With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia due to the delta variant, the government took decisive steps by implementing Emergency PPKM. This makes a lot of people even more worried about the current condition. Many people are desperately trying to find a cure, or at least, prevention against the virus. A recent rumor stated that Bear Brand milk could boost a person’s immune system to prevent Covid-19 infection. Naturally, this triggers panic buying among Indonesian people. This milk suddenly went viral and there are several videos on social media showing people fighting over Bear Brand milk. As reported by detiknews [1], due to the high demand, in several e-commerce stores, the price of Bear Brand milk is mostly sold around Rp12.500 - Rp17.000 per can. Whereas the normal price is under Rp10.000 per can. Well, let's take a look at Bear Brand's sales growth.

After the rumors spread and emergency PPKM was implemented, our research shows that Bear Brand sales in minimarkets grew by 277% compared to June when there was no PPKM. Then, how about the growth of other liquid milk products? and are there any changes in consumer spending behavior since PPKM was implemented?

Our data shows that not only Bear Brand milk experienced significant sales growth when the emergency PPKM was implemented in July, several other liquid milk brands also experienced positive growth in minimarkets. Even our data shows that Diamond milk has higher growth than Bear Brand milk.

Besides liquid milk, there are several other categories that also grew positively in July, especially for products that are believed could increase a person's immune system from within, such as honey and vitamins. And that brings us to the conclusion that right now people are focusing on preventing the spread of the virus by consuming products that are nutritious, healthy, and can increase their antibodies from within. 

We hope these insights have been helpful for you, and if you want to know more about your customers and their behaviors during the pandemic, feel free to have a discussion with us.

Source :

[1] Jadi Rebutan, Harga 'Susu Beruang' di Toko Online Masih Melambung. (2021, Jul 09).https://finance.detik.com/berita-ekonomi-bisnis/d-5636925/jadi-rebutan-harga-susu-beruang-di-toko-online-masih-melambung?_ga=2.61739365.871087363.1626669809-335523429.1620620547 , accessed on 19 July 2021.