SECTOR REPORT – CURED MEAT ASIAN MEAT M A G A Z I N E Cured meat producers innovate to stay relevant Cured and dried processed meats still have a place in the market, but they fill a segmented category. ARIEF FACHRUDIN and the Asian Agribiz team find that some cured meat producers are innovating their product offerings and marketing to stay relevant and to attract consumers of all ages. 2 ASIAN MEAT MAGAZINE – July/August 2018 SECTOR REPORT – CURED MEAT Bali Ananda’s pork lapcheong is made of natural ingredients using a special family recipe. Consumption of bakkwa, a a town in Johor neighbouring traditional Chinese snack of dried Singapore. sweet barbecued meat, during “The traditional bakkwa market Chinese New Year has been is too competitive with too many stagnating or declining among players competing in the small Malaysians, as consumers become segment. We must also be quick more health and price conscious. to adapt to consumers’ changing Besides, Malaysia has a famous preference,” he said. bakkwa brand with a long history. Bakkwa tissue These factors combined have made the dried meat market challenging for Unlike the oily, chewy and meaty small and medium sized players. taste of traditional bakkwa, Mr Tan However, Tan Tian Han, owner of claims his bakkwa tissue is healthier, Malaysia’s Kinyubi Food, believes less oily, less sweet and crunchier. the market will always have room As the name implies, his creation for innovative products to suit the is paper-thin, with thickness of less consumers’ ever-changing taste buds. than 1mm and a generous scattering Mr Tan started to develop the of almond flakes on the meat. signature bakkwa tissue four years But the work required to produce ago after he tried it during a trip to bakkwa tissue is more tedious than Taiwan. On his return to Malaysia, he traditional bakkwa. It takes Mr Tan decided to create his own Malaysian 2-3 days to produce it, in contrast version of bakkwa tissue. He has to less than a day for traditional been selling the product since 2016. bakkwa. Prior to this, he was producing He added that his product is traditional meat jerky, meat floss and especially popular among younger related meat products for more than and elderly customers who have 10 years. But the bakkwa tissue is difficulty chewing on the traditional what got his business going among bakkwa. However, traditional bakkwa residents and tourists to Batu Pahat, still enjoys a fair share of followers. ASIAN MEAT MAGAZINE – July/August 2018 3 and curry flavours, which he hopes so many innovative, modern meat will appeal to a wider Malaysian products with good packaging in the crowd. market. This is also a challenge for Mr Tan reckons producing bakkwa us to improve the taste, packaging tissue costs 4-5 times more and marketing of our traditional than traditional bakkwa. Firstly, cured and dried products.” unlike integrated producers that After joining the firm in 2016, Mr have upstream and downstream Jaya decided to set up a website for businesses, he obtains lean meat the company called sosisbaliananda. from a supplier, and thus is subject com. Through this platform, he to fluctuations in raw material promotes the firm’s profile and price. Secondly, the almond flakes products without being limited by required in production is sourced distance and time. In addition, he Tan Tian Han (right) and his wife Gan Mee Leng. overseas and costs higher as well. also promotes the products on But given the price sensitivity several online marketplaces such as Mr Tan is constantly tweaking his of consumers, he must delicately Tokopedia and Bukalapak, to name recipe. “We are striking a balance balance the impact of increased raw a few. between healthier ingredients while material price with his selling price. He revealed that the strategies maintaining the traditional way of have proven effective and has Adapting to changing lifestyles making bakkwa,” Mr Tan said. successfully raised both the firm’s and habits The bakkwa tissue contains sales and brand awareness. less than 10% of lard and Bali Ananda, a famous lapcheong “Bali is still our main market, but substantially less sugar per sheet (Chinese sausage) producer in Bali, with our online marketing, today than conventional meat jerky, thus Indonesia, has been in the cured our products are distributed to creating a drier, less shiny texture. and dried pork business since 1972. customers in Greater Jakarta, East Sugar is applied on the pork slice However, with changes in consumer Java and South Sulawesi. Several during production to caramelise the lifestyles and shopping habits, the restaurants in Jakarta and Surabaya bakkwa’s texture. family business needed to adapt. have also used our pork lapcheong,” New variants Christian Jaya, a third-generation he told Asian Meat Magazine. family member, said: “In this internet New taste and product He is currently developing two era, we must change to stay relevant more variants for bakkwa tissue: spicy and competitive. Currently there are Pork lapcheong with an original taste is the signature product of Bali Ananda, made using a traditional recipe that has been passed down through the generations. However, Mr Jaya thinks that relying only on that product will not be enough to grow the business. So, he ventured to explore new tastes. Now, Bali Ananda has new taste variants for its pork lapcheong, The production of bakkwa tissue. Bakkwa tissue waiting to be sorted into boxes. 4 ASIAN MEAT MAGAZINE – July/August 2018 SECTOR REPORT – CURED MEAT Meanwhile, the new ‘spicy & “Many hotels can’t afford that sweet’ and ‘honey’ variants are price. On the other hand, they still vacuum packed for longer shelf want to have the product for their life. “With vacuum packaging, the guests. Dagsap developed smoked products are good for consumption beef to respond the market up to eight months,” he said. change,” said Mr Mahisa, adding In the near future, Mr Jaya wants that the price of the smoked beef is to revamp the product packaging to more affordable because it is made make it more eye-catching. of CL 85 beef combined with fillers. Direct marketing Modified machine Mr Jaya looks to Singapore’s To produce smoked beef, Dagsap bakkwa producer Bee Cheng Hiang uses a modified sausage line. Mr as a good example to follow in the Mahisa said the production process cured and dried meat industry. is almost like sausage production. “They combine tradition and The difference technology in producing their is that the Christian Jaya (left) and his father innovative cured and dried meat dough is Wiratha Darma. products. They also have outlets to moulded and sell directly to consumers,” he said. then sliced. including ‘spicy & sweet’ and ‘honey’. “I want to steer our business this To modify the Mr Jaya has also created a new way. I want to open an outlet in line, Dagsap product: pork jerky with original Bali, so people can have easy and worked with taste. direct access to our products.” different “With the new tastes and partners, Innovating with market new product, we want to target including a change Ishana Mahisa consumers of all ages by giving local workshop. them more choices,” he said. Beef bacon was a flagship They asked Busch from Germany This year, Mr Jaya wants to create cured meat product of Indonesia’s to supply the vacuum pump. They another new product. “We want Dagsap Endura Eatore, used also worked with the Indonesian to produce a traditional frankfurter by many hotels in the country. agent of a Japanese meat made of pork with a special recipe. However, over the years, sales had processing equipment supplier We will soon develop this product been stagnant at only two tonnes to help with machine design. for trials. If our tasters say okay, we per month, forcing the company to For slicer, they turned to Treif of will begin commercial production,” discontinue the product. Germany. he said. Increasing competition in the “We learned that a normal Varied packaging hotel industry is another factor why sausage line has some difficulties Dagsap decided to stop making in producing smoked beef, so we Bali Ananda’s pork lapcheong with the product, said Ishana Mahisa, made some modifications. The original taste is traditionally packed Director. hopper was tapered for higher in plastic bags tied with rope. “We “There are many new hotels gravity. The stuffer was also have used this packaging model throughout the country, making modified to make it more powerful. since the start of our business,” said competition in this industry tighter. In addition, the modified line Mr Jaya. Since the players are competing uses a screw to push the dough on their room rates, they need and to prevent bubbling, and it is to control their food costs. equipped with a special vacuum Consequently, they choose cheaper pump because the dough is much processed meat products,” Mr thicker than sausage dough,” Mr Mahisa told Asian Meat Magazine. Mahisa explained. Beef bacon is an expensive cured Growing sales meat product since it is made from 100% meat, mainly from brisket. Dagsap’s efforts for the smoked The price of brisket is now around beef paid off. The product is not USD 5.76/kg. A kilo of brisket only only well accepted by its customers yields 700g of beef bacon, so this in the hotel industry, but also in the means production cost is around modern retail market. USD 7.20/kg. With margin and Mr Mahisa revealed that sales tax added, selling price should be of the product in modern retail is The strips version of Dagsap’s smoked beef. around USD 9/kg.