"From Snacks to Frozen Foods" ... Emart's 'No Brand' Captures Filipino Taste Preferences

No Brand Opens 5th Store in Manila Suburban Large Shopping Mall
80% Domestic SMEs Products ... Suppliers Increased to 47 Locations

Appearance of the 3rd No Brand specialty store in the Philippines

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Emart announced on the 28th that it will open a 320㎡ (approximately 97 pyeong) No Brand store in the mega shopping mall 'Ayala Mall Manila Bay' in Manila, Philippines, on the 30th. This will be the fifth No Brand specialty store in the Philippines.

Ayala Mall Manila Bay is a mega complex shopping mall located about 3 km from Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport and about 10 km from the city center. It is considered a transportation hub that attracts a large number of visitors from surrounding cities on weekends, as it is equipped not only with an airport but also with an intercity bus terminal nearby.

According to Emart, with the Korean Wave fever, the favorability toward Korean products is increasing locally in the Philippines, and based on this, No Brand, which offers a variety of products not seen before in the Philippines, is gaining fame as a high-quality imported product brand. In particular, No Brand, which sells various snacks, is widely promoting the taste and quality of Korean snacks by meeting the Filipino traditional snack culture called 'Merienda' (Merienda: a traditional Filipino culture of gathering twice a day outside of meals to eat snacks).

Leading the Trend of Frozen Products Along with Popularity of Cookies and Potato Chips

Analysis of No Brand sales in the Philippines last year showed that snacks, ramen, tea, and frozen products were very popular. Notably, the top 1 to 5 popular items were all snacks such as 'No Brand Choco Chip Cookies,' 'No Brand Butter Cookies,' and 'No Brand Potato Chips,' drawing attention.

Sales of No Brand frozen products are also increasing day by day. In the Philippines, where the climate is hot and humid and people are not accustomed to frozen food culture, No Brand is leading food trends by supplying frozen products mainly to premium supermarkets. Frozen products such as 'No Brand Chicken Skewers' and 'No Brand Frozen Pizza,' which were also very popular in Korea, saw sales jump about 25% last month compared to February.

The representative Korean Wave product 'No Brand Jjajang Ramen' ranked 6th in sales, and 'No Brand Roasted Chestnuts' ranked 18th. Emart's analysis shows that the 'taste of Korea,' which is hard to find in the Philippines, resonated with local consumers.

Emart plans to continue this momentum and open more than five additional No Brand specialty stores in the Philippines this year alone.

As No Brand gains popularity, overseas exports of these products produced by domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also increasing. For example, the 'No Brand Yuzu Tea,' popular among Filipino consumers, is produced by a small company called Seogwang F&B, and more than 6,000 units were sold last year at just four No Brand specialty stores in the Philippines.

Among the products sold in the Philippines, 80% are No Brand PL products produced by SMEs, and the remaining 20% are local products. Last year, the number of SMEs supplying products to No Brand reached 320.

Delivery Service Takes Off Through Collaboration

No Brand Philippines has been collaborating with the local e-commerce platform 'MetroMart' since July last year to provide contactless delivery services. Emart explained that during the period when community quarantine measures and curfews (6 PM to 5 AM) were implemented in the Manila area due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, this service was a great help to locals who found it difficult to go out and obtain groceries.

To increase customer touchpoints, No Brand expanded the number of collaborative e-commerce platforms to three by partnering with 'Grab Mart' in December last year and 'Go Robinsons' in February this year. As customer touchpoints increased, No Brand's delivery performance has grown rapidly, with double-digit monthly growth. Delivery sales in March this year increased by more than 70% compared to February.

Along with the increased deliveries, No Brand's influence within the Manila area has also grown. Since the opening of the first store in November 2019, the number of supply outlets for No Brand products, including premium supermarkets like 'Marketplace,' has increased to 47 in less than two years.

Park Hee, head of the No Brand business planning team at Emart, said, "No Brand has successfully established itself in the Philippine market by gaining great popularity with good quality and reasonable prices. We will continue to secure various channels to meet local customers' expectations and strengthen our position as an export platform for domestic SMEs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.