16. Drinks
Chill down with Asian refreshments
In most of the Asian countries it is hot all year round and a cool refreshment is always welcome. Like everywhere in the world enjoying drinks together has an important social function. Asian drinks are usually very sweet and colourful. However, also the healthier drinks like coconut water and soy milk, are getting increasingly popular.
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Have a look at our H&S Trend Report #2 2020 about Healthy Drinks!
FRUIT JUICES
Asian fruit juices are usually quite sweet and made of tropical fruit. Mango may be the most well known exotic flavour, but you might also think of guava, lychee or tamarind among others. Some of them may contain pulp or even jelly. Note that flavours like apple, strawberry or even water melon can be well selling drinks in Asia. However in Europe it would not be considered ‘exotic’ and sales of such flavours can be rather disappointing.
H&S offers a broad range of Jefi drinks in tin can from Malaysia. Luzona mango drink has been our best selling Phillipine drink since many years. I am Superjuice is a brand from a Dutch marketing company, the drinks are produced in Vietnam. It is a rather healthy alternative with less sugar and less additives, and appealing packaging design.
SOFT DRINKS
Colourful, colourful, colourful, that is what most Asian soft drinks look like. Spectacular looks seem to be more important than fear of added colors. Most of them are quite sweet, many of them a flavour explosion. Note that soft drinks with the above mentioned characteristics do not necessarily have to be of Asian origin to sell well in the Asian supermarkets.
ALOE VERA DRINKS
Aloe Vera is known for thousands of years as a medicinal plant that is considered to have certain health benefits and positive effects on digestion. Aloe vera drinks contain crushed aloe vera leaf, aloe vera water or leaf gelatin. It is a refreshing drink, especially if served ice-cold. The original colour is green like the Aloe Vera plant, but if another flavour like mango or blueberry is added the colour can be different.
Sales focus should be on Paldo Aloe drinks which we buy directly from the source in Korea. However OKF, which we do not buy directly, but from a local partner, has a strong brand awareness in Europe.
COCONUT WATER
Coconut water has become increasingly popular throughout the last years. Coconut water is the clear liquid inside coconuts. Coconut water forms naturally in the fruit and contains 94% water and very little fat. The liquid inside young green coconuts is often preferred to the liquid of a ripened coconut. Whole coconuts for drinking are served chilled, fresh, or packaged. We mostly sell coconut water in (Tetra) packs.
It is a very refreshing, low in sugar and and highly hydrating, e.g. after sports. In Asia you can buy a fresh young coconut on every corner of the street, after opening you can enjoy the fresh coconut water. The first and still most important A-brand of coconut water within H & S’s product portfolio is UFC from Thailand. It is award-winning coconut water distinguished for its great taste. A cheaper alternative is Cocoxim from Vietnam, also good taste, but introduced much later. However, after the success of the first coconut water products many big brands started to produce coconutwater, like e.g. Chaokoh and King Island.
COCONUT MILK DRINKS
Coconut Milk Drink is a combination of coconut milk and (coconut) water. It is often used as a substitute for normal milk by people with lactose intolerance. It has a very outspoken, coconutty flavour which brings a nice twist to you drink. Coconut Milk Drink is great for breakfast cereals, tea or coffee, sweet or savoury cooking, or simply on its own.
ENERGY DRINKS
An energy drink is a type of drink containing stimulant compounds, usually caffeine, providing mental and physical stimulation. Energy drinks can give you a boost, because of the amount of caffeine and sugar in it. Usually the energizing effect of energy drink lasts only a short time.
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Carabao is an energy drink that is launched in Thailand in 2002 and has been gradually exported to more countries ever since. It is one of the biggest energy drinks brand in Thailand. The Carabao sponsorship of the League Cup (EFL Cup) in the UK in 2017, also referred to as Carabao Cup since, has lead to more popularity and high brand awareness. However, also on the European mainland this strong energy drink is rapidly gaining popularity. The Thai energy drinks such as Carabao and M-150 are quite strong, that may be another reason for their popularity.
SYRUPS
Many syrups are mainly intended to make lemonade, by mixing it with carbonated or non-carbonated water. They contain a large amount of dissolved sugars, so they might also be used as a sweeter for e.g. desserts or cocktails.
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Date syrup, also called date honey or date molasses, is a different kind of syrup. It is extracted of dates, no refined sugar added. It is a typical product of the Persian and Libyan, but also other Arabic kitchens. It can be used as natural sweetener, and even as alternative for refined sugar. It is not commonly used to make lemonade, but rather for cooking, baking and preparing food.
