"We expect g3 to be listed in our top three best-selling products next year," general manager Pakapun Leevutinun said yesterday.

The g3 product is extracted from gac, a Vietnamese fruit, and three other nutritional fruits, which help the body fight free radicals and reduce inflammation.

She said the company aimed by year-end to sell 50,000 bottles of g3, equivalent to Bt100 million, after its formal launch tomorrow.

"We have had a great response from the product's pre-launch. About 16,000 bottles were sold in 10 days," she said.

Pakapun said society's current health-conscious trend should boost the drink's popularity.

Nu Skin plans to spend between Bt5 million and Bt10 million promoting g3 in the last quarter of the year.

"We will focus on educating our distributors and consumers because few Thai people know the benefits of gac," she said.

President Patrick Yeung said the Thai dietary-supplement market was predicted to grow by 10 per cent year on year.

According to Euro Monitor International, the local dietary-supplement market in 2008 is expected to be 30 per cent higher than its level of Bt6.83 billion last year.

The research showed that last year 42.1 per cent of the market consisted of nutrient-rich drinks, followed by general dietary supplements at 34.5 per cent, vitamins at 16.2 per cent, and the remainder made up by child-specific dietary supplements.

Patrick said Nu Skin Enterprises Inc had launched g3 juice in the United States in March last year, and currently marketed it in 11 countries.

As of last month, the company had generated US$33 million (Bt1.24 billion) in global sales, equivalent to 1.2 million bottles of g3.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation