Malaysia: F&N looks towards halal food as new pillar of growth

• Jan 19, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd is planning for halal food to be a new pillar of growth following its acquisition of the producers of the Nona and Lee Shun Hing brands.

In December last year, the group announced the purchase of the three F&B companies – Sri Nona Food Industries Sdn Bhd, Sri Nona Industries Sdn Bhd and Lee Shun Hing Sauce Industries Sdn Bhd — for up to RM60mil.

Sri Nona is best known for its flagship product, the NONA Ketupat (rice cakes) range, which is the number one ketupat brand in Malaysia, and its range of oyster sauce, which is among the top three in its category, F&N said in a statement.

“Our latest investment will serve as a platform to expand into more halal food segments and to meet the rising demand for convenience and ready-to-eat food products.

“With our robust R&D capabilities, we are confident that the new acquisitions will help us grow our halal food categories, complement our offerings, introduce more innovative products and increase our profit margin in the long run,” said F&N CEO Lum Yew Hoe.

F&N scaled up its e-commerce operations in 2020 to tap into the exponential growth in this channel ,and continues to explore different order fulfilment options to strengthen its competitive edge, it said.

“We have recently opened F&N Life’s fulfilment centre in Kuala Lumpur, which provides more choices to consumers such as self-pickup options and express next day deliveries for our online shoppers. In the future, we aim to set up more F&N Life fulfilment centres throughout Malaysia to create a seamless consumer experience,” Lim added.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/01/19/fn-looks-towards-halal-food-as-new-pillar-of-growth