04/11/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | NOV 4, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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Malaysia’s WonderBrew wins big on global stage

CAB Cakaran set to kick-start Indonesia operations in tie-up with Salim Group PETALING JAYA: After an eight year delay, CAB Cakaran Corporation Bhd, one of Malaysia’s largest food producers, is finally kick-starting its Indonesian operations with partner Salim Group, Indonesia’s biggest conglomerate, and this will be implemented by the second quarter of 2026. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, CAB Cakaran said that after several years of delay in implementation due to the Covid 19 pandemic as well as awaiting for clear policy guidelines following the change in government in Indonesia, the joint venture (JV) partners have agreed to adopt a new five-year business plan, of which phase one involves an investment of US$10 million (RM42 million) for the setting up of a food processing plant, excluding cost of land and factory building, which will be leased. The five-year business plan will cover the implementation of the fully integrated poultry business in Indonesia. For context, Cabindo Poultry Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CAB Cakaran, entered into a joint venture agreement with PT Ternak Ayam Terpadu Indonesia (TAT) to establish several joint venture companies on Nov 1, 2017. TAT is a unit of Salim Group. The objective of the joint venture is to combine the resources and expertise of both parties to produce halal poultry products for the Indonesian consumer market. With the joint venture, CAB has both a local partner in Indonesia, and a ready customer base for its products. Within the food industry, Salim’s assets include Indomaret, Indonesia’s largest convenience store chain with 22,400 outlets, Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world’s largest instant noodle producer, and Bogasari, Indonesia’s biggest flour miller. It does not have poultry operations. Furthermore, the opportunity in Indonesia is huge by virtue of the huge Indonesian population and the present low chicken consumption per capita there. Besides the food industry, Salim Group is also engaged in businesses spanning various industries, including finance, retail, telecommunications, automotive and real estate. It owns four public-listed companies in Indonesia, France and Hong Kong. Salim Group owns 15.2% equity interest in CAB through Plant Wealth Holdings Ltd.

PETALING JAYA: WonderBrew, Malaysia’s homegrown brand of kombucha (fermented tea), made history on the global stage by clinching six prestigious titles at the World Kombucha Awards 2025, held last week in Barcelona, Spain. In its first-ever international competition, WonderBrew emerged as one of the biggest winners at this year’s event, clinching one gold, four silvers and one bronze, across both taste and design categories. The feat marks the first time a Malaysian brand has won at the World Kombucha Awards and the first time an Asian brand has secured six titles in a single award year. The winning entries are: One Gold (Taste) for Passionfruit Mint Kombucha (also WonderBrew’s best-selling kombucha of all time); Three Silvers (Taste) for Nihon Green Tea Kombucha, Mango Jasmine Kombucha and Raspberry Lemon Jun Tea; One Silver (Design) for Nihon Green Tea (World’s Best Bottle Design Category); and, One Bronze (Taste) for Pink Guava Jun Tea The World Kombucha Awards (WKA), now in its third year, is a globally recognised competition organised in collaboration with Kombucha Brewers International (KBI). It celebrates excellence in the fast-growing kombucha industry by honouring brewers for both quality and creativity. This year’s edition was its most competitive yet, featuring 360 entries from 39 countries competing for top honours in 22 distinct categories, up from 250 entries in 2024. Each winning kombucha underwent rigorous assessment by a panel of six accredited judges over a two-day judging session with blind tasting sessions. WonderBrew’s success stands as a remarkable achievement, not just for the brand but also for Malaysia’s presence in the global functional beverage scene. “We started with a small dream of making kombucha accessible to every Malaysian. Winning these awards among the world’s best brewers is an incredible milestone, and we’re proud to fly the Malaysian flag high in Barcelona,” said WonderBrew co-founder and CEO, Joseph Poh Wen Xian. “This recognition proves that local innovation and passion can compete with the world’s best.” Poh and co-founder Loke Boon Eng started the brand on a small scale in 2018 and its offering of naturally-bubbly fermented tea with local flavours has won over thousands of health-conscious consumers. Regional beverage powerhouse Loob Holding Sdn Bhd later took a strategic stake in

o First and only Asian brand to clinch half a dozen medals – a gold, four silvers and a bronze – at World Kombucha Awards 2025 in Barcelona

