With a total population of more than 650 million, Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets and considered as the next economic powerhouse, according to a study released by McKinsey Global Institute. One of the main catalysts of this rapid growth is the ingenuity of Southeast Asians creating impactful brands that changed and continues to challenge the playing field in its respective industries.
Let’s take a look at some of the Southeast Asian brands that are making waves in the market.
Jollibee (Philippines)
Started as a franchise of an ice cream parlor, Tony Tan Caktiong began offering hot meals and sandwiches in his restaurant. In 1978, he founded Jollibee, the largest food chain in the Philippines today!
With more than 1000 stores nationwide and over 250 stores across the globe, Jollibee proved to be one of the biggest names in the fast-food industry. One of the main products of Jollibee, Chicken Joy is always a hit to its patrons, it was even recognized as the 3rd best chicken in the US by Foodbeast.com!
Meanwhile, Jollibee’s parent company, Jollibee Foods Corporation also acquired several notable brands in the Philippines like Chowking, Mang Inasal, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, and Burger King Philippines. It also signed several joint ventures to acquire master franchises of globally known brands like Tim Ho Wan and Dunkin Donuts in China.
In the last two years, Jollibee Foods Corporation was also able to buy American brands Smashburger, Tortas Frontera, and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Today, Jollibee is a household brand in the Philippines, and in an article from Esquire Philippines, Jollibee himself even became the Philippines’ unofficial ambassador!
AirAsia (Malaysia)
Malaysian visionary Tony Fernandes started dreaming of owning an airline since he was a kid, and when he was sitting in a pub in London, he saw an ad of EasyJet, a low-cost airline in the UK. At that moment, his long-time dream reignited, to build an airline company and make air travel accessible to everyone.
In 2001, during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the airline industry was in crisis, but Tony Fernandes found an opportunity, he bought AirAsia, a Malaysian government-owned airline for RM1 or USD 0.25 along with its RM40 million or USD 11 million debt. In less than two years, he was able to pay the debt, launched new routes, and offer promotional fares for as low as RM1.
After several years, Tony Fernandes aimed higher, he brought AirAsia to the key markets in Southeast Asia and made AirAsia an ASEAN airline.
Today, AirAsia is the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for 11 consecutive years, with over 165 destinations spanning 25 countries. It also has a fleet size of 272 planes, and more than 22,000 employees.
Kopiko (Indonesia)
An Indonesian product, Kopiko is truly the David in the battle of coffee. In 1982, PT Mayora Indah Tbk introduced to the market the coffee candy named Kopiko. It became a hit not only in Indonesia but also in other ASEAN countries, it was even seen being consumed by the astronauts in the International Space Station!
Following the success of the coffee candy, PT Mayora Indah Tbk, launched its line of instant coffee, the Kopiko Instant Coffee. Kopiko challenges other coffee giants not only in Indonesia but in other ASEAN countries like the Philippines. Kopiko believes that their main advantage is that they have control over every aspect of their coffee production and they also offered unique coffee mix specifically the creaminess.
Started as a coffee candy, Kopiko is now available on several variants such as Kopiko Brown Coffee – a mix of coffee, creamer, and brown sugar, Kopiko Blanca – a creamy coffee mix, Kopiko L.A Coffee – a low acid coffee mix, Kopiko Black 3 in One – a strong and rich coffee mix, and Kopiko 78°C – a ready-to-drink coffee latte.
BreadTalk (Singapore)
Who doesn’t love BreadTalk’s popular Flosss? It was the best-selling and most famous product of BreadTalk when it was first introduced to the public in 2000 and it sold more than 100 million pieces all over Asia.
This success was because of the founder, George Quek’s creativity. He opened his first bakery in Bugis Junction, Singapore with a very different presentation of products, BreadTalk was the first in Singapore to have an open kitchen concept for bakeries where customers can actually watch how the bread is being created and baked. BreadTalk also brings twists to their bread, they infuse local flavors and creative designs to their products.
After several years, BreadTalk becomes one of the fastest-rising brands not only in Singapore but in different parts of Asia as well.
Grab (Malaysia)
One of the most popular Southeast Asian brands, Anthony Tan came up with the idea of creating a taxi-booking mobile app because of the problematic taxi system in Malaysia, overcharging, and the safety of the commuters. He presented his idea when he was studying at Harvard University and it garnered several awards and funding. When he came back to Malaysia, he and his friends started the revolutionary app that changed the ride-hailing industry in Southeast Asia.
Today, Grab is not just a simple app for ride-hailing services, it is now a super app where it offers ride-hailing services, food and cargo delivery, hotel booking service, and payment services using GrabPay.
PTT (Thailand)
PTT, formerly known as the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, is one of ASEAN’s biggest corporations as it grows to different parts of the region. Established in 1978, PTT was created by the Thai government as a response to the world oil crisis in the 1970s.
In a short period of time, the company was able to find sources of oil and petroleum in Thailand and expanded its operations. PTT started exporting its excess fuel capacity to other countries in 1987. PTT is also the first to open a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Southeast Asia.
In early 2000, PTT increased its presence in the Southeast Asia market and other countries. Today, it is now present in the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.
Indeed, the world has its eye in our region, so watch out for more Southeast Asian brands to emerge and make waves in the regional and even the global scene.
As Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya, and Hooi Den Huan said in the book Think New ASEAN (2015), “Forget the world, think new ASEAN now!”
What other Southeast Asian brands do you think should be on the list? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.