Oishi vows to make bigger Asean splash
Oishi Group plans for greater penetration into Asean countries after sales of its ready-to-drink beverages enjoyed double-digit growth in Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia.
"We’re expecting revenue from abroad to become more apparent this year, since we have received good responses from the markets that we have entered and we are ready to press forward into other Asean economies," Jesdakorn Ghosh, vice president for beverages, said yesterday.
Oishi has been selling abroad almost from its beginning. It had been using local retailers in overseas markets but last year it began marketing its own products in Laos and Cambodia.
Malaysia is the latest country that it has decided to venture into via Fraser and Neave Holdings, which was acquired by Thai Beverage last year. Oishi is also a ThaiBev subsidiary.
Oishi says it is also pleased with its success in the domestic market last year after gaining a 44-per-cent share for ready-to-drink (RTD) green tea.
This year it is gunning to increase digital marketing to connect with younger people.
The RTD green tea market was estimated at Bt15.5 billion last year.
The company declined to reveal its beverage sales last year but will increase its marketing budget from 10 per cent of total sales to 12 per cent this year.
Oishi’s cumulative investment in RTD green tea reached Bt500 million last year. RTD green tea makes up 80 per cent of the group’s beverage sales.
Jesdakorn said the group was very happy with the performance of its domestic sales, promotions and campaigns and overall growth last year despite posting flat year-on-year expansion at the beginning of 2014.
"We are ready to drive our business in 2015, which is expected to be better than last year, via increasing market penetration through innovative branded-content promotion, broadening the use of digital media through the creation of applications, and conducting more marketing campaigns to boost consumer engagement," she said. The company will also "create excitement in the market this summer with the launch of a new product".
Oishi boasts the fastest-growing beverage-brand Facebook page in Thailand with growth of 119 per cent year last year. It acquired 1.1 million fans in the past 12 months with a peak engagement rate of 21 per cent – the highest in the RTD industry.
The group will market its first ever limited-edition watermelon-flavoured green tea from March to May in the hope of capturing the summer market. The beverage industry expects a 30-per-cent sales increase during this time of the year.
Oishi expects to launch more products this year after its summer campaign is over.
