New Q1 2008 The Indonesia Food Drink Report Provides Independent Forecasts and Competitive...

New Q1 2008 The Indonesia Food Drink Report Provides Independent Forecasts and Competitive Intelligence on Indonesia's Food and Drink Industry

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c87224) has announced the
addition of "Indonesia Food & Drink Report Q1 2008" to their offering.

As Indonesia's vast population continues to feel the trickle down
effects of the country's steady and sustained economic development, a
very real opportunity has emerged for consumer goods manufacturers in
the country to start, not only boosting their sales, but building up a
portfolio of added-value, more premium products. Of course annual per
capita food consumption of just US$330.50 in 2007 and an unemployment
rate still stubbornly hovering at around 10% ably demonstrate that the
benefits of economic growth are not being felt by all and the sheer
size of Indonesia's poorer rural population continues to drag down
average spending levels, as well as restricting potential audience
size. Nonetheless, sectors of Indonesia's food and drinks industry are
highly appealing, particularly for those with the financial might to
offset the need for immediate gratification.

In late 2007, the local subsidiary of Dutch consumer goods giant
Unilever acquired the Buavita-branded enhanced fruit juice range from
local aseptic and long-life beverage manufacturer Ultrajaya Milk
Industry Tbk. The acquisition really underlined the trend noted above
in addition to some other major Indonesian beverage industry trends;
not least the emphasis consumers now place on the hygienic
manufacturing and packaging of their products which has allowed a
relatively small player like Ultrajaya to establish such a name for
itself. It also highlighted the existing and growing popularity of
healthy beverages within Indonesia's soft drinks industry. For the
first time this quarter the author has incorporated a breakdown of
Indonesian soft drink sales by category and amazingly - particularly
for a country in which global behemoth The Coca-Cola Company is
present - carbonates account for just 17% of sales. Bottled water and
ready-to-drink teas and coffees are the largest product categories,
while juices lag way behind accounting for just 2% of soft drink
sales.

Having acquired Buavita, Unilever will now look to improve the
popularity of fruit juices in the country and the author believes that
the company's immense scale, coupled with local consumption trends,
suggest it has every chance of success. The Dutch firm is looking to
expand within a soft drinks market that the author predicts will grow
by an enormous 108.6% to reach a value of US$7.4bn in 2012. Likewise,
it is looking to further penetrate a country in which consumers have
demonstrated a strong preference for healthier beverages, where
alcohol consumption is fairly moderate and where fruit consumption is
showing significant annual growth. Of course Ultrajaya was also
operating within this environment, but with sales of just US$88mn
annually, it lacked the distribution, marketing and expansion muscle
of Unilever Indonesia, which generated annual sales of US$1,296mn in
2006.

The prevalence of this trend does not mean that Indonesian firms
cannot compete in high-growth local consumer goods industries, but
with price sensitivity still acute, those with the financial clout to
offer low prices will always fare better regardless of how strong
local consumer interest might be.

Companies mentioned:

- Aqua Golden Mississippi (Aqua)

- Carrefour

- Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA)

- Indofood Sukses Makmur Terbuka

- Matahari Putra Prima

For more information visit
here

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353 1 4100 980

Copyright Business Wire 2008