Full steam ahead: UAE dairy firm Koita announces online and offline expansion in Singapore

Distributed by Ramanico Delights, Koita’s Italian organic dairy milk, plant-based beverages as well as lactose-free dairy milk was recently introduced into supermarket chain Cold Storage. Products are also listed into another major supermarket chain NTUC.

Online, Koita’s products are available on several e-commerce sites including Lazada, NTUC online, Shopee as well as Ramanico Delights’ online store. The firm is now in the process of listing on Amazon Grocery in Singapore.

Koita launched its products in Singapore last August.

According to Ramanico Delights’ director, Nand Ramchandani, sales in the first six months of 2021 have increased 300%, when compared to the previous six months and Koita sold about 20,000 units in May and June 2021. He expects sales to continue to grow as the brand gains traction.

Online strategy​

Currently, online channels account for 70% of its sales.

Ali Husain, Koita’s business development manager, said: “When we first entered Singapore, the pandemic was imminent and therefore it made sense for us to focus initially on the online platforms​.”

It expects to be listed on Amazon Grocery in Singapore in a few weeks, and is considering creating a Koita website with an online store for the Singapore market later this year, similar to its UAE and US markets.

Koita is currently available on Lazada and Shopee in Singapore, Philippines, and Vietnam.

“We are also selling via Amazon in the UAE and US and we expect to be listed in Amazon Grocery in Singapore before the end of 2021,​

Our digital strategy focuses on partnering with these online platforms to promote the brand and leverage our relationship across multiple markets​,” said Nishita Shah, Koita’s global marketing manager.

“We’re currently working with mom influencers in Singapore as well as mom groups to promote our 200ml snack packs ideal for kids across the organic dairy,  lactose free and plant based milk options​.”

Offline strategy​

The firm is also focused on expanding its offline presence, starting with promotions in Cold Storage as part of its launch.

Nand is hopeful in transforming Koita into a household name with distribution across the city-state.

It is currently in talks with a couple of chains such as Hao Mart and U Stars, which have bigger presence in the country’s heartlands.

In Singapore, its best-sellers are the organic whole milk, strawberry whole milk, almond milk and also soy for coffee.

Asian markets​

Besides Singapore, Koita is also eyeing the South Korea market, although itis facing some roadblocks.

“There are certain compliance roadblocks that we had to tackle. For instance in Korea, milk cannot be formulated with vitamins. We are working on this with our distribution partner to create a special SKU for Korea, and its packaging will also be in the local language so that it is fully compliant with the regulations​,” Ali explained.

“There are certain compliance roadblocks that we had to tackle. For instance in Korea, milk cannot be formulated with vitamins. We are working with our distribution partner to create a special SKU for Korea with packaging to be in the local language so that it is fully compliant with the regulations​,” Ali explained.

Koita’s organic dairy milk is enriched with vitamins A and D.

The company hopes to ship the first products to Korea by Q4 2021.

In addition, the company is also eyeing distribution into South East Asia and Hong Kong.

“Close to 90% of the population in South East Asia are thought to have trouble digesting lactose. It is not a new phenomenon, the difference is, similar to the recent trends in the Middle East, the younger generation (millennials and GenZ-ers) are more aware of their bodies, and how they react to certain foods and therefore more people are discovering that they are lactose intolerant​,” according to Shah.

“We want to be part of this education process as we are perfectly positioned to offer a large range of great tasting lactose-free and plant based milks to a lactose intolerant populatio​n.”

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