Bottled Water in Thailand

PROSPECTS

Rising health-consciousness supports strong growth of bottled water

Bottled water continued to benefit from the increasing preference for healthier soft drinks among Thai consumers in 2019 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 such as carbonates, juice and RTD tea. Its performance was further bolstered by the fact that bottled water products were largely unaffected by the sugar tax imposed in late 2017.

Premiumisation increasingly evident in bottled water

Premiumisation is increasingly evident in bottled water as manufacturers attempt to maintain or increase value sales and stand out from the competition. The Sprinkle brand by M Water Co is a good example.

Outlook for functional and flavoured bottled water remains poor

Functional bottled water remained a minor category in Thailand in 2019, and recorded steep declines in off-trade volume and current value sales for the third 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 2019. 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, was placed second.

Thai Beverage extends its distribution for its Chang brand

Thai Beverage, the parent owner of Crystal still bottled water and Change mineral water, focused much of its efforts in extending the distribution coverage of the brand in 2019. The player invested heavily in aggressive promotions through nationwide convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven, as well as through the on-trade.

New entrants to carbonated purified bottled water

The competitive environment in carbonated purified bottled water intensified towards the end of the review period as new entrants appeared in the category. Rock Mountain was launched by Serm Suk Public and Aquafina was introduced packed in metal cans by Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading Co in 2019.

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