Ichitan turns on the juice with relaunch of Bireley's

Ichitan turns on the juice with relaunch of Bireley's

Ichitan Group Plc, the maker of Ichitan ready-to-drink green tea, is set to fully expand into Thailand's 12-billion-baht fruit juice market over the next three years as it strengthens its beverage portfolio.

President and chief executive Tan Passakornnatee yesterday officially reintroduced Bireley's to the Thai market, after acquiring the trademark rights to the Bireley's brand for 240 million baht last year.

Ichitan owner Tan Passakornnatee (left) joins stars from the 'Fan Chan' movie at the relaunch of Bireley's juice drinks.

The new Bireley's has a modern look and comes in a plastic bottle, not in glass as in the past.

The company will spend 200 million baht to promote the drink in the remaining eight months of the year.

Bireley's is available in two flavours, orange and grape, and aims to attract young people between 15 and 25 years old.

Ichitan plans to expand the Bireley's product line to cover more fruit juices over the next three years.

Thailand's fruit juice market is estimated at 12.5 billion baht.

Of the total, 40.3% is in the economy segment, 36% in the premium segment, 6.2% in the midrange segment and the rest in other categories.

Mr Tan expects sales of Bireley's to reach 600 million baht this year and rise to 1 billion in 2016.

Coca-Cola's Minute Maid Pulpy is the market leader in the economy juice segment with a 26% share, followed by DeeDo with 16.8% and Kato with 13.8%.

The relaunch of Bireley's is expected to spur double-digit growth in the orange juice segment this year, compared with 4-5% in the past few years.

Apart from Thailand, Ichitan plans to export Bireley's to Indochina by the end of this year, starting in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, alongside the Yen Yen herbal drink.

The company also plans to sell Yen Yen and Ichitan green tea in Indonesia starting next year.

Ichitan's sales last year reached 6.18 billion baht and are expected to rise to 7.5 billion this year. Of total sales, 5% will come from exports and 95% from the domestic market.

ICHI shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 22.10 baht, up 20 satang, in trade worth 87 million baht.

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