Southeast Asian dishes take over Times Square in Grab intiaitive

Grab is once again bringing our beloved Southeast Asian dishes to a global level where dishes such as pho, chicken rice and nasi padang are splattered on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square to showcase 75 homegrown F&B merchants. 

In doing so, Grab claims that it hopes to give these small-to-medium businesses an opportunity to be recognised as vital representatives of their communities on an international stage. This is especially since thee merchant-partners typically don’t have the same marketing and advertising budget as larger players, and would not usually advertise outside their home countries, said Grab in statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

Among those featured are fruit store Prutasan ni Adan from the Philippines, Vietnam-based pho restaurant Pho Chao, Malaysia-based soy sauce chicken restaurant Nasi Ayam Kee Chup, HAAB bakery from Thailand and Singapore-based DIY sushi and salad chain Maki-San. 

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“When we first got the news that we’ll be featured on the Times Square billboard, we were jumping with joy and excitement. We never thought our small-time nasi ayam (chicken rice) restaurant could do so much,” said Nasi Ayam Kee Chup founders Mohd Fadli Mohd Rosli and Haliza Halim.  

“These campaigns act as a cost-effective media slot, boosting brand awareness and potentially driving new customer engagement,” added Janyatorn Binlapat, co-founder of bakery HAAB Thailand. 

Additionally, Grab is helping small businesses thrive by providing key resources and tools for every chapter of their growth once they join the platform. This includes access to Grab’s marketing tools, trend insights, training, business advice, and financing solutions which are designed to foster sustainable growth and success for MSMEs.

Beyond driving online sales, merchant-partners can use the app to incentivise customer visits to their offline locations, with features such as ‘Dine-Out’ deals and loyalty programmes. 

The merchant app also makes it easier to manage stores and restaurants via its Point of Sale (PoS) solution, for example, by enabling merchants to process digital payments via a QR code from consumers. 

Since its listing on the Nasdaq in 2021, Grab has been using the billboard space at Times Square to feature some of its merchant-partners who serve millions of consumers across Southeast Asia through the Grab app.

In November last year, Grab featured 53 homegrown F&B merchant-partners including Malaysia’s Village Park Restaurant, Thailand’s Thong Smith, and the Philippines’ Jollibee. 

The initiative came as Grab launched the ‘Traveller Homepage’ on its app to help travellers plan ahead when it comes to their trips. The page enables users to explore 33 of the top tourist cities in Southeast Asia within the Grab app as if they were already at the destination. Users can search for places of interest, explore the extensive selection of cuisines and restaurants, and save them to a list.

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