In categories built on routine and necessity, differentiation is rarely easy. Products like rice are deeply embedded in consumers’ everyday lives, often purchased out of habit, familiarity, or price sensitivity.
Yet for Vynce Lim, these very challenges became an opportunity to prove that even the most commoditised products can be transformed through sharp brand strategy, portfolio innovation, and cultural relevance.
A winner at the CMO Malaysia Awards 2025, Vynce most recently served as Group Head of Marketing at SW Food, where she oversaw a broad portfolio including brands such as Jati, ecoBrown’s, Brice, Nuuna, Jati Signature, and Songhe.
During her five-year tenure, she played a central role in repositioning SW Food from a traditional commodity-led business into a more modern food ecosystem, expanding beyond rice into snacks, instant noodles, and beverages while strengthening market leadership.
Now serving as Marketing Director – Global at Addiction Pet Foods, Vynce continues to bring her expertise in brand building and portfolio growth to an international stage.
We interviewed Vynce to learn how she successfully transformed legacy food brands, built emotional relevance in a staple category, and modernised rice marketing for new generations of consumers.
Differentiation comes from segmentation and value creation, not price.
At SW Food, we built a multi-tiered portfolio strategy to cater to different consumer needs and price points. This included Jati Signature Pusa Finest Series Basmathi for the premium segment, featuring carefully selected grains, three distinct variants, and elevated packaging. Meanwhile, Jati continued to serve as a trusted mass-market brand.
To address emerging health-conscious demand, ecoBrown’s was positioned around specialty grains such as brown rice, brown basmathi, black rice, red rice, and Riceberry. Songhe catered to fragrant rice preferences within the Chinese community, while Carnation was tailored toward taste profiles in the southern region.
Beyond rice, Vynce worked closely with the R&D team to drive product innovation and category expansion. This led to the successful launch of rice-based snacks under Brice, instant vermicelli and noodles under Nuuna, and beverages through ecoBrown’s PLUS.
These innovations helped SW Food remain relevant to younger consumers while repositioning the business between 2022 and 2025 into a more modern food ecosystem rather than a traditional commodity player. Within two years, the company also expanded into export markets including Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Australia, the Philippines, and China through online channels.
A key part of Jati’s transformation involved intentionally moving away from discount-led strategies into campaigns centred around value and meaning.
One standout initiative was the Beras Habis, Jati Supply – Win a Lifetime Rice campaign, launched during a sensitive period of local rice shortages and price adjustments. The campaign successfully captured public attention while reframing value from short-term savings into long-term household security.
Jati Anniversary Campaigns also played an important role in strengthening brand awareness and equity over time.
In addition, annual Ramadan roadshows and bazaar activations embedded the brand more deeply into cultural and community experiences, ensuring relevance during key consumer moments.
On the CSR front, the SeJati programme supported underprivileged communities and individuals with special needs, reinforcing the brand’s social commitment.
Together, these initiatives helped shift Jati from a transactional purchase brand into one associated with experience, purpose, and community connection.
For Vynce, emotional connection comes from relevance in everyday life.
Rice naturally sits at the centre of daily rituals, from family meals and caregiving to traditions shared across generations. SW Food anchored its storytelling around these human moments, positioning its brands as trusted household companions rather than simply packaged products.
This emotional connection was reinforced through lifestyle-driven initiatives such as the annual ecoBrown’s Walkathon, which has run for five consecutive years promoting healthier living among Malaysians.
To connect more strongly with younger consumers, ecoBrown’s Brice also collaborated with major Korean celebrities including Xiumin, Minnie, Hwang In-youp, and members of Treasure.
These partnerships created aspirational and highly engaging “money-can’t-buy” experiences that resonated strongly with younger audiences.
The results were significant. Within one year, Brice achieved approximately 1% market share in Malaysia’s snacks category, while Nuuna captured 2% market share in instant noodles within two years. During the same period, SW Food rose from No.3 in 2021 to become the No.1 player in Malaysia’s overall rice category for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025.
Cultural storytelling plays a critical role in building authenticity and trust, particularly in a category as closely tied to tradition as rice.
SW Food leveraged key cultural moments, especially festive seasons, to embed its brands more deeply into community traditions and shared experiences.
At the same time, the company challenged category norms by transforming what is traditionally seen as a conservative product into one that feels creative, engaging, and contemporary.
By balancing heritage with modern relevance through themes of health, lifestyle, and youth culture, brands such as Jati and ecoBrown’s remained rooted in tradition while staying forward-looking.
Ultimately, the transformation was about shifting rice from a price-driven traditional commodity into a lifestyle-led brand portfolio built on emotional connection, innovation, and relevance.
Through strategic segmentation, innovation, and culturally intelligent marketing, Vynce Lim has demonstrated that even the most familiar household staples can evolve into brands with stronger purpose, deeper emotional relevance, and long-term consumer loyalty.
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