When COVID broke out across the globe, Taiwan enjoyed months of remarkable defense against the virus. And while, since the middle of 2021, Taiwan has faced a rise in local cases, the mindset and lifestyle of ‘new normal’ have minimized the impact on shopper expenditure.
Most successful FMCG brands are those that resonate most with people’s lives in the post-COVID era. We have seen new hygiene habits bring sales growth in home cleaning products and personal antibacterial commodities. We have also found Taiwanese people eating out less and spending more time at home, creating more demand for packaged food and snacks. Meanwhile, brands which have been bold and innovative have stood out from their competitors. Fresh, creative ideas around consumer goods are the ones which have attracted young generations.
Not only does COVID change the content of shoppers’ baskets, but it also impacts shoppers’ channel choices. In 2021, Shoppers’ spending on digital platforms accounted for 15.7% of total FMCG sales, making E-Commerce (EC) the third largest channel in Taiwan. More and more consumers of all ages are embracing online shopping and we are seeing new EC types expanding, including O2O platforms and social commerce.
In this report we introduce brands that are successfully riding the wave of transformation in our rapidly-changing world. These brands are shaping and leading consumer’s future lives in Taiwan. Let us look at their extraordinary stories.
Spotlight on Taiwan
#HomeAsNewOccasion Covid has accelerated transformation and created new occasions, as people stay at home more, leading to a rise in occasions such as home cooking, online meeting/learning, and home indulgence. As a result, Cooking Necessities and Frozen Food are in high demand from Laurel, Knorr, and Wanchai. In the meantime, a little “me time” at home cannot be missed as Snacking, Coffee, and Instant noodles are also on the rise.
#EyecatchingGeneration Younger generations like to be in the know and are open to creative concepts. Manufacturers who successfully leverage this passion point with speedy and surprising innovation have seen significant success. For example, Lay’s has continuously launched a premium taste series, Taisun has co-branded with the famous Tea Shop, and Kotex expanded its portfolio by echoing the natural trend in new generations’ language during communication. Test and learn has become an appealing approach to evaluate NPD market potential.
#NewNormalSurvive After 2 years of Covid, the health-conscious and health related sector has grown in Taiwan market. Following fundamental hygiene needs within home care and personal care categories, Febreze has become one of the fastest growing brands in air-freshening and home care and Let Green has risen on a daily-use basis in 2021.
UNI-PRESIDENT CH'UN CHI CHA As the leading brand in the beverage market, CH‘UN CHI CHA continuously communicates with its consumers by highlighting its fresh and original taste. CRP grew by 3% year on year to 19 million times.
UNI-PRESIDENT CHUI SUI The brand’s catchy advertising slogan ‘2 packs of milk a day meets essential calcium needs for growth’ has successfully managed to attract customers. CRP rose 3% to 28 million times and penetration increased 2.6 ppt year on year.
Knorr We’ve seen a rise of eat-in occasions in the post-COVID era, and Knorr has successfully won consumers with its meal flavoring products which specialize in speed and convenience. The brand saw significant growth with CRP +16% year on year, reached 11 million times in 2021
Attack Using localized and aggressive marketing communication, Attack built itself a professional image of being the ‘expert in laundry knowing the characteristic of climate in Taiwan.’ The brand saw CRP growth by 2% and reached 4 million times in 2021.
Shallop In the post-COVID era, Shallop mouthwash has emphasized its bacteriostatic properties and gained CRP growth by 1% to 5 million times, along with 11% of consumer spending growth year on year. The brand celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021 and launched new products co-branding with a famous Taiwanese designer which earned significant media exposure.
Morinaga in-Jelly is a nutritional supplement energy drink, and it is the fastest growing brand not only in the beverage category, but also in the overall FMCG industry.
To meet the needs of an average modern lifestyle – time-poor, holiday-loving, and engaging in outdoor activities – Morinaga in-Jelly communicate across multiple drinking occasions. It can be used before and after exercise, or when even in place of a proper meal when you are in a rush.
To capitalize on the healthy trend, Morinaga in-Jelly portrays a positive image of a light diet, featuring zero fat and low calories. The brand not only provides energy but can also relieve your sense of fullness.
From a channel perspective, in-Jelly played aggressively in two main channels - Costco and CVS. To sum up, Morinaga in-Jelly reached 0.9M buyers in 2021 with 103% CRP growth which was mainly driven by penetration.
WanChai Ferry returned to Taiwan’s frozen dumpling market with fast growth in 2020 and now becomes the top brand in the market.
As COVID-19 hit Taiwan in May 2021, WanChai Ferry showed growing momentum due to higher penetration, which reflected the market, with more shoppers needing to dine at home during the ongoing government restrictions.
The brand also kept creating new products, like its spicy pork and spicy chicken flavors, to attract shoppers, which drove its penetration by 73.1% and boosted CRP by 102% in 2021.
