The Consummate | 21 May 2023
In this week’s edition of The Consummate, we share our POV on AI, our thesis on the Phillipines’ coffee market, and much more.
Welcome to The Consummate! We bring our points of view, updates, news, and curated content to the consumer community in India and Southeast Asia.
In this week’s edition of The Consummate, we share our POV on AI, our thesis on the Phillipines’ coffee market, and much more.
Let’s Dive In!
In the Spotlight ✨
Changing the Game for Brands - Generative AI's Impact on Marketing
In the ever-evolving world of marketing, staying ahead of the game is crucial. Generative AI frees up time and resources, allowing marketers to focus on bigger, more strategic efforts. However, with the countless AI tools sprouting up and their continuous developments, the real game changer in terms of which tools will really become widely adopted are the ones which integrate into the very ecosystems people and marketers are already using.
Why We Invested in Pickup Coffee: To build the Philippines' leading new-age coffee brand
We are thrilled to announce our follow-on investment in Pickup Coffee, an insurgent brand at the forefront of defining the next generation of coffee in the Philippines. Founded in 2022 by Diego Lorenzo, Pickup provides high-quality coffee at disruptively low price points for all Filipinos. Its goal is to be the Philippines' premier "grab-and-go," digitally native coffee brand spearheading a new retail model experience for its customers.
Although the Philippines represents Southeast Asia's largest coffee market with the region's highest per capita coffee consumption at 3.6kg per capita (vs Vietnam: 2.0kg per capita, Indonesia: 1.0kg per capita), it was flooded with two options: a lower-end mass market comprised of local mom-and-pop stores, and a higher-end premium market that is unaffordable to the majority of Filipinos.
Pickup beverages use only Single Origin Arabica beans, and yet its offerings are priced at a 50% discount to premium players such as Starbucks. Prices start at PHP 50 (USD 0.90) and nothing goes above PHP 100 (USD 1.80). Pickup also has a network of cloud stores and its own fully integrated mobile platform that services the greater Filipino population that wants on-demand, online deliveries straight to their doorstep.
Currently Consuming ☕️
How to Become Insanely Well-Connected
In this piece, Chris Fralic unpacks the strategies that have earned him the reputation of being a world-class super-connector with rarefied expertise — including how to become a genuine and highly-connective networker, how to propel your career forward with each interaction (while doing the same for others), do’s and don’ts for getting responses from influencers in your industry, and how to regularly measure your performance in this area so it becomes a competitive advantage.
Healthy Repeat Purchases, Clear Demographic Targets And Superfans: What Draws VC Investors To Emerging Beauty Brands Today
Distribution strategy is paramount. “You’re not just competing against everyone else on paid spend on Facebook and Instagram,” said Walsh. “It’s not so much on what it is you’re selling, it’s who are you selling it to? Have you identified a customer, a consumer base that is discreet, identifiable that you can target and go after that has an unmet need and then how you’re selling it, is there something in your commercial strategy and operation that gives you that insight track? Can you acquire customers cheaper? Can you convert them faster versus everybody else trying to do the same thing?”
Similarly, too many people when they start and launch these businesses, forget about the importance of margin. It does not work in consumer brands. Where you deplete your margins or dilute your brand is a very short-term gain that will ultimately fail.
How to build a cult-like brand | Laura Modi (Bobbie)
Keeping Up With the DSGCP Family 🤝
Amazon invests Rs 110 crore in our portfolio company, men’s innerwear brand XYXX. We’re proud to partner Yogesh & team in this journey!
In an exclusive interview with Business Today, Indian wine pioneer Rajeev Samant talks about the increasing EBITDA margins of Sula Vineyards.
DSGCP portfolio company, Epigamia turns to profit. CEO and co-founder Rohan Mirchandani speaks to Just Food.
DSG Consumer Partners portfolio company SaladStop Group launched its CPG brand GoodFoodPeople in Singapore at Little Farms. It will also be available at Cold Storage Singapore's Fresh from June 2023.
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