M’sian halal food products to hit 180 Tesco stores in UK

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KUCHING: Five small and medium enterprise (SME) suppliers from Malaysia are preparing to ship their halal food products worth some RM600,000 to the UK to be sold at 180 Tesco Plc (Tesco) stores there beginning January 11.

WIDER MARKET: Photo shows one of many Tesco stores in the UK. — Reuters photo

WIDER MARKET: Photo shows one of many Tesco stores in the UK. — Reuters photo

In a press release yesterday, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Tesco Malaysia) said the move are seen as a part of its efforts to bring Malaysian products to the world market.

The suppliers are Brahim’s ready-to-use chicken curry, ‘rendang’ and satay sauces supplier Dewina Food Industries Sdn Bhd, ready-to-eat fried rice producer Sal’s Food Industries Sdn Bhd, instant noodles manufacturer Vit Makanan (KL) Sdn Bhd, as well as chili and garlic-chili sauce maker Kampong Koh Sauce (M) Sdn Bhd.

“This is the first group of SMEs that Tesco Malaysia is introducing to the British market, and there will many more. We will continue to help Malaysian SMEs meet global standards and produce consistent and quality products for our consumers,” said Tesco’s chief executive officer Chris Bush, adding that all the products by the five suppliers have passed the strict ‘British Retailers Consortium’ standards. Tesco is one of the United Kingdom’s leading retailers.

“Local suppliers and SMEs are important to Tesco because their range and offer is unique and different from the big multinational suppliers. Also, locally produced products are of very high quality and need to be promoted to gain wider awareness and acceptance by the public,” said Bush.

The export of halal food products by these suppliers to Tesco UK is part of Tesco Malaysia’s programme to promote Malaysian exports to the British market, resulting from a strong working relationship with the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism as well as other government agencies.

Bush said that there was a huge market for halal products and with the world Muslim population reaching more than 1.6 billion, producers of halal products would have a secure consumer base.

“In the UK, there are about 2.4 million Muslim consumers who require food recognised as halal,” he added.

Last March, Tesco Malaysia together with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, organised a ‘Buy Malaysian Product’ exposition at Tesco Melaka to introduce consumers to the many varieties of quality local products and help increase demand for locally-made goods.

Tesco Malaysia has also been working with SME Corporation Malaysia and its predecessor Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC) to ensure that local suppliers meet global market requirements.

In August last year, Tesco Malaysia also played a major role in organising the Tesco-SMIDEC SME Suppliers Conference 2009, of which it was the fifth that it had organised in partnership with government agencies.

The conference was aimed at helping SMEs understand the fundamentals of trading and listing in Tesco stores, ensuring the success of their products after being listed in Tesco, as well as informing the SMEs of ongoing support that is available in terms of capacity building and financial assistance.

Additionally, Tesco Malaysia has responded and worked with communities including non-governmental agencies such as the National Cancer Council (MAKNA) to raise more than RM350, 000 for the Tesco-MAKNA Cancer Research Fund For Life.

As part of its global commitment towards tackling the climate change agenda around energy saving initiatives, Tesco Malaysia launched Green Clubcard Points as an incentive for customers who shop with their own bags, as well as introducing degradable carrier bags, promoting positive behaviour among staff though ‘Energy League’ inter-stores competition and setting up two recycling centres to facilitate customers to do their part for the environment. Tesco Malaysia’s value focuses on creating value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty.

Tesco Malaysia operates 31 stores in two formats, Tesco Hypermarkets and Tesco Extra. Tesco Hypermarket offers customers a complete one-stop shopping from fresh food to apparel with more than 60,000 lines of products. Tesco Extra serves the needs of small businesses, families and individuals all under one roof by providing a comprehensive range of products and services including bigger pack sizes, special trolleys and checkouts as well as a dedicated business development team to support small business owners with their orders.