Sermsuk earmarks Bt750m to up production of Crystal

The move is in line with Thai Beverage’s strategy to increase the revenue contribution from health beverages from 56 per cent last year to 70 per cent by 2021. Average investment per bottling plant will be Bt150 million.

The expansion is in response to greater demand for Crystal drinking water, which is 2 percentage points higher than the market average. Thailand’s total drinking-water market posted revenue of Bt34 billion last year, up 12 per cent over the previous year.

Sermsuk president Vivek Chhabra said Crystal drinking water had enjoyed impressive sales growth in the first half of 2016 as targeted, pushing its market share from 17 per cent at the end of last year to 17.4 per cent now.

Crystal is currently produced at 15 bottling facilities in the Kingdom, of which six belong to Sermsuk and the rest to its parent company Thai Beverage.

“We plan to set up at least one bottling facility for Crystal drinking water every year from next year to 2021 to serve greater demand for the product,” Chhabra said. 

He added that production of Crystal drinking water was anticipated to increase significantly from 85 million cases last year to about 100 million this year, with up to 130 million cases targeted next year.

Sermsuk this year has invested Bt500 million in the opening of three Crystal bottling facilities in Ayutthaya, Surat Thani and Khon Kaen.

Chhabra said the company was looking into the strategic launch of health-drink products including mineral and alkaline water in the Thai market.

Sermsuk yesterday announced the “Crystal Everywhere” campaign with two strategies – to become Thailand’s No 1 drinking-water brand by expanding production to meet market demand for Crystal nationwide, in parallel with building on the “brand for me” concept.

“The Thai drinking-water market became increasingly competitive during the first half of 2016 as house brands entered the market,” Chhabra said. “At the same time, the pace of market growth slowed to 12 per cent, with a total market value of Bt34 billion. However, Crystal achieved its targeted sales, outperforming the market with 18-per-cent growth and boosting its market share to 17.4 per cent.

“This exceptional performance is the result of a combination of several key success factors, including the quality of Crystal drinking water, which has gained broad consumer acceptance nationwide; Sermsuk’s second-to-none, extensive distribution network that delivers products to consumers throughout Thailand faster and more efficiently; and the previous communications campaign under the concept ‘Same Things Could Be Different’ that sharpened Crystal’s brand identity as the quality drinking-water brand offering freshness.

“With our mission to strengthen Crystal as a spearhead brand to sustainably grow ThaiBev’s non-alcoholic-beverage portfolio to 70 per cent by 2021, and make Crystal Thailand’s No 1 drinking-water brand, we are expanding production to meet rising market demand for Crystal, especially in locations that have high growth potential. 

“We recently opened a new production line in northeastern Thailand, and have set aside a Bt135-million budget for our next new production line in southern Thailand. 

“In addition to ensuring sufficient product supplies nationwide, we are implementing the ‘Crystal Everywhere’ campaign to connect more tightly with the trendy lifestyles of today’s diverse consumers. We are confident that these two strategies will enhance Crystal’s brand leadership as the quality drinking water available to consumers any time and everywhere in Thailand,” he said.

Singha drinking water is now the leader of Thailand’s Bt34-billion drinking-water market, followed by Crystal and Nestle drinking water. 

Sermsuk aims to make Crystal the market leader in five years.