News

No.11120   July 25, 2011

The Launch of Mirai, a New Brand of Green Tea in Thailand
A Brand Jointly Developed by Suntory and Tipco


Suntory Beverage & Food Limited has jointly developed with Tipco F&B Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand; Managing Director: Viwat Limsakdakul; Suntory Beverage & Food Limited controlling share: 50%) a new brand of green tea called Mirai (500ml PET bottle). Tipco is releasing Mirai in Thailand starting from late July.

Thailand's non-alcoholic beverages market has in recent years seen continued growth for green tea beverages due to the increase in health consciousness among consumers. In 2010, the green tea beverage market showed impressive growth, increasing by about 20% over the prior year.

Amid this situation, Suntory Beverage & Food started joint development of a new green tea brand with Tipco from 2009. The synergy between the marketing know-how of Tipco, which sells products such as Thailand's No.1 100% fruit juice beverage brand*¹ Tipco, and the product development competency and production technology capacity of Suntory Beverage & Food, which have been responsible for the creation of beverages such as Suntory Oolong Tea and Iyemon, resulted in the development of Mirai, a new green tea beverage that suits the Thai palate.

  • *¹ CANADEAN Soft Drinks Service THAILAND Report 2010

The majority of Thailand's green tea market comprises sweet green tea containing sugar, dominant among which are honey lemon flavors, which command a market share of approximately 40%. Market stalwart Honey Lemon is joined this time by the release of two other flavors: Sakura, which features the florid fragrance of the cherry blossom, and Original, which weds the natural taste of green tea with a refreshing sweetness.

Suntory Beverage & Food started its non-alcoholic beverage business in Thailand by entering into a capital tie-up with Tipco in 2007. Functional beverage DAKARA was released in 2008, rebranded as DAKARA Benefit in May of this year, and is being received well.

We will continue to both aggressively promote the Suntory brand in Thailand and maximize our synergy with group companies in Japan, the rest of Asia, Europe, and Oceania in order to accelerate even further the global strategy of the Suntory Group as a whole.

Tipco Company Profile

Company name
Tipco F&B Co., Ltd.
Headquarter
Bangkok, Thailand
Managing Director
Viwat Limsakdakul
Established
1989
Employees
539 (as of end of December 2010)
Business area
Production and sales of non-alcoholic beverages
Main products
Tipco, Squeeze (100% pure fruit juice beverage), Cool (low-fruit juice beverage), Aura (mineral water), DAKARA Benefit (functional beverage)
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