Merisant eyes Equal brand grabbing 55% of Thai market for sweeteners this year
Merisant, the US-based maker of Equal sweeteners and sugar substitutes, will focus on continued growth of the brand by stimulating increased consumption across its three product lines this year, the company said in a statement on Friday.
As part of this strategy, the brand owner has launched Equal Gold as a highlight product for the first half of 2018.
Equal is poised to extend its market leadership in Thailand for the eighth consecutive year, with a target to increase its market share to 55 per cent this year.
Mario Pascale, Merisant vice president & managing director for APAC, said: “Sweeteners and sugar substitutes have emerged as a healthier alternative to sugar for this group of consumers, resulting in continuing growth of the market in Thailand and across Southeast Asia. In Thailand, sales in the modern trade channel alone totaled Bt108 million in 2017.”
Made from sucralose, Equal Gold is a zero-calorie sweetener with a great-tasting sweetness just like sugar, he said.
It is being launched in an innovative zip-lock bag, which makes Equal the only brand in the market to offer a zero-calorie sweetener in such a bag as a lifestyle choice for consumers.
“The Thai market for sweeteners was valued at Bt108 million baht in 2017 [modern trade channel only], for a year-on-year increase of 2 per cent. With its growth projection of 4 per cent to Bt112 million in 2018, Equal is eyeing a 4-percentage-point greater share of the market in 2018 by increasing its share from 51 per cent to 55 per cent,” Pascale said.
“Based on this target, we hope to extend Equal’s lead as the No-1 brand of sweeteners in Thailand for the eighth year running, in line with its vision to be consumers’ favourite brand of sweetener,” he added.
