Former Ajethai exec sets up consulting agency

Optimus, former beverage-company executive Chanin Thiencharoen’s new consulting agency, specialises in creating and launching brands – and he says he will launch a new drinks company early in the new year.

“The agency will provide marketing-consulting services and brand development for individual producers and OEM [original equipment manufacturing] operators who want their own brands,” Chanin said.

After spending about two years at Ajethai, the manufacturer of Big Cola, Chanin in November decided to leave the soft-drink company to set up Optimus. He worked at beverage companies for almost 10 years, including six years at Krating Daeng Beverage and two years at Ajethai as marketing manager.

Chanin said his departure from Ajethai was inspired by the words of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, who noted that “your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. You need to have the courage to follow your heart.”

He said he was joining with potential partners from the industrial sector to set up a beverage company specialising in innovative functional-drink products.

“Our vision is to be a leader in specific beverage products that rely on high innovation and technology.” 

He said the company would next month launch its first vitamin-drink product to target a specific segment of health-conscious consumers. This segment accounts for about 20 per cent of the Bt4.2-billion functional-drink market in Thailand.

 

Trend 

Chanin said the trend of the local beverage market was to focus on segmentation, innovation and packaging.

Affected by the recent floods, Thailand’s overall beverage market is expected to increase only 3 per cent this year, he said, down from 16-per-cent growth last year, according to ACNielsen’s retail audit study.

The slowdown is in most categories, including ready-to-drink milk, which is expected to grow by only 6 per cent to Bt42 billion, down from 8-per-cent growth last year. The market for carbonated drinks is expected to drop 4 per cent to about Bt36 billion, down from 8-per-cent growth in 2010. 

The energy-drink market is expected to increase only 6 per cent to Bt10 billion, down from 8-per-cent growth last year. 

The drinking-water market also expects only 3-per-cent growth to about Bt9 billion, down from 23-per-cent growth last year.

The fruit-juice market is expected to drop 1 per cent to Bt9 billion this year, after enjoying 14-per-cent growth in 2010. The market for ready-to-drink tea is expected to increase 17 per cent to about Bt8 billion, down from 25-per-cent growth last year.

The functional-drink market is expected to drop 6 per cent to Bt4.2 billion, turning around dramatic growth of 79 per cent achieved last year. The market for sports or electrolyte drinks is also expected to drop 7 per cent to Bt3 billion, down from 23 per cent growth last year. The market for cereal drinks is expected to grow only 3 per cent to Bt2 billion, down from 23-per-cent growth last year.

Chanin said the overall beverage market was expected to see growth of 3-5 per cent next year as the re-cent floods would still have a cer-tain level of impact on local beverage producers.