When 2 Big Brothers Meet..... Supergroup and Petra Foods

Finally, these two extraordinary companies have joined hands. I see huge potential and opportunities among them.

Published March 26, 2011

Super, Petra to sell instant coffee in Indonesia

By MAXIE AW YEONG

SUPER Group and Petra Foods have formed a joint-venture company, Ceres Super, to market and distribute instant 3-in-1 coffeemix products and other convenience beverages in Indonesia. Petra Foods, a manufacturer and supplier of cocoa ingredients with its headquarters in Singapore, will hold a 60 per cent stake. Super Group, a local manufacturer of instant beverages and convenience foods, will hold 40 per cent. The initial capital of the joint venture is $1.5 million.
Ceres Super will tap Petra's distribution capabilities in Indonesia, and Super's innovation in coffee products. Super Group's chairman David Teo said: 'We will be able to complement Petra Foods' established distribution network in Indonesia with our manufacturing expertise to enter the fast-growing Indonesia market.'
David Chuang, a director of Ceres Super, agreed, saying Ceres Super will leverage on the brand name and the distribution network.
The joint venture is targeting the instant coffee market in Indonesia, which is relatively new and is growing at about 10 per cent a year. Indonesia is a populous and relatively young nation, and now has the largest coffee consuming market in South-east Asia. A steady rise in income signifies growing demand for convenience products.
Petra Foods' chief executive officer John Chuang said: 'The growth (in demand) for 3-in-1 coffee is tremendous, and we think it is just in its infancy. There are tremendous opportunities and we want to jump into this early enough to take a slice of the market.'
Ceres Super, which will soon launch a coffeemix product, has been engaging in focus groups to understand the taste profile of the Indonesians. 'They (Indonesians) have been drinking traditional coffee a lot, so we want them to switch to our kind of coffee,' said John Chuang.
Commodity prices are rising, but Ceres Super is confident that it will be able to manage costs well. Darren Teo, another director of Ceres Super, said: 'There is definitely pressure, but we have an advantage because we manufacture our own ingredients. We can do a lot of cost control.'