Japan’s Ezaki Glico launches four ice cream brands in Thailand

Thanks to differentiation of flavours and packaging designs, Glico expects to gain popularity among teenagers and working adults quickly, with a sales target of Bt600 million to Bt900 million by 2020.

According to Euromonitor International research, Thailand’s ice-cream market last year was expected to grow by 8 per cent to Bt12.8 billion.

Ezaki Glico established a wholly owned subsidiary, Glico Frozen (Thailand), last June with registered capital of Bt200 million. It is responsible for marketing activities mainly focusing on digital media. A local plant will make ice-cream products, which will be available in both traditional and modern trade as well as convenience stores from January 27.

Kiyotaka Shimamori, managing director of Glico Frozen (Thailand), said there was huge opportunity to grow because about 55 per cent of ice-cream products in Thailand were priced below Bt15 each. However, Glico is offering customers a new choice of flavours and styles.

Initially, the company will introduce four major brands: Palitte, Giant Cone, Panapp and Seventeen.

The Palitte brand offers two flavours, milk-and-chocolate and milk-and-white-chocolate, priced at Bt35. Giant Cone brand offers chocolate-and-peanut and chocolate-and-cookie flavours, priced at Bt25.

Panapp offers strawberry and grape flavours for Bt25, in a sundae-type format with three layers of ice cream in a cup.

Seventeen offers mint-and-chocolate and vanilla-and-cookie varieties for Bt20.

Mikio Kusama, senior corporate information officer, said that in addition to ice-cream products, Glico was considering expanding its investment in Thailand. Glico has two plants in Thailand that produce biscuits and confectionery. In 2014, Glico Thailand generated about Bt3.3 billion in sales, with 30 per cent from exports to many places such as Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and the United States.

Founded in 1922 with the launch of Glico caramel, the company has expanded its business lines beyond confectionery to include ice-cream products, processed foods, desserts, milk products, food ingredients, baby formula, and raw materials for cosmetics and health products.

Chocolate and confectionery account for 36 per cent of sales, followed by milk products with 29 per cent, ice cream with 23 per cent, and processed foods with 7 per cent.

Kusama said overseas business now accounted for 12.8 per cent of Glico’s total sales. The company has established subsidiaries in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, South Korea, Canada, the US and France, and Thailand is its biggest market in Asean.