Poh (left) and Loke stand proudly behind the Jalur Gemilang and WonderBrew’s six awards.

the business. Commending WonderBrew for this historic win, founder and CEO of Loob Holding, Bryan Loo said: “This achievement reflects the strength of Malaysia’s homegrown innovation and the growing global demand for functional wellness beverages. It validates our long-term vision to position WonderBrew as a regional leader in healthy, sustainable drinks while proving that Malaysian brands can compete successfully on the world stage.” WonderBrew has grown to become Malaysia’s leading kombucha producer, with more than 2,000 retail touchpoints across supermarkets, convenience stores, cafés, hotels,

and restaurants nationwide. The brand prides itself on sourcing locally and partnering with Malaysian farmers to recycle production waste. The brand is well-positioned to tap into the rising global demand for functional and fermented beverages. Moving forward, WonderBrew plans to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia and introduce more lifestyle wellness drinks. Its entries featuring Jun Tea (a fermented green tea kombucha with honey), won two of its six medals proving this category has gained global recognition and endorsing WonderBrew’s excellence in this innovation. capabilities with our specialised farming expertise, we have successfully created a breakthrough in functional nutrition. This product represents a new chapter for Selasih Aman, demonstrating how traditional farming can be innovatively transformed to deliver enhanced health benefits directly to consumers,” he said. Complementing the launch of the Lingzhi Egg, DXN has also introduced its DXN Butter Cookies through a collaboration with Global Premium Resources Sdn Bhd (GPR). GPR is a Malaysian confectionery manu facturer with more than 20 years of experience producing a wide range of products for both local and international markets. Incorporated in 2005, GPR has established a strong export presence across over 38 countries and regions, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, South

DXN partners Selasih Aman to introduce Lingzhi-based eggs, cookies PETALING JAYA: DXN Holdings Bhd, a manufacturer of nutraceutical products, has partnered with Selasih Aman Sdn Bhd, (SASB) a layer farming enterprise, to launch the DXN Lingzhi Egg. operations in Kalumpang, Selangor. The expertise is complemented by an extensive distribution network spanning wholesalers, retail outlets and the hospitality sector. Korea, the United States and the Middle East. The partnership further diversifies DXN’s portfolio of functional foods, offering consumers more choices crafted with the same dedication to quality and innovation.

DXN founder and executive chairman Datuk Lim Siow Jin said the collaboration combines their expertise in nutraceutical research and formulation with SASB’s specialised layer farming operations. “This launch is a testament to our continual product innovation and our vertically integrated supply chain, an approach that ensures we can deliver diverse, high-quality offerings,” he said in a statement. Incorporated in 2005 and headed by Tan Sri Razali Abdul Rahman, the wholly Bumiputera owned company brings nearly two decades of specialised layer farming experience from its

The result of the partnership is a unique functional food that combines DXN’s research and formulation expertise in Ganoderma (Lingzhi) with SASB’s farming operations. The DXN Lingzhi Egg is produced from layer chickens fed a specially formulated diet enriched with Ganoderma, a renowned “King of Herbs” in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. SASB CEO Brian Lim Jit Shen said the partnership with DXN marks a significant evolution in sustainable and value-added agriculture. “By integrating DXN’s advanced research

These launches follow closely on the heels of DXN’s expansion into upstream operations, with the establishment of its coffee plantation and processing plant in Brazil. Together, these initiatives reflect DXN’s strategic focus on strengthening control over its value chain, from cultivation and ingredient development to product innovation, to deliver high-quality, functional foods to global consumers. These developments underscore the company’s commitment to sustainable growth and its vision to make holistic wellness an integral part of everyday life.