Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2021, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS: In endeavour to promote Malaysia’s products globally during this pandemic, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the Commercial Section of the Embassy of Malaysia in the Netherlands, had successfully conducted an online promotion programme, “Flavours of Malaysia” in collaboration with Wah Nam Hong (WNH), one of the leading Asian supermarkets in the Netherlands. The one-month programme, which kicked off on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2021, aimed to increase market awareness about Malaysian food and beverages (F&B) and to strengthen Malaysia’s brand presence in the local F&B segment.

In the main landing page of Wah Nam Hong’s web-shop, various Malaysian brands were featured ranging from paste & sauces, snacks, biscuits, coffee mix, curry spices, instant noodles to ready to eat meals. Pre-recorded cooking demonstrations featuring Malaysian authentic cuisines such as char kway teow, rendang, chicken curry and Malaysian grilled fish were also made available online. In an effort to make home cooking simple and easy as well to drive customers interest on value-for-money purchases, a special promotion on ‘Malaysian Food Boxes’ were made available in the website whereby consumers may purchase pre-selected combined food ingredients such as paste, spices, noodles and sauces in a combo package.

Aside from that, WNH also organised 2 days live-cooking demonstrations within two consecutive weekends in their main outlet in Westfield Mall of the Netherlands to allow Dutch consumers to experience Malaysia’s F&B. To complement this promotional effort, MATRADE had also engaged a famous Youtuber Chef in the Netherlands to share videos of a few culinary tips on Malaysian recipes. His videos created an internet sensation for food lovers and this has helped hyping traffic purchases in WNH stores.  

According to Trade Commissioner of MATRADE Rotterdam, Emeliana Zainol, “With the current pandemic situation, sales via online platform have been growing at a double-digit rate. It is important to reach out consumers in the Netherlands via online platform, as more than 80% of Dutch consumers used e-commerce to purchase goods last year, especially during the pandemic. The situation has also created a cooking-at-home trend, as eating at home has become a norm and perceived to be a healthier choice”.

She added “Increasing consumer awareness on nutrition to boost immune system as people look for safer way to improve general health and living has created a demand for functional food and organic food, not only in the Netherlands, but in Europe at large. Therefore, Malaysian F&B exporters are also encouraged to focus on these emerging food trends”.

In 2020, The Netherlands remained as Malaysia’s second largest trading partner in Europe, with total trade amounted to RM27.85 billion. Our exports to the Netherlands grew by 28.4% in the first nine months of 2021 despite the pandemic that affected world trade globally. Moving forward, MATRADE will continue to embark on various promotional activities, enriching Malaysian companies’ exports in the global market.