Chirawan Assavanich, marketing and sales director of San Miguel Marketing (Thailand), with the new SunBlest fruit juice launched recently on the local market.

After introducing its flagship SunBlest brand of 40-per-cent fruit juice to the Thai market last October, the company is planning to expand its range of non-alcoholic beverages to include drinking water and "functional" drink products over the next couple of years. It explained that functional drinks include beauty and collagen drinks, which have gained popularity in markets like Japan.

The expansion of the company's non-alcoholic beverages will be supported by its Bt1.4-billion manufacturing plant in Rayong, which was completed two years ago.

"2007 will mark our first step towards becoming a key player in the total beverage market in Thailand," said San Miguel Marketing (Thailand)'s marketing and sales director, Chirawan Assavanich.

"Next month, we will launch our new drinking water under the Nam Fa brand. It will be distributed in 1.5-litre bottles in some focused areas of the eastern region, including Chon Buri and Rayong, for market testing and to get feedback from consumers. The testing period will take about six months before any decision is made to distribute the drinking water nationwide.

"We are also interested in launching other non-alcoholic beverages, such as functional drinks, which have high market potential," she said.

San Miguel acquired Natural Food, a leading Australian fruit-juice manufacturer, four years ago and began importing its Berri brand of 100-per-cent fruit juice to the Thai market at the beginning of last year.

Chirawan said San Miguel is one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, with diversified products including beer and alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic drinks - including fruit juice, tea and coffee - and packaging.

The company is also the bottler of Coca-Cola in the Philippines.

"In Thailand, we have seen great business potential in diversified non-alcoholic beverages such as fruit juice, drinking water and functional drinks because Thai consumers have increased their concern for their health," she said.

"We want to make ourselves a key player in the overall beverage market in Thailand in the next three to five years."

Thailand's total fruit-juice market is worth Bt5 billion, Chirawan added. About Bt2 billion is taken by 100-per-cent fruit juices and the rest by 40-per-cent fruit-juice products.

The company expects its Berri imported 100-per-cent fruit juice to generate sales of Bt10 million this year. A further Bt200 million will be earned by its SunBlest 40-per-cent juice in the same period.

"We are also discussing, with two or three individual agents, the export of our fruit-juice products to neighbouring markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia, as well as the Middle East, by the middle of the year," Chirawan said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation