Thai consumers say no thank you to sugary drinks, they’re sweet enough

A recent report has revealed life is not sweet at all in Thailand’s coffee shops, supermarkets and malls, and that sugary drinks have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the nation’s ready-to-drink consumers.

Research company Nielsen discovered, the ready-to-drink beverage market in Thailand dropped 2.6% year-on-year between April 2021 to March 2022, led by mixer products, whisky, energy drinks, functional drinks, liquid milk, and fruit juices, which contracted by 10.3%, 9.9%, 7.9%, 7.8%, 6.7% and 4.8%, respectively.

On the other hand, the report found low-sugar and sugar-free ready-to-drink tea, bottled water, spirits and beer witnessed sales increases of 11.8%, 2.1%, 1.6% and 0.9%.

Oishi Group Plc, the manufacturer of Oishi ready-to-drink green tea, believe the Covid-19 pandemic has made consumers more health conscious and expanded its range of sugar-free products in an attempt to cash in.

“The huge growth of low-sugar and sugar-free ready-to-drink tea during the pandemic was not only because Thai consumers are aware of green tea’s health benefits, but also because players in various beverage categories, including tea, soft drinks and functional drinks, have actively and aggressively promoted low-sugar and sugar-free products,” says senior vice-president for marketing at Oishi, Jesdakorn Ghosh.

Oishi intend to cash in on the hot health trend and gave a sign of intent when they hired famous Thai TV actress Kanyawee “Thanaerng” Songmuang for the launch of their latest honey lemon tea brand, a 0% sugar ready-to-drink product.

Nielsen say Thailand’s ready-to-drink tea market was valued at 11.8 billion baht between April 2021 to March 2022, up by 12% year-on-year. Oishi controlled a market share of 45%, up from 44% the previous period, while sales of the company’s green tea totalled 3.44 billion baht, from Oct 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%.

Source Bangkok Post