URC Remains on Top for Filipino Consumers

Looks like the classic products from Universal Robina Corporation are getting the nod of Filipino consumers especially in fast moving consumer goods available in the market. This includes Great Taste coffee, placing 9th in FMCG according to Kantar's Brand Footprint study which was done in 2022. They have placed 4th most chosen one in 2021, a huge improvement also happened from being in 15th in FMCG ranking.

Kantar employs consumer reach points (CRP) which measurement depends on shoppers buying habits and what brand it is. In it Great Taste performed well with 424 Million CRP this year compared to 283 Million last year. 75.8 percent is big, and being chosen for over 20 times per annum is a remarkable number.

If you've been out in groceries like me, you've probably seen their new products too as part of their expansion. The GT Supreme line includes the Toffee Hazelnut and the Black Forest Latte (which I love!).

Aside from that, cult loved snack Piattos and C2 also got include in the top 20 food brands in the Philippines. The chip got 7th place with a whopping 183 Million CRP's while the tea drink got 16th place from last year's 19th place. This also got sold with 74 Million CRP's, which is quite a significant amount (but we're not surprised because it's that good!). This feat has been acknowledged by Pearl Benjamin who's a Senior Account Manager for Kantar Worldpanel. URC continues to also grow in the ASEAN region, and is also releasing products for consumers.

Congratulations URC! You're awesome!

ASEAN Foundation Partners Up with Huawei to Address Talent Gap in the Region

It was a momentous occasion over at the Asia Pacific Innovation Day – Digital Talent Summit 2021 as the ASEAN Foundation signed a pact with tech giant Huawei to address the digital talent gap in the region.

It was well attended by decision makers, researchers and digital professionals in the summit that wants to put importance in building a sustainable system to take care of IT professionals, talents in this part of the world. Government representatives and stakeholders like Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Chair of the ASEAN Digital Senior Official Meeting H.E. Dato’ Sri Mohammad Mentek, the Philippine Ambassador to China H.E. Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana was present during the event and gave keynote speech in support of these efforts. As you may know, ASEAN ICT professinals have to get their needs addressed and that accounts for a strong foundation that includes education, skills transfer and adapting to digital change in the ASEAN. This is one of the visions listed in the ASEAN Masterplan for 2025 that warrants to improve participation in digital societies. They also have lauded Huawei for entering joint venture agreements and collaborations with domestic agencies.

Jeffery Liu the President of Huawei Asia Pacific also stated that Huawei and their partners have will be investing $50 million in 5 years to develop over 500,000 digital talents in the Asia Pacific region. An MOU was also signed between two parties to strengthen ties between ASEAN Foundation and the Huawei ASEAN Academy. In it, they commit to scale up seeds for the future, a Huawei global CSR initiative that provides world class training for young ICT practitioners and students in participating countries. This includes the countries of the ASEAN region and was well accepted in the event.

The agreement was also witnessed by Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation Dr. Yang Mee Eng and the Vice President of Huawei Indonesia Albert Yang. Also in the privy was Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN Elizabeth Te, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN H.E. Amb. Yeap Samnang, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Deputy Permanent Representative of Republic of Singapore to ASEAN Tham Borg Tsien and Huawei's very own Asia Pacific Vice President Jay Chen.

Huawei also promised ASEAN that it will bring in industry partners from private sector so that they too can contribute to youth development efforts in the ASEAN region.

Elite Games Expo at SM Annex

I have been an avid fan of mobile games since way back when. Mind you I used to join contests before when consoles were non existent and there was a multitude of arcade boxes in malls across the country. That to me felt like real gaming, but indeed times have changed. Games have gone ultimately handy, faster, better, and you don’t even have to be present... you can be anywhere in the world and enjoy it wherever and whenever you are.

I learned about the Elite Games Expo a couple days ago when one of my favorite games from Fincon, Hello Hero Epic Battle set an open invitation to all guardians to meet at the SM City North Edsa Annex. It was so much fun to see gamers, developers, and media people experience the games they've released first hand. I also saw some of the active people who plays the same game as I do, in a way I got to know the person behind the names while I stayed incognito. I did sign up my IGN because they were giving away diamonds to players who would do a few things on their facebook page and sign up at the event as well. It's a good day to get to know the people who decide on things for promoting it on ASEAN soil.

EGI Managing Director RA Reyes was flanked by GCA Director Richard Moon at the small luncheon and they said “We are working with schools and institutions now and we want to make sure we make relationships with them. Game, sound design, developers and graphic designers, it’s a very small chunk to what we actually want to happen. People in the academe have not been exposed to the industry. Fincon is working on creating content specifically for the Philippines and aside from this, they have done the Influencer party a couple of days ago which means they are eager to connect with the community. Pretty soon there will be more companies that will be at the southeast asian market which is huge. We might see some of them on E-Sports, currently the industry are divided as far as policies and I don’t have a personal opinion about it but we have to talk to parties and meet them half way (with the GAB ruling).”

Here's the video interview I did with some online and gaming media that afternoon.

So for those who love the games and want to experience the other titles they are promoting, they have individual Facebook pages dedicated to each game. Download it off the Google Play store and the App Store first and see if the gameplay fits you, like what Hello Hero actually fits me for years now.

As mentioned earlier by their executives, they will be having different legs across Southeast Asia and it will happen very soon. The updates will be seen on their channels so make sure you follow them if you haven't yet!

KUMAGCOW

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