MILK & MILK POWDER
Powdered milk or dried milk is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. Milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated. Another advantage of powdered milk is that you can prepare just as much milk as you need at the time. Different target groups/ethnicities will prefer different milk powder brands.
Evaporated and condensed milk is made of cow’s milk from which roughly 60% of water has been removed. For condensed milk usually sugar is added, that’s why it is also called ‘sweet condensed’ milk. It is a thick, very sweet product, comes usually in can and has a long shelf life. It can be used for e.g. baking or making desserts. Evaporated milk does usually not contain sugar, that’s why it needs a longer preservation process, and is sometimes referred to as ‘unsweetened condensed milk’.
SOY MILK
Soy milk or soy drink is a drink made from soy beans. It is a common drink in Asia and is also drunk as a meal (substitute). In the West, soy milk is drunk mainly as a milk substitute by vegetarians, vegans and those with lactose intolerance. Most important brands for Heuschen are the Thai brands Vitamilk & V-soy and Drinho & Homesoy from Malaysia.
TEA
Asia has a long tea tradition and a big tea production. There are many different kinds of teas of which the most important ones: black tea and green tea. Both made of tea leaves, but processed in a different way. For black tea the tea leaves and buds undergo an oxidation process, that’s when they turn black. For green tea, the oxidation is prevented and the leaves stay green. Black tea usually has the most intense flavour. For pu-erh and oolong tea it takes some extra production steps, but those are also fermented. Flavours or other dried ingredients can be added to the tea leaves to sell it as e.g. jasmine or mint tea.
White tea is made from very young tea buds, which not yet opened, and dried with no additional processing, and has the lightest flavour.
In Chinese tea varieties you will also find ‘gunpowder tea’. The name refers to the shape and color of the tea leaves rolled into a small round pellet which looks like the 18th century grains of actual gunpowder.
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Most of the tea brands and products are typical Asian products however, Sultan tea is for the Arabic (Moroccan) target group.
HERBAL INFUSIONS
You might argue if you can call herbal infusions ’tea’. Many of them only contain herbs, but no tea leaves. However, especially in Europe it is widely spread to refer to herbal infusions as tea. The Ranong and Fitne herbal teas are said to help digestion and even weight loss, that is why you see the skinny lady on the packaging. The active ingredient is the senna plant, leaves and pods. One should be careful with the use of Senna teas. Experts advise take senna only short term because of possible negative health effects, one should at least follow the instructions on the package. Ranong is a famous tea brand in Thailand, H&S is buying Ranong directly from the supplier and therefore Ranong should be preferably sold to Fitne. However, Fitne was first in the market and has a higher brand awareness.
MATCHA TEA
Matcha tea is another tea variety. You can find Matcha powder, Matcha tea or Matcha flavoured food products (e.g. ice cream). It is popular because of its intense green colour and special taste. Matcha comes originally from Japan, it is made from tea leaves which are specially processed. Before harvesting the tea plants are covered with sun shades. That is how they produce more chlorophyll for extra green color. After harvesting the leaves are dried and powdered into matcha powder.
INSTANT TEA
Again, it can be argued if instant powdered drinks can be called ‘tea’, even if they do not contain any tea leaves. However, as the preparation with hot water is more or less the same as with tea, it is widely known as tea.
Ginger tea drinks are made of processed ginger, usually with added sugar or honey. If you open a glass of Korean ‘tea’ jelly you might think it is jam. However, mixed with hot or cold water, you’ll have an excellent and comforting drink.
BEER
Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. Beer is brewed from cereal grains—most commonly from malted barley, though wheat, corn, and rice are also used. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent.
H&S offers different Asian beer brands: Singha from Thailand, Tsingtao from China and San Miguel from the Philippines. They go perfectly with an Asian meal or on a hot summer day.
Ginger, Root beer and Supermalt are brewed in a similar way as beer.
WINE
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. In Asia, particularly China, the production of traditional wines has made an amazing development. Among them, some high class white and red grape wines are produced. However, so far this seems to be rather a niche and specialist product on the European market. There is lot of (cheap) competition from local European suppliers, but also traditional overseas wine producing countries like South Africa or South American countries.
The most famous ‘wine’ from Asia might be rice wine. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Technically the production of rice wine has more similarities to producing beer than wine. However, the product became known as rice wine which is now commonly accepted. One type of rice wine is sake, which is usually associated with the Japanese kitchen. Note that it can be served chilled or hot.
