Malaysia

The leading chained players in discounters have been eyeing potential expansion opportunities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the improved situation has made it easier for them to justify greater investment in outlet growth. Players have…

Direct selling in Malaysia showed resilience during the pandemic, particularly in the case of companies specialising in health and wellness products. Seeking ways to stay healthy, local consumers increasingly turned to health supplements and…

Social distancing measures remained in effect in Malaysia in 2021, with consumers forced to avoid spending time outside of the home wherever possible, and huge numbers of white-collar professionals, office workers and service industry personnel were…

The pandemic lockdowns negatively affected some store-based appliances and electronics specialists. Nonetheless, with the lifting of restrictions and the reopening of international borders, sales benefited from the pent-up demand accumulated during…

Reopened borders in 2022 and relaxed movement restrictions resulted in sharp rises in foot traffic in malls, boosted by locals and the return of international tourism. Festivities such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and the widespread use of promotions…

Jom Cha by Farm Fresh is one of the latest street stalls/kiosks serving varieties of drinks such as bubble tea. One of the marketing tactics employed is the use of renowned fresh milk, Farm Fresh, which is produced locally and enables the player to…

Chained self-service cafeterias continued to see low levels of popularity in Malaysia at the end of the review period. The Ikea Restaurant brand maintained its dominant position in the market. Indeed, there are no other players with a significant…

The Israel-Hamas War had an impact on limited-service restaurants in Malaysia from October 2023. In the majority Muslim country of Malaysia, the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War led to a series of boycotting events aimed at multinational chains such…

The full-service restaurants category is seeing growing consumer interest in Korean-influenced restaurants. The Muslim-dominated community in Malaysia is favouring Korean dining concepts, with food options such as Korean fried chicken, gaining…

In 2023, the Malaysian consumer foodservice market saw the continued strengthening of the country’s coffee drinking culture, which provided a notable boost to the performance of the specialist coffee and tea shops channel during the year. The end of…

Stand-alone remained the most popular consumer foodservice location in the Malaysian market in 2023. Most consumer foodservice operators opt for stand-alone locations for their outlets. There has been an increase in the number of consumer foodservice…

There has been a significant rise in the number of Malaysians taking up coffee drinking culture, with the country ranked third highest in terms of coffee consumption in Asia Pacific. With Malaysians becoming more coffee-savvy, there are notable…

Toilet care maintained solid retail volume and current value growth in 2023, although from a relatively low base. Many consumers, especially those with young children, remain in the habit of periodically cleaning the toilet. Even post-pandemic,…

Home care disinfectants saw a retail volume decline in 2022, after the pandemic high. However, the habit of using such products remains, especially amongst many younger consumers, and those with children, and growth resumed in 2023. Consumers…

Volume sales in sports drinks are being suppressed by unit price hikes for a second consecutive year. Whilst the post-pandemic landscape supports sales of sports drinks in theory, the inflationary environment is creating challenges. Within this…

Sales of soft drinks in Malaysia are generally benefitting from the rebound of tourism and foodservice in the post-pandemic landscape. For example, fountain sales are accelerating for carbonates and RTD tea, supported by the growth of hotels in the…

Fountain sales and on-trade volume growth are supported in RTD tea, in part due to the expansion of hotels in Malaysia, such as the Hyatt Place Kuala Lumpur, INNSiDE by Meliá Kuala Lumpur, and Courtyard by Marriott Melaka. It has become the norm for…

RTD coffee is seeing fairly stable, albeit low, volume sales in both on-trade and off-trade terms. This is supported by the popularity of coffee in the country overall, with reports in mid-to-late 2023 citing Malaysia as ranked third in Asia Pacific…

Overall polishes maintained growth in retail volume and current value terms in 2023, with increases seen across all categories. However, lifestyle and fashion trends continued to militate against the development of polishes. For instance, younger…

Laundry care maintained retail volume and current value growth in 2023. Although other types of laundry detergents saw stronger increases in this year, powder detergents continued to account for the highest sales. Powder is a popular format of…