Prepared by Nielson & AlphaBeta.
While ASEAN has been enjoying economic recognition in recent years, many businesses approach the region as a single entity and surprisingly, little is known about the many cities and regions that make up the archipelago. The diversity of its 625 million people represents a multitude of ethnicities, languages and religion spread across 10 coalition nations – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Such a complex landscape calls for a granular approach to understanding market opportunities in ASEAN. Moving beyond national averages to understand regional differences is crucial. Focus should be placed on establishing granular strategies targeting specific customer segments and regions. In some cases, it may make more sense to prioritize middleweight regions above countries. These and other insights were highlighted in a report by AlphaBeta and Nielsen, entitled Rethinking ASEAN, which dispels common myths about the consumer and marketplace dynamics within the region to reveal the real ASEAN consumer landscape, and forecasts the hotspots for growth out to 2030. The analysis looks into the current and future potential consumer demand for over 700 cities and regions within the seven largest economies of ASEAN and covers 10 of the most popular product categories: chocolate, instant noodles, carbonated soft drink, beer, cigarettes, shampoo, laundry detergent, baby diapers, facial moisturizer, and vitamins. The analysis is fuelled by a forecasting tool called ASEAN Consumer Demand Forecaster.
