in Indonesia and Malaysia are facing one of their toughest challenges in years, caught between consumer boycotts tied to the Middle East conflict and a broader slowdown in household spending, with analysts warning that a full recovery could take some time.

“Foreign brands are confronting two challenges at once: government restrictions and unhappy consumers. When both persist, recovery becomes much harder,” said Roshan Raj, partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants. “Brands usually rebound only when facing a single issue, or when the challenge is short-lived.”

Boycott movements linked to the Gaza conflict have been gaining traction across South-east Asia, though their impact has varied by country. While consumer response in Thailand and Vietnam has been limited, Indonesia and Malaysia have been hit the hardest.