Being a premium brand with growing performance in the market, WanChai Ferry showcases the opportunity: if brands are willing to innovate and enhance their brand equity, shoppers are still willing to pay higher prices.
Q1. What makes Farcent a unique brand for consumers and the fastest growing brand in the industry in 2021? The reason that Farcent saw such rapid growth is because, as a brand, we understand the consumer market. Our strategy is to focus on consumer products for home life, so that everyone sees Farcent products when they walk into any corner of the home.
In addition to cleaning, dehumidification, fragrance, and personal cleaning products, we continue to create differentiated brands and products in each category market, and quickly adjust to market changes. Our following products constantly create trends: “Tea Tree Garden” appeals to natural tea tree antibacterial, “Deodorizer” Bamboo and Wood Fragrance is designed by famous Internet celebrity designer, Yung-Chen Nieh, and “Natural Mosquito Repellent Spray” creates a new anti-mosquito market with a plant-inspired idea.
In the past three years, Farcent's LES PARFUMS DE FARCENT series has grown rapidly. With the concept of “high-end ingredients and boutique perfume”, Farcent continues to develop fragrances and products that conform to market trends every year, and quickly becomes popular among young people. At the same time, we are leveraging digital media and innovative marketing methods to help Farcent grow rapidly in 2021.
Q2. What consumer behavior has surprised you the most over the past 10 years? And what would you imagine for the next 10 years? Farcent started with making fragrant beans, so making fragrance products is not a problem for us. However, the trend of fragrance in the past decade has changed a lot. Ten years ago, having a single fragrance was popular, such as lemon, lavender, peach, etc. But in recent years, “fine perfumes, natural plant extracts, healing and soothing” have become trends in the market of fragrance products. Fragrance, like perfume, has head, heart, and base notes. It is no longer just a single scent. Fragrance has also become a home decoration, and even has functional deodorizing, antibacterial and soothing effects. In the next decade, household products will be developed to “enhance the taste of life” and more “natural and environmentally friendly” products will be launched.
Q3. E-commerce in Taiwan has turned mature and developed different models, while O2O model (e.g. UberEats, Foodpanda) is still growing. How would Farcent fit into these new trends? Due to the impact of the pandemic in the past two years, physical channels are facing the loss of customer flow. In addition to the continuous development of online e-commerce channels, Farcent has rapidly developed delivery platforms (UberEats, Foodpanda). We also cooperate with physical e-commerce platforms (PXGo!, Carrefour Online e-commerce, etc.) and arrange online activities, free shipping promotions and celebrity live streaming e-commerce, etc., so that these household items, even some heavy cleaning products, can be easily ordered and delivered directly to your home without going out. At present, Farcent is growing more than 20% in e-commerce every year and the growth continues.
Q4. As ‘new normal’ with pandemic evolves, how would you communicate with shoppers? In the post-pandemic era, there will be an era of coexistence with viruses. Natural, antibacterial, home protection and outdoor sports products will be the future trend. No matter how competitive and saturated the market is, there will still be room for development. In response to the pandemic, Farcent has also explored more pain points of consumers by launching a series of “antibacterial and antiviral” home cleaning products, “safe, non-toxic” food preservation bags to prolong food preservation and “Sports Vitami” bath products. Farcent makes good use of co-branding, KOL marketing and live streaming e-commerce to create online discussions and to be closer to the needs and lives of consumers.
Q5. Price increase among daily goods was seen across the world, how would this impact the market from your point of view? When prices are rising, Farcent is thinking more about how to provide consumers with better and higher-quality products. For today's consumers, price is not the only factor to consider. So, improving product strength and creating more differentiated characteristic goods, and long-term brand management, is the focus of Farcent.
Q6. ESG wave has swept the globe, how would Farcent ride on it and communicate with consumers? In 2015, Farcent began to use nature as the concept to develop the natural detergent brand “Tea Tree Garden”. It is free of harmful substances such as added pigments, fluorescent agents, formaldehyde, nonylphenol, etc., and has passed the SGS test to effectively inhibit bacteria by 99.9%.
It has also obtained a certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The biodegradable degree of these products is more than 95%, which will not cause environmental damage. Farcent also actively involved in plastic reduction. Taking the green trash bag of Qu Chen Shi as an example, through the plastic reduction technology of using recycled materials, the use of new plastics is reduced, and old plastics have a new life cycle.
At the same time, Farcent is developing our community platform. Through the long-term communications of our digital platform, Farcent makes the communication of environmental protection and our sustainable brand more accessible. Alongside our efforts on developing products, the Farcent Education Foundation continues to support the education of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups with the spirit of “caring, growth and harmony”. We hope to promote social progress through continuous sharing, and to give back to society through promoting cultural and educational activities.
Between 2015 and 2021, more than 36 environmental education lectures were attended by at least 3,144 teachers and students, something which we hope shows the effort from Farcent and Farcent Education Foundation to cultivate and improve environmental education.
