Case 2 ‘Tap the mass affluent, Southeast Asia’s new consumer mega market’ December 5, 2018 CONSUMER companies targeting Southeast Asia would do well to zero in on the region’s mass affluent, a segment of some 57 million people that is growing faster than the middle class. A new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report finds that, because of the region’s rapidly developing economies, tens of millions of people from the middle class are moving up fast into the ranks of the mass affluent — an income segment that controls up to 40% of the region’s household wealth despite comprising only 10% of its population. BCG projects that by 2030, the ranks of the mass affluent will reach 136 million, or 21% of the population, replacing the middle class as drivers of growth and creating vast opportunities for consumer product companies. "I think the mass affluent is a key segment for more consumer companies to think about, whether they are involved in food and beverage (F&B), banking, retail, luxury, consumer healthcare or accessories," Aparna Bharadwaj,