The company has spent Bt800 million building a bottling factory and opening distribution offices around the country. By targeting low-income consumers, the maker of Aje Big Cola hopes to pour up sales of Bt400 million during the rest of the year and snare a 5-per-cent share of the market by 2008.

As may other wannabe cola-makers have found in markets around the world, locking horns with the two mainstays is not easy, but the company has proved it can compete. It has a 20-per-cent share of the Bt200-million South American cola market, behind the two mainstays.

Rungnikorn Sumongkol, Aje Thai's general manager, said the company was wholly owned by AjeGroup, a privately owned outfit founded in 1989 in Ayacucho, Peru. In 2001, the company decided to expand beyond the Andes by venturing into markets in Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Now, the company has decided to push into the Asia-Pacific region and Thailand is the first country where it has set up shop. It chose the Kingdom because of its growing economy and friendliness to new businesses, he said. It started Aje Thai with Bt40 million in registered capital.

Rungnikorn said that the local market holds great potential. Annual per-capita cola consumption in Thailand is 68 litres, compared with 150 litres a year in South America.

Aje Thai's plant has a production capacity of 620 million litres a year. Half of its production will be the cola and the rest, the company's line-up of other non-alcoholic beverages - fruit juices, water and energy drinks.

The presence of market leaders Coke and Pepsi does not deter Aje. The company likes to stress the fact that Aje Big Cola has no caffeine, yet tastes similar to the colas made by its competitors. Also, Aje Big Cola costs 30 per cent less than Pepsi and Coke, Rungnikorn said.

The cola is available in four sizes - 3.1 litres priced at Bt40, 2.6 litres priced at Bt35, 1.5 litres which costs Bt25 and 535 ml which costs Bt10. The soda is sold nationwide. Rungnikorn said success for the company was dependent on a market strategy of initially targeting retailers that cater to people from low-income groups.

However, the company is in talks to sell the products in convenience stores, petrol stations, supercentres and shopping malls to sell its products by the end of the year. Convenience stores will be the first to stock the beverage.

The company has five branch offices nationwide and expects to have five more distribution outlets by the end of the year.

Rungnikorn said the company does not invest heavily in marketing campaigns like its two bigger rivals.

Instead it spends 5 per cent of its sales on commercial incentives for its dealers and arranging free samples at sales points to encourage people to try its drinks.

Aje Thai will launch its first advertisement next month in print and on radio. Television commercials will gradually appear late this year when it gets a few more products on the shelves such as soft drinks in different flavours.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation