Big Cola maker looks into brewing beer in Kingdom
Peru-based Aje Group, after succeeding in selling Big Cola soft drinks in Thailand, is now mulling starting a beer brewery costing no less than Bt3 billion in three to five years.
"It is, however, quite difficult for the company to make a final decision on setting up a brewery in Thailand, which is considered a competitive market. A feasibility study is under way and the final decision will not be made in a short period of time," Hernan Cordova, managing director of Aje Thai, said yesterday.
As part of its policy to promote Thailand as its beverage hub for Asia, the next big step will be to penetrate both the low-priced and premium beer segments, he said.
Aje opened a brewery in Peru in 2007 after exporting its beer since 2000 to many markets, such as Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia, Miami and New York in the US, and Spain under the Franca brand.
The group now markets four beer brands in its home market – Franca and Club low-priced beers and Tres Cruces and Caral premium beers.
In Southeast Asia, Aje has Big Cola plants and offices in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as India, but Thailand is the largest market. Aje is interested in investing here in the development of new innovations and marketing ideas.
"We have seen the huge potential to grow our soft drinks in the country. Per capita consumption of soft drinks for Thais is still low compared with the US and many European countries," he said.
Aje Thai has spent Bt1 billion to build a Big Cola bottling plant at the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chon Buri. The facility can churn out 2 million bottles of Big Cola and 5 million bottles of Cielo drinking water a day.
The company plans to penetrate further into the local beverage market with three new products next year – Cielo water, Sporate sports drink and Cool Tea ready-to-drink tea.
"We also plan to introduce other beverage brands into the Thai market. Aje Group has about 10 to 15 beverage brands in total. Of the group’s global sales, 30 per cent is from carbonated drinks, 65 per cent from non-carbonated drinks and 5 per cent from beer," he said.
Aje Group posted US$1.4 billion (Bt43 billion) in global sales and Bt4 billion in Thai sales last year. It expects its Thai sales to explode to about Bt10 billion in five years. The company also exports its Big Cola drink from Thailand to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. Over the past two years it opened new markets in Vietnam, Indonesia and India.
"We want to become the second leader in Thailand’s carbonated-drink market in five years with a share of 20-25 per cent. Our Big Cola has currently 16 per cent of the market and our share is expected to increase to 18-19 per cent by the end of next year," Cordova said.
