Oishi Group, the country's leading ready-to-drink green tea producer, has started its drive to become a regional brand by 2017 by forging a distribution alliance with F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.
Mr Matthew shows a product while F&N chief executive Ng Jui Sia watches at a briefing in the Park Ventures Ecoplex on Wireless Road yesterday. SOMCHAI POOMLARD
F&N Beverages, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fraser and Neave Ltd in Singapore, kicked off its distribution of Oishi green tea in PET bottles to 1,460 7-Eleven convenience stores in Malaysia on Monday.
By year-end, Oishi green tea will be available in 3,800 convenience stores and petrol stations throughout Malaysia.
In an initial step, Oishi green tea will be shipped from a factory in Chon Buri's Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate to the neighbouring country.
Early next year, Oishi aims to start production in Malaysia for further expansion to Brunei and Singapore.
Under the scheme, F&N will spend 50 million baht to upgrade its facilities to produce Oishi green tea.
Oishi and F&N have a close connection, as both are owned by the Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Matthew Kichodhan, Oishi's president, said his company sees a huge opportunity in Malaysia. Per-capita consumption of green tea in Malaysia is 0.94 litres compared with 5.8 litres in Thailand.
"The opportunity for Oishi green tea in Malaysia is six times higher than in Thailand," he said.
Moreover, F&N is Malaysia's largest soft drinks maker and distributor, covering 90% of the country.
"We expect Oishi green tea to complement F&N's Season tea brand. The combined strengths of Oishi and F&N will make us the largest tea company in Malaysia in the years to come," Mr Matthew said.
Moreover, tapping the Asean market is one of Oishi's strategies to drive its brand and grow an international market portfolio to achieve its goal as the key player in the region.
"We hope to distribute Oishi green tea to all Asean countries within 2017, the year we also target to become the market leader in this region," Mr Matthew said.
Oishi is the green tea leader in Laos and Cambodia. Its products are also available in Myanmar, Europe, the US and the Middle East.
The ready-to-drink tea market in Malaysia is valued at 2 billion baht. The Season brand dominates the market with a 32% share.
F&N chief executive Ng Jui Sia said this synergy signifies an important step for both companies.
Apart from Oishi green tea in PET bottles, the company will also distribute canned green tea, Oishi Fruito and Oishi Shakuza before moving to Oishi snacks and food as well as a restaurant.
Oishi and F&N have allocated an initial 100 million baht for marketing the products and will increase the budget to 200-300 million baht next year.
Sales in Malaysia are expected to reach 140 million baht in the first year.