Posted on by Nathalie Tay
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Rice and Shine with Farhan next week…
13 Mar
If you think marketing is just about ads and promotions, Farhan Hafetz will make you think again.
A Malaysian CMO Award winner as a Marketing Trailblazer in FMCG, he has helped build brands like SAJI cooking oil, BABA’S spices and collaborated with Domino’s, BBC, Maybank, Huawei, Sunway Group, Volkswagen, Blackmores and more.
With extensive experiences across multiple industries, including brand and digital consultancy, Farhan is now Head of Brand Management & New Product Development at Jasmine Food Corporation.
Unknown to many out there, he once created a wedding portal!
We courted him with some interesting questions…
Rice is often seen as a basic commodity, so how do you elevate its status in a crowded market?
There are many types of rice grown and imported into Malaysia, from the most basic white rice up to more premium Basmathi varieties. Jasmine has always been a market leader when it comes to premium rice such as Fragrant, Basmathi, and Brown rice.
We were the first rice company to start advertising in mainstream media 30 years ago and continue to do so until today. We differentiate ourselves by serving niche markets with high quality goods, backed by money back guarantees.
Brand values like quality, sustainability, and cultural heritage are key in rice marketing….
Quality is a given for any product and consumers expect it especially when they pay a slight premium. For Jasmine, our latest packaging design highlights freshness from farm to table and uses recyclable plastic compositions.
As a legacy brand, we also pay homage to cultural heritage through sharing of unique traditional recipes and spearheading rice-related food festivals such as the Nasi Kandaq Fest and Road to UNESCO – Nasi Lemak events. This Ramadan, we launched Dapur Irama, which is a series of singing recipe videos posted daily on all major social platforms.
How do you position rice as a healthy choice while differentiating from the various types available?
We have a program called Healthy RiceStyle, where we go to public high schools and educate students on the importance of maintaining a balanced diet supported by healthy habits. We went to 100 schools in 2024 and will go to another 100 in 2025.
Aside from that, we have our range of healthy rice such as Basmathi, Brown, Red, and Black which we promote by partnering with healthcare providers. One example is our long-term partnership with Pusat Darah Negara for blood donation drives, where we reward donors with healthy rice packs.
Share how you’ve used packaging to connect with consumers in the journey from paddy to plate?
We are currently embarking on a brand refresh journey to create a consistent and cohesive look across all our products. This is to strengthen the Jasmine brand itself so that whichever type of rice consumers prefer, we hope they choose within our product portfolio.
The new packaging system highlights freshness from farm to table by having an image of a paddy field on top, with paddy stalks which flow down into wholesome bowl of cooked rice. We also put a lot of thought into how rice bags are typically stacked on shelves and created distinctive designs to maximize trade visibility.
How important is sustainability in your marketing strategy?
Sustainability is not just part of our marketing strategy; it is part of the company culture. We are continuously exploring new technologies to reduce carbon footprint, such as sourcing from suppliers that use renewable energy, deploying electric forklifts, moving to mono-material packaging, and so on. We’ve yet to communicate these initiatives on a large scale to consumers, as we want to avoid greenwashing.
Tell us about your RISE campaign….
RISE is not a campaign but a method to create impactful campaigns. It’s something I’ve implemented throughout my marketing career. RISE stands for Research, Insight, Strategy, and Execution. I will be sharing more next week at Advolution#2.
Farhan rises to the occasion next Thursday, March 20, at AdVolution#2.
