These days it seems that the an- nouncement of plans for some well-known foreign brand to tie-up with an established Myanmar enterprise, construct a new factory in the country or access the Myanmar market through some other strategy is almost a weekly occurrence. Beverages, personal hygiene products, food- stuffs, restaurants, automobiles, electronic equipment…the list goes on. Myanmar’s population of 50 million plus clearly holds a great deal of attraction for foreign produc- ers and distributors. A new and potentially lucrative consumer market awaits and the marketers of global brands are lining up. Amongst all the hype, however, it is easy to overlook the potential of the many well-per- forming local brands that are already estab- lished here.
What comes to mind when we think of Myanmar brands? Personally, I would have to rank Myanmar Beer highly here – Myan- mar’s most popular beer. Although the beer sector is attracting much attention from for- eign brewers, it is unlikely that Myanmar Beer could be dislodged from its number one position. It tastes too good! It surely can’t be that long before Myanmar Beer goes the way of Tiger, Singha or Chang and finds itself in local liquor stores around the globe and, given the benefits that have flowed to similarly-placed regional producers of beers and spirits, is able to negotiate sponsorship status with a premier football club in Eu- rope.
Football seems to offer many accessible op- portunities for brand exposure through mu- tually beneficial relationships with clubs. Many of you will know that the Thai brewer of Chang Beer is a sponsor of the Everton football club, the English Premier League team, and Singha Beer is a sponsor of Chel- sea FC, with exclusive lager pouring rights at the club’s home ground. These sponsor- ships have done wonders for the interna- tional exposure of the brands. Not to be outdone here, Myanmar’s own homegrown
whisky maker, IBTC, has an established sponsorship deal for its Grand Royal Whis- ky brand with Chelsea FC, the arrangement being recently extended until 2017. Foot- ball has gained considerable popularity in Myanmar and no doubt the drinkers of Myanmar’s number one whisky now feel an extra sense of pride when sipping on their favourite tipple. IBTC was also the founding sponsor for the Myanmar National Football League (MNL) and sponsors the Okkthar United FC, prominent in that competition. I recently heard that Grand Royal Whisky is in fact the 15th most popular whisky brand in the world. No small achievement!
And what of a whisky mixer? The ubiqui- tous Alpine Water would seem to be a nat- ural choice. One is unlikely to go through a day in Myanmar without encountering a bottle of Alpine Water or at least sighting the firm’s advertising. This brand was so attractive that Nestle – the global leader in bottled water and the company behind both Perrier and San Pelegrino – recognised the strategic value of forming an alliance with Loi Hein, the producers of Alpine. This company’s plans for expansion and diver- sification include the production of dairy products, the impending construction of the first natural juices plant in Myanmar and possibly the development of a brewing arm. Notably, Loi Hein is also involved in the MNL, as owner of the prominent club, Yadanarbon FC.
And for a late night snack? The obvious choice would seem to be Mama instant noo- dles, produced by Ayeyawaddy Food Com- pany at their plant in Yangon. I may be a lit- tle biased here, since a major Mama Noodles distribution facility lies not far from our Ba- gan Capital office and I can’t avoid the sign and the trucks regularly setting off on their delivery runs. Yet one can also see Mama Noodles for sale all over the country, from large supermarkets to the smallest of street stalls and the brand appears to be very much a part of the Myanmar snack food diet.
Of course, the follow-up to a late night snack is the tooth-cleaning ritual and Laser Brand toothpaste is what most Myanmar people will choose to use. I am not sure that the country’s most popular toothpaste brand has the capacity to go global, but its market strength has certainly attracted the atten- tion of global giants, the brand being recent- ly purchased by the US firm, Colgate, for a reputed $100 million. Now that seems like a valuable brand!
As Myanmar’s economy develops, it can be expected that even more of its homegrown brands will push their way onto the regional and international stage. Perhaps one day in the not too distant future we will be able to watch Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge, sip- ping a Grand Royal Whisky with a dash of Al- pine Water, while slurping down some Mama noodles……as Chelsea defeats Everton.
