Metro

Monday April 30, 2012

An affair close to local hearts

By JEREMY TAN
north@thestar.com.my Photos by GARY CHEN


THERE is bound to be a Nestle product of some sort in most Malaysian households, with the myriad of brands and products under its wings often relied upon to fill tummies and nourish the body.

This was proven at the Nestle Nourishing Malaysia Showcase 2012, where thousands of visitors came to the Straits Quay Conven-tion Centre in Penang with half-empty stomachs but left satisfied after sampling a wide range of its latest offerings.

There was a long queue of people waiting to sample a new, improved formulation of the ageless favourite, MILO. Some also took the chance to snap photos with the replica of the first generation MILO van that was on display.

Among them were siblings Chen Kah Chun, 34, and Kah Wen, 24, who fondly remembered the all-green vehicles visiting their schools on sports days to dis- pense re-energising cups of the drink.

“There was also a promotion last year, where you could collect miniature models of those vans. I liked them very much,” Kah Chun said.

Fun, fun, fun: Youngsters playing games at the Nespray Milk section.

They visited the showcase to learn more about the Nestle brand they thought they were all too familiar with, but discovered otherwise.

“I never knew their history stretched back a hundred years. |I was also under the impression that Nestle was a Malaysian company, but now I know it is from Switzerland,” he said.

Another pair of siblings, Jessica, 37, and Joni Tan, 36, were seen sampling another new product, the Nescafe Doce Gusto coffee-making system.

“We were thinking of getting coffee machines for our homes, and this one seems quite easy and convenient to operate.

Besides the reasonable price, there’s a good a variety of flavours and they taste good too,” Joni said.

“We use a lot of Nestle products at home, like MILO and cereals. It’s a great event, the organiser should have it in Penang every year!” Jessica added.

Held over the weekend, it was the first time the showcase had come to the Pearl of the Orient, and aptly so, as it was exactly a 100 years ago here, that the company’s journey started.

Established as the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in 1912 in Bishop Street, Penang, it only had one product then, the Milkmaid milk, better known as Susu Cap Junjung.

The event’s seventh edition was billed as the biggest one yet, with setups that took visitors through various scenarios in everyday Malaysian life, from the classroom and playground to the kitchen and kopitiam.

In line with the company’s pro-mise of ‘Good Food, Good Life’, there were educational activities that taught visitors how to make healthier eating choices through food labels, as well as calculate the amount of sodium in their diets.

There were also live cooking demonstrations using Nestle pro-ducts, as well as martial arts cli-nics, rock band challenge and high energy dance performances to keep the crowd entertained.

Housewife Gwyent Tan, 34, who had her two kids, Ashley, six, and Gabriel Teow, 11, in tow, said they loved Nestle cereals like Koko Krunch and Honey Stars.

“I wanted them to enjoy the activities here, and they seem to be enjoying themselves trying out all the different products,” said Tan, as her little ones reached out for Mat Kool iced confections.

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