Kimball squeezes in on McDonald’s Sos Cili Mekdi bottle moment

Sauce brand Kimball appears to have taken a cheeky swipe at McDonald's Malaysia's newly bottled Sos Cili Mekdi, parodying the fast-food chain's promotional poster with a few pointed tweaks.

In a post on its Malaysian Instagram account, Kimball wrote “Dulu, kini dan selamanya, akan tetap di dalam hatimu dan juga di dalam botol” (“In the past, now, and forever, it will remain in your heart, and also in a bottle”).

The visual closely mirrors McDonald's Malaysia's original post, but swaps the fast-food chain's "Baharu" ("New") label for "OG". Kimball also plays on the launch messaging, with its own poster stating "Dulu dalam botol, kini dalam botol" ("Was in a bottle, still in a bottle"), a nod to the fact that its chilli sauce was already available in a bottle.

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The brands also appear to be competing on packet count. While McDonald's highlights that its bottle contains 44 packets of Sos Cili Mekdi, Kimball claims its bottle holds 56 packets.

For Kimball, the bottle is familiar ground. The brand’s chilli sauce is already sold in bottles, such as a 340g one, which retailers list at around RM4.50. In its parodic post, Kimball cheekily added added, “Tambah RM10 untuk beli karipap atau kentang lalu dicicah bersama sos” (“Add RM10 to purchase curry puffs or potatoes, served with a dipping sauce”). 

At the time of writing, Kimball's post had garnered 440 likes and 38 comments, more engagement than the brand typically receives on its posts.

"It was completely reactive. The team identified the moment and quickly developed a response. We regularly monitor trends and conversations for Kimball to join in and build buzz," a representative from Kimball told A+M.

They shared that the idea came from the Fishermen Integrated team and was quickly proposed to the Kimball marketing team, who supported it. From conception to publishing the content, it took less than a day.

"Kimball is open to pushing boundaries while staying true to its playful brand personality," they said. "We wanted to remind Malaysians that Kimball is a homegrown brand that has been part of their kitchens since 1974. The post was a playful way to reinforce Kimball’s familiar local flavours, everyday accessibility, and value."

McDonald's Malaysia revealed its bottled chilli sauce on 21 October at Lot 10 in Bukit Bintang, where it gave away 500 bottles in exchange for a sauce packet, limited to one bottle per person. Malaysia is the first McDonald's market globally to offer the sauce in a bottle. 

Chin Mei Lee, chief marketing officer of McDonald’s Malaysia, told A+M that the launch was shaped by fans who had long asked for a bottled version of Sos Cili Mekdi, with the brand using a social-first approach to build curiosity and celebrate their love for the sauce.

Chin also described the bottle as the “natural next step” after seeing how Malaysians had folded the sauce into their everyday routines, and as a way of saying “we hear you” to those fans. 

The exchange between Kimball Malaysia and McDonald’s Malaysia shows how food and beverage brands in the country are using social media to take each other on. 100PLUS recently used the same blueprint to take a cheeky swipe at Spritzer’s new isotonic water, calling itself the OG as well.

Industry experts previously told A+M that such exchanges work when brands stay true to their voice and don’t punch down. 

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