Most of us would reach for a cup of hot beverage as well as a pack or two of Julie’s biscuits in the early evening. The iconic Julie’s packaging that features a little blond girl wearing a red hairband and blue overalls is well-known and her biscuits are loved by all ages. The company behind Julie’s Biscuits was born in 1985 in Alor Gajah, Malacca. Initially called Perfect Food Industries (PFI), the founder Su Chin Hock opened his factory with an oven, a wafer roll production line and 200 workers in 1981. Su is a visionary, who worked as an accountant and dabbled in the construction industry before deciding to produce biscuits. Growing up with 10 siblings, biscuits were a luxury snack for him. He decided to manufacture biscuits after realising that 95% of biscuits in the market were imported into the country. Su felt that Malaysians could do a great job in producing biscuits. After running his factory for a while, he set his sights on the global market. It was then that he decided to switch to a catchier, more memorable name and came up with Julie’s. This friendly name is hard to forget and in 1985, Julie’s was officially born.
From the get-go, Su was adamant about using only the best quality ingredients for Julie’s biscuits. For example, he decided not to use artificial colouring as it can make children hyperactive although being a cheap ingredient, it would have lowered production costs. This meant that Julie’s Biscuits would have to be sold at higher prices, a risk that Su was willing to take in order not to compromise on quality. Fortunately, consumers were still happy to buy Julie’s strawberry wafer sticks, known as Love Letters Strawberry, although the colour is less vibrant, and Julie’s all-natural Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. This gave Su the confidence to use only good-for-you ingredients and continue selling biscuits that he and his family enjoy eating too.
Going beyond borders
In 2014, well-known American company, The Hershey Company, which makes chocolate and other snacks, started looking for a business partner in Asia. They were impressed with the quality and taste of Julie’s biscuits, her clean and safe upgraded factories as well as her product range established overseas. The collaboration between Julie’s and The Hershey Company launched six variants of Julie’s Hershey cookies, which are sold in 10 ASEAN countries as well as Taiwan and Mongolia. Julie’s has grown in strength and now, her biscuits export to countries around the world. Martin Ang, director for domestic and international markets, says that the company has made it a top priority to promote their biscuits overseas. “It is not easy to manage exports to over 80 countries. Each country has its own culture, beliefs, and business practices. This makes it very challenging but also very interesting,” he says. “The most important thing is, we look to understand where Julie’s is in each country. This is when we identify every market and the challenges that they face” says Martin. Martin, who has been with Julie’s for the past 34 years, started as a storekeeper (after losing his job as building designer because of a recession) and eventually worked his way up the corporate ladder. To him, Julie’s stands for far more than a well-loved biscuit brand. As he explains, the company has values that go beyond profit-making.
“You can see this in how we treat our business partners. We want them to see that as a company, a lot of things are important to us. We care for our employees, for society and for our planet.” Julie’s provides work opportunities to people with disabilities, in line with their stand of caring for the vulnerable population. They are also immensely proud of their multicultural workforce although having workers that hail from different Asean countries can pose a challenge in building a strong culture. To address this, Martin says the company has tailored their training methods to support their employees. “For instance, we will have a Nepalese employee train our new Nepalese recruits. This helps to ensure that we are all one big family.” Julie’s international business partners are often invited to visit Malaysia to meet the team. “We invite the CEO or owner, their procurement team and other employees to visit us. People that come to visit can see the bigger story behind the brand,” says Martin. “In my job as director for domestic and international markets, I don’t just promote Julie’s, I also promote Malaysia. I want to bring Malaysia on to the world stage and show what we, as a country, have to offer. When international guests come to visit our factory, we proudly introduce them to our diverse, inclusive team and multicultural country.”
Exciting times ahead
Julie’s currently exports its products to over 80 countries as well as supplies more than 18,000 local outlets across the country. But it is poised to do
a lot more in the near future after having undergone a RM3 million global makeover to refresh her look. In her new logo, Julie sports short hair, a red hairband with a ribbon at the top, and blue overalls. She looks forward and upwards and embodies “a spirit of hope and confidence”. The rebrand aims to make biscuits young again and capture the hearts of the younger audience as biscuits are seen as snack of the older generation. Julie’s also want to be an aspirational brand, something that make consumers happy whenever they spot a packet of Julie’s biscuits. Her new logo aims to inspire hope and make consumers look forward to the future. Digitalisation is also an integral part of Julie’s future. The company has embraced automation and ecommerce in a big way; doubling down on their digital efforts and leveraging on digital to gain consumer insight and to bring the brand closer to consumers. As Martin says “You can’t keep doing things the conventional way.”
The rebranding exercise presented a monumental task for the entire company as Julie’s is revamping the look, feel and experience of her brand. The process of converting all her assets will be extensive as Julie’s serves many international markets and stakeholders. In line with the Su’s steadfast approach to upholding the quality of their products, the team spared no expense in going through consumer focus groups to see if the new designs for Julie will resonate with their target audience. Julie’s groups its range of biscuits under seven core pillars – Sandwich, Oat 25, Lemond, Crackers, Decadent, Love Letters and Assorted Biscuits. The new corporate identity guide reads “Each one is a mini family of biscuits that share unique design expressions, while still feeling part of the wider family. We want our consumers to find more of what they love more easily, more conveniently and at any time of day”. As the team at Julie’s like to say, “Look up, smile, put on your best energy, grab a pack of your favourite Julie’s biscuits and join her in her amazing adventure.”
