Competition in Thailand's drinking water market is expected to intensify next year after Singha Corporation splurged 1 billion baht to wrestle back market share from Crystal.
Titiporn Thammapimookkul, marketing director of Singha Corporation Co, said the company is set to allocate 1 billion baht for marketing activities for its drinking water next year.
Of the total, 800 billion baht will be used for promotions and the rest for other marketing activities.
In line with these efforts, Singha has hired Jinjett "Jaonaay" Wattanasin, the eldest son of singer J Jetrin, as the presenter for its drinking water in a bid to appeal to younger customers.
The company also plans to expand its distribution channels for Singha Drinking Water, including football stadiums, hospitals and universities.
"We want to appeal to more teenagers and young people, making Singha Drinking Water their first choice," said Mr Titiporn.
He said there is still huge market potential for drinking water in Thailand because of the growing number of health-conscious people.
"We are trying to compete in a 'blue ocean', not on price. We want to become the market leader in terms of profit," said Mr Titiporn.
Competition in the domestic drinking water market has become fierce since last year, leading Singha's market share to drop to 21% this year, down from 22% in the previous year.
Singha controlled 27% of the market in previous years.
Thailand's drinking water market this year is estimated to be worth 43 billion baht. Despite a drop in market share, Singha remains the market leader, followed by Crystal which controls 20%, Nestle and Numthip at 17-18% and 9%, respectively.
"Although our market share has declined, we are still the market leader in drinking water," said Mr Tititporn, adding that the drop in sales of Singha Drinking Water this year was can also be attributed to slow growth in the country's overall drinking water market, which has grown by 10% this year, compared with more than 10% growth in the previous 3-4 years.
The slow growth stems largely from stiff price competition.
Mr Titiporn said with the aggressive marketing plan for next year, the company expects Singha's market share to increase to 23% next year.
Singha Drinking Water is produced at seven factories in Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, Surat Thani and Singburi. The company has combined production capacity of 1.5 billion litres per year.
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