Nestle Ice Cream untouched by Chinese

Executive director Ken Donaldson yesterday said his com¬pany used local ingredients to pro¬duce all of Nestle's icecream prod¬ucts, so they should be free of toxic substances like the ones found in China.

However, he declined to com¬ment on whether other Nestle dairy products contained ingredients imported from China or were pro¬duced in Chinese plants, as he over¬sees only ice cream.

About 90 per cent of Eskimo buyers are children who can easily access Nestle distribution channels: icecream vendors and freezers.

Nestle Ice Cream is the leader in the children's icecream segment, with a 55percent share of the Bt5billion market.

The overall icecream market is worth Bt10 billion.

Category marketing manager Montha Khongkrurphan said the taintedmilk scandal abroad had sent a chill through the overall chil¬dren's icecream market here.

The total icecream market this year is expected to grow 5 per cent, less than last year's 7 per cent.

The regular icecream segment is also forecast to expand 5 per cent.

Nestle Ice Cream is distributed through 6,000 vendors and 50,000 freezers nationwide. About 1,000 new vendors are recruited each year.

Nestle will spend Bt90 million to refresh its Eskimo brand and conduct an edutainment marketing campaign this quarter, in order to boost sales 30 per cent from last year. It expects annual sales to increase 10 per cent.Nestle ice cream will strive represent such youthful characteristics as "smart", "strong", "active", "imaginative" and "socially creative".