As the country's pioneer in non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing, Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip is celebrating its 65th anniversary by empowering its human heritage, known as "Khon ThaiNamthip," to take the next step towards future growth and advancing Thailand's sustainability agenda.
In Thailand, the historical chapter began with Coca-Cola's entry in 1948, at a small bottling plant on Lan Luang Road in Bangkok. Here, two "Dixie" machines bottled 6.5oz Coke at a rate of 160 bottles per minute. The drink's popularity quickly grew, and demand for Coke skyrocketed. To manage the rapidly expanding operations, ThaiNamthip was established in 1959 as a bottling partner of The
Coca-Cola Company. Over the past 65 years, ThaiNamthip Corporation has grown from a small company of a few hundred employees to an employer of more than 8,000 "Khon ThaiNamthip," all committed to refreshing Thailand and making a difference.
Ignace Corthouts, President of ThaiNamthip Corporation Limited, expressed his appreciation for the company's dedicated workforce, which has achieved incredible success across multiple generations of Khon ThaiNamthip. Reflecting on the company's tremendous growth over the past 65 years, he emphasised that Khon ThaiNamthip would play a vital role in the company's pursuit of future growth.
"I am confident in the capabilities of Khon ThaiNamthip – their deep knowledge and expertise in the local market, along with their unwavering dedication to our customers. Our collaboration with Swire Coca-Cola allows us to reach more than 225 million consumers across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, benefiting from the shared expertise of our dynamic workforces across the region," he said.
"I see exciting growth potential for Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip, development opportunities for our people, new ways to serve our customers in Thailand, and an important role in advancing Thailand's sustainability agenda."
FORGING NEW ALLIANCES AND DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY
In February 2024, ThaiNamthip forged a partnership with Swire Coca-Cola, the fifth-largest bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company by global volume, with a footprint spanning the USA, Greater China, and Southeast Asia. This alliance combines the strengths and expertise of both companies, their unwavering focus on customers and consumers, and their shared commitment to sustainability.
This alliance marks a historic milestone in ThaiNamthip's 65-year history as the company embarks on its next chapter of growth as part of a global bottling leader. It presents exciting opportunities for sharing and learning best practices between the two teams, amplifying ThaiNamthip's strength as a leader in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) business, with world-class capabilities.
Sustainable development is also a key focus for the company, under The Coca-Cola Company's ‘World Without Waste' vision. In October 2023, ThaiNamthip in collaboration with Coca-Cola (Thailand) introduced 1-litre bottles of Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar made from 100% recycled PET plastic (excluding caps and labels). Following the success of this initiative, this year, the company added 300ml and 510ml to the list of 100% rPET (recycled PET) bottles made entirely from recycled materials.
Under the ‘World Without Waste' vision, the goal is for all primary consumer packaging to be recyclable by 2025, with at least 50% recycled plastic included by 2030 worldwide.
Mr. Corthouts further explained that the company's success is driven by its product portfolio, manufacturing
capabilities, expansive logistics network, customer-centricity, and commitment to sustainability. These five pillars are enabled by digital and technological advancements and driven by the expertise of Khon ThaiNamthip.
EXPANDING PRODUCT PORTFOLIO AND STATE-OF-THE-ART MANUFACTURING
For its product portfolio, the first Coca-Cola product offered in Thailand was the 6.5oz bottle, which retailed at 1 baht. In 1964, Sprite was introduced in Thailand for the first time. Today, Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip boasts a portfolio of more than 250 SKUs of products under some of the world's best-loved brands, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes, Minute Maid, A&W, and Namthip.
The beverages come in a variety of packs, ranging from PET bottles to returnable glass bottles, aluminium cans, and bag-in-box for fountain drinks. Regardless of the brand or packaging, all beverages are produced and bottled in strict accordance with The Coca-Cola Company's global standards. ThaiNamthip also plans to introduce innovative new products to delight consumers, with a robust plan for product launches in 2025.
For best-in-class manufacturing capabilities, ThaiNamthip now operates 21 state-of-the-art production lines and 10 preform lines, producing more than 250 SKUs of beverages across five manufacturing plants in Pathum Thani, Rangsit, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, and Lampang.
All five plants have a combined capacity of producing nearly half a million cases of beverages per day and operate in compliance with The Coca-Cola Company's global standards and best practices regarding safety, quality, and sustainability. The high-speed can-filling line at Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip's Pathum Thani plant is the fastest of its kind in Thailand, capable of filling 2,000 cans per minute.
He further added that ThaiNamthip owns and operates a fleet of around 1,100 delivery trucks, serving customers and retail outlets in 63 provinces in Thailand. The ubiquitous Coca-Cola delivery trucks are equipped with telematics technology and AI cameras to optimise fuel efficiency as well as safety.
COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY, CUSTOMER CENTRICITY, AND WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE
The company is also trialing EV delivery trucks as part of its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Each year, Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip trucks travel more than 31 million kilometres – equivalent to 775 times around the globe – delivering world-class beverages to customers and consumers across the country.
The company's success is founded on a core of customer centricity, he noted. According to him, the Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip team has deep knowledge of local customer insights, helping them to navigate the nuances of fragmented trade in Thailand.
From traditional trade to convenience stores and hypermarkets, from local restaurants to fast food chains and fine-dining establishments, from hostels to global hotel chains, the Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip team has the expertise and focus to provide exceptional service to meet the needs of both customers and their clients.
Today, Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip serves more than 430,000 customers and retail outlets and is proud to help local businesses grow and thrive. Thanks to its customer-centric approach, Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip was ranked the number one FMCG company in Thailand by modern trade customers in a 2024 survey conducted by Advantage Group.
For sustainability, he added that the manufacturing plants utilise solar power and are in the process of transitioning forklift trucks from fossil fuel to electricity. In the area of packaging, the aim is to help close the packaging loop by promoting recycling and increasing the use of recycled materials in their packaging. Coca-Cola ThaiNamthip has already transitioned to 100% rPET packaging (excluding cap and label) made from recycled materials in several packs of Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, with plans to expand this initiative in the future.
"All of these pillars are enabled by technology and digital innovation, and driven by our workforce of more than 8,000 people. We make significant investments in manufacturing technology to improve operational efficiency and sustainability. In the realm of digital innovation, we are dedicated to providing our customers with a seamless omni-channel experience while enabling our team to serve customers with greater precision and convenience," he added.
ThaiNamthip has been recognised as a "Kincentric Best Employer 2024" and received "HR Excellence Awards 2024 for Excellence in Corporate Wellness," affirming the company's prioritisation of employee well-being and career advancement opportunities. The company places great importance on diversity and inclusion in the workforce. 43% of its managers are female, with a target set to reach 50% by 2030.
To confirm its status as a leading total beverage company, Coca-Cola was named the most valuable global food and drink brand in 2024, according to a report from Kantar, with a brand value exceeding USD 98.7 billion, followed by Red Bull at USD 22.15 billion and Nongfu Spring at USD 22.15 billion.