Four new 'est' flavours launched

The four new flavours reflect Sermsuk’s “single brand” strategy for marketing its carbonated soft drink product line. They are expected to benefit from the momentum created by the success of its est Cola late last year.

The company will inject Bt900 million this year to market the full range of est carbonated drinks. 

Sermsuk president Dhitivute Bulsook said that their launch of the est brand had shaken up Thailand’s beverage industry. “Overwhelming consumer response to our new brand, combined with being 2012’s top-ranked story in both traditional and social media, clearly demonstrates how est has become a true phenomenon in Thailand’s CSD [carbonated soft drink] market,” he said.

“Sales have soared far beyond our expectations, setting a record of 1 million cases sold in just five days, with the value of product sales surpassing Bt1 billion in just six weeks. We have even more good news for January, with cumulative est Cola sales reaching 10 million cases with a value of more than Bt2 billion. This has made est the No 2 brand in the Thai CSD market, capturing a 19-per-cent market share in only two months,” added Dhitivute.

He added that the successful launch of est Cola has changed the entire dynamic of the Thai beverage industry. Sermsuk is now about to stir the market again by shifting from a traditional marketing approach to using est as a single brand under which the company’s full carbonated soft drink portfolio will be marketed.

“The new est flavour line will supplement and strengthen our cola product by introducing four of the flavours most popular with Thai teens. Sermsuk will continue to build momentum for the est brand by investing Bt900 million in a comprehensive range of marketing communication activations that will roll out throughout the rest of this year. We will highlight how the est line of flavoured soft drinks are differentiated by taste and colour to reflect the chic styles that trendy Thai teens love,” said Dhitivute.

The new est Orange, est Strawberry, est Cream Soda and est Lemon Lime fall under an innovative “fashion soft drink” market positioning. Est will organise a “Teen-est Idol Party”, the first gathering of more than 200 teen idols from local social media and leading educational institutions across Bangkok.