The battle of Fruit juice heats up

May 2008

In this hot season, almost ten new products from fruit-juice manufacturers have been launched into the market, among them are Tipco Cool Fit, San Miquel Mocktail, HAP and Malee Juice Mix Cool Max.

Since early April, most fruit-juice firms have set aside marketing budgets worth 300 millions baht to launch new campaigns, products and packages. Three newcomers have also announced they are entering the arena.
The 7-billion baht fruit juice market, tough competition is expected among new players while veteran manufacturers are expected to fight for market share.
In this hot season, almost ten new products from fruit-juice manufacturers have been launched into the market, among them are Tipco Cool Fit, San Miquel Mocktail, HAP and Malee Juice Mix Cool Max.San Miguel (Thailand), a giant from the Philippines, is launching a new fruit "mocktail" called "Oops! Mocktail". It categorizes the brand as a middle-end fruit-juice product, being 15-per-cent fruit based. It will introduce four flavors: Blue Angel, Nave Green, Orange Killer and Poison Rose. The company will invest 70 millions baht to build awareness among customers aged 13 to 25 in its first year of launch. San Miguel aims to capture a 5 to 10-per-cent market share in the middle range market, which is worth 450 millions baht.
TAC Beverage, a player in the green tea market with its “Zenya” brand, has launched a 20-per-cent fruit juice called HAP, which targets teenagers. TAC has allocated 20 millions baht to market its HAP in the first year.
Launching the brand is not only a strategic play to tap health-conscious consumers but also to maintain a strong sustainable youth market. TC Pharmaceutical Industry, a major player in youth market selling “Red Bull” energy drinks and “Puriku” white tea, will be launching a 15-per-cent orange juice drink called Fit For Fun at 15 baht a bottle. The firm has imported machines from Germany to make the drink.
With the new competition, old players will need to work hard to keep away rivals. Some players are trying to use a more creative approach. Malee Drink is launching Malee Juice Mix Cool Max as a cooling drink that uses fruit juices. The brand has a 15-per-cent fruit blend and carries three flavors, Cooling Red, Cooling Blue and Cooling Orange. It also target customers aged 15 to 25. Malee has a marketing and advertising budget of 60 millions baht. It is seeking to capture 11 percent of the market or 1.3 billions baht in sales.
Tipco Foods (Thailand), the big fruit-juice brand will launch Tipco Cool Fit, which has less than 25-per-cent fruit juice content, starting with a lemon flavor drink. Its 30-million baht will spend on advertising and another 20-million baht marketing budget will target convenient store and shops.
Pepsi-Cola (Thailand) Trading will also launch a new drink with returnable bottles for its lower-than-25-per cent orange juice called Twister. Pepsi will sell Twister at 10 baht per bottle in a move to stimulate buying. It will also use a new advertising campaign called Perfect Balance, which focuses on balancing sour with sweet products. Its ad campaign will cost 40 millions baht. Pepsi's marketing director said the firm was already a major player in orange juice after entering the market two years ago. It aims to expand its market share by using distribution of Pepsi to compete against Splash, an orange juice which is backed by Coke.