Bottled Water in Thailand

PROSPECTS

Rising health-consciousness is a boon for bottled water

Bottled water was the category that benefited most from the increasing preference for healthier soft drinks among Thai consumers in 2018. The category saw overall volume and current value growth rates improve in both the off- and on-trade channels as concerns about the negative health effects of sugar, artificial colourings and other ingredients led more people to avoid or reduce consumption of product types like carbonates, juice and RTD tea.

Still bottled water remains by far the most popular choice in Thailand

Still bottled water continued to dominate bottled water in Thailand in 2018, and was also the most dynamic performer among the main categories in off-trade volume and current value growth terms. This is expected to remain the case over the forecast period, as in addition to being highly favoured by health-conscious consumers, still bottled water products are affordably priced and widely available across all major retail channels.

Outlook for functional bottled water remains poor

Functional bottled water remained a minor category in Thailand in 2018, and posted steep declines in off-trade volume and current value sales for the second year in a row. Demand in the category looks set to continue falling over the forecast period, as unit prices for functional products are comparatively high and many consumers remain unaware or unconvinced of their potential benefits.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Local players continue to lead bottled water

Domestic producers continued to account for the largest share of bottled water off-trade current value sales in Thailand in 2018. Boon Rawd Brewery remained the overall leader thanks to the strength of its Singha brand, while fellow local company Serm Suk, which offers the Crystal brand, placed second.

Singha targets young adults with new loyalty programme

In an effort to strengthen the appeal of its Singha brand among young adults, early in 2018 Boon Rawd Brewery teamed up with social media firm LINE Thailand to launch the Singha Rewards loyalty programme. This programme allows LINE users to accumulate points from codes found on the underside of Singha bottle caps.

Serm Suk aims to strengthen Crystal’s presence at home and abroad

Aggressive marketing and promotional activities helped Serm Suk’s Crystal brand to consistently outperform main rival Singha in terms of off-trade volume and current value growth within still bottled water over the latter years of the review period. Serm Suk has now set its sights on regional expansion for this brand, announcing in 2018 that it was conducting a feasibility study on Crystal’s prospects in markets such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

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