‘Coffee battle’ heats up at four major petrol station companies

The modern petrol station business in Thailand is increasingly focusing on competition through the expansion of non-oil retail operations, or by adding more retail space.

Recently, Caltex partnered with Chao Doi Coffee to offer coffee to customers at its fuel stations, recognising a growing market demand, with non-oil services in petrol stations seeing a 25% surge since last year. 

Sompratana Jirmsiriwat, assistant vice-president of retail investment and development at Star Fuels Marketing Co Ltd, the sole operator of Caltex fuel stations in Thailand, said: "The company will intensify its efforts to expand its oil station network and non-oil retail operations nationwide. This is aimed at strengthening the comprehensive service offerings at Caltex stations, with a marketing budget set at 125 million baht per year."

Additionally, Caltex plans to expand its partnerships with retail business allies. Recently, it extended its collaboration with Chao Doi Coffee, which is now available at Caltex stations. Joint campaigns are also planned for the future, with a goal of opening 200 Chao Doi Coffee branches across the country within the next five years.

Currently, there are about 528 Caltex stations nationwide, with a customer base of 200,000. Retail outlets cover about 80% of the Caltex station network, and the company aims to increase this to 85% by 2025.

Kijja Wongvaree, executive director of Aroma Group, the parent company of KVN, which owns the Chao Doi Coffee brand, noted that there are currently 38 Chao Doi Coffee branches operating within Caltex stations across the country. Going forward, Chao Doi Coffee will focus on expanding within Caltex stations.

In 2023, the coffee market was valued at 60 billion baht, with 20 billion baht from out-of-home consumption, of which 17 billion baht came from coffee shops located in petrol stations, growing by 25% annually. There is potential for further growth as the current coffee consumption rate has increased to 300 cups per person per year, compared with the previous 150-200 cups per person per year.

As of August 14, 2024, Café Amazon reported having 4,277 branches in the first half of the year, an increase of 270 branches year on year. Of these, 2,261 branches are located in service stations. Additionally, Café Amazon has 27 international branches. 

Total sales reached 102 million cups, an increase of 3 million cups (+3%) compared with the first quarter of 2024, driven by continued network expansion and promotional activities. The company’s retail and beverage business generated revenue of 7.893 billion baht, up 8.2% YoY, following branch expansions.

For Punthai Coffee, sales and service revenue in the first half of 2024 saw significant growth of 73.7% YoY, amounting to 967 million baht, thanks to continuous branch expansions. The brand now has 1,028 branches. In Q2 2024, sales and service revenue reached 517 million baht, a 76.2% YoY increase and a 14.9% quarter-on-quarter increase, driven by branch expansion and returning customers.

Meanwhile, Inthanin Coffee had 1,005 branches in the first half of 2024, a decrease of 18 branches YoY. Bangchak did not provide detailed sales figures for Inthanin Coffee but said its goal is to meet customer demand through further expansion of Inthanin branches, diversification of product brands, and increasing the presence of convenience stores and partner shops at Bangchak service stations.