At A Glance

Nine out of 10 Thais are keen to make payments via mobile wallets given the right security measures, incentives and additional services such as built-in loyalty programmes, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study.
The fourth instalment of the annual study discovered that 94 per cent of respondents would be more likely to replace cash with a mobile wallet if payment comes with features such as offers and rewards. 
Built-in functions such as loyalty programmes, instant purchase notifications and digital receipts to track expenses will make consumers more likely to try mobile wallets.
“The findings from this study confirm that consumers not only expect fast, simple and secure mobile payments, they also want access to relevant services such as promotions and the ability to collect and utilise reward points. 
“Whatever the form factor, people are moving away from seeing payment as just a commodity. 
“As a global leader in payments, Visa enriches the entire payment ecosystem by offering global acceptance, innovative product platforms, reward incentives, and state of the art security,” said Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa’s manager for Thailand. 
Payments made via mobile applications are on the rise, particularly for financial products and services such as investment units, and online shopping. 

CPF wins at Thailand Labour Management Excellence Awards 
 
Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF)’s Eastern Shrimp Hatchery Plant II, in Trad, has gained the Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Award in the Thailand Labour Management Excellence Awards 2017 as its labour practices have adhered to international standard for years.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the award ceremony today. CPF’s other 22 manufacturing plants will also be granted another award for outstanding labour management workplace. The company says it has also been praised for having some of the best practices on labour management.
Premsak Wanuchsoontorn, CPF’s senior vice president, said the company is among three Thai companies to win in the Thailand Labour Management Excellence Awards for this year. CPF’s shrimp hatchery plant in Trad has kept to the Labour Ministry’s criteria, including having been certified for Thai Labour Standards (TLS 8001-2010) at highest level since 2007 and has maintained this for 10 years. In addition, the plant also has also been verified for the national outstanding award on labour relations for 10 consecutive years.
“CPF is very proud of this precious award which reflects the company’s policy to put in place labour management as a key driver for the organisation’s sustainability by treating all employees fairly and equally in line with international standards to ensure better a quality of life for all employees,” said Premsak.

Big C pins hopes on fresh food home delivery 

Big C has vowed to keep up with trends as it seeks to increase its market share through its know-how and services.
Voravudh Varikarn, senior vice president, e-commerce at Big C Supercentre, said: “The consumer trend is for more online purchases, and customers in this channel make repeated purchases. We, therefore, must work closely with our partners to ensure that our customers can enjoy shopping experience both online and at-store with the utmost comfort.”
Big C, a hypermart operator and a significant player in consumer goods services, has just opened its new online fresh food delivery service to meet the needs of online shoppers for fresh food and consumer products. Voravudh said Big C will ramp up new campaigns and promotions along with new services as well. This stems from the company’s main strategy of “customer centricity” or seeing customers as the centre of needs.
“In turn, it has prompted initiation of buying through the website, the mobile application, call commerce, and chat commerce options covering multi-channel trading, enabling the company to penetrate the market at a wider scale,” Voravudh said.
“In our seven-year plus experience of operations, we have never stopped developing. To meet customers’ needs, we have modified online application to look interesting and easy for those who are new to e-commerce to interact.
“With over 5,000 selections online, Big C aims to offer a full-range service available only at Big C in addition to fresh ingredients, the company will be selling ready to eat meals there can be delivered for free within two hours with purchases of over Bt1,500, or Bt799 during special promotions. The initial areas of delivery are Bangkok, Chon Buri, Pattaya, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, and Chiang Mai, while expansion is ongoing with more partnerships to allow wider and better delivery.”

PepsiCo launches new Mirinda brand soft drinks

Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading Company Limited, a local arm of PepsiCo, the maker of Pepsi, has released Mirinda MIX-IT, a two-fruit flavour fizzy drink containing less than six grams of sugar per 100ml serving. 
Developed in response to growing consumer health awareness, the new drink has received the “Healthier Choice” nutrition label certified by the Nutrition Promotion Foundation under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Mahidol University’s Institute of Nutrition, which identifies healthier food options according to the Public Health Ministry’s standards. 
This launch is part of PepsiCo’s portfolio expansion of healthier beverage products in Thailand following the recent launch of mineral water and sparking flavoured beverage with vitamins enhanced.
 Somchai Ketchaikosol, marketing director – beverages of Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading Company Limited, said: “As a leading global food and beverage company, PepsiCo is committed to product development and innovation to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers. This new product is designed to address needs of teenagers aged 15–19 who are self-assured, open to a new and exciting experiences, and who love to try new things. 
“It is marketed under the trademark Mirinda MIX-IT, a new sub-brand of our Mirinda brand that is long-established and has strong brand awareness in Thailand’s Bt12 billion-valued flavoured carbonated soft drink market, where growth has reached 3.3 per cent during the past six months.”
 The company says Mirinda MIX-IT offers a refreshing and fizzy mixture of two fruity flavours, one sweet and the other sour. The lychee and strawberry product and the apple and kiwifruit version are available in PET bottles in traditional trade and modern trade channels nationwide.

NewGen Airways granted AOC re-certification

NewGen Airways says it has received an AOC re-certification of international service standards for new airline operators from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
The company also said it planned to expand with more routes to cover Asia, including mainland China, Taiwan, Myanmar, and India. 
The airline operator is also preparing to penetrate the Taiwanese market by the end of this year with an aim of nine routes within three years. Three new aircraft will join the company’s fleet soon and 1.5 million travellers are projected to fly with it this year.
Jarurnpong Sornprasit, chief executive officer of NewGen Airways, said that regarding the re-certification, the CAAT has improved its audit of new airline operators to meet the standard of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). “This serves a great benefit to customers and tourists who plan to travel to Thailand in terms of their enjoyment of convenient services which comply with international aviation standard,” the CEO said. “Moreover, NewGen Airways aims to maintain this high level of quality and service standard in the years to come.
“After receiving AOC re-certification, NewGen Airways is determined to improve its services continually, and plans to complete its three to five year-business strategies for nine-route expansion by adding more destinations in the Asia region including Taiwan, Myanmar, and India, to its main existing routes between Thailand and China. 
“Myanmar will be the first expanded route and is expected to be opened for service by this October. Then, the airline operator would have a total of 46 routes from 37 to date, which demonstrates the airline’s effort in connecting Asia together through air traffic.”
The current 37 routes comprise destinations from four main airports in Thailand: Don Mueang International Airport, Krabi Airport, Surat Thani International Airport and Phuket International Airport. It now flies to 26 cities in China.