NESTLE IN THAILAND

Swiss food giant Nestle has said that its Thai Division is about to introduce another
major drive in its aim to consolidate the still fragmented ice-cream market in Thailand.

Nestle icre cream has said that its intends to invest a total of E23.4m in an attempt to
further expand its business. The company said that approximately 75 per cent of
budget had been allocated towards markenting activities which will feature new
products and advertising. The company says its i salso planning on doubling
production capacity from 30-35 million litres a year to 60-70 million litres over the
course of the next few years.
Currently Nestle Thailand has a 36-per cent share of Thailand’s ice-cream market,
which is estimated to be a worth a total of E113M, but the latest programme aims to
push that market share up to 40 per cent. Nestle is keen to gain some ground on rival
ice-cream maker Unilever which currently has a 40-to-45-per-cent leading share of the
market.
Last year the Company successfully increased its share of the market by launching a
range of take-home ice-cream products for the market, which helped to boost its
market share from around 30 per cent. Nestle launched seven varieties of ice-crem,
including traditional flavourss made with coconuts, peanuts and condensed milk
Meanwhile, Unilever is also looking to maintain its leading position in the market by
announcing this week the launch of a Wall’s Brand low-fat versión of its ice-cream in an
effort to capitalise on growing niche markets.

THE PHILIPPINE MARKET

The Philippine market is dominated by three companies,, namely: Selecta-Wall’s,
Nestle Philippines and Universal Robina. Selecta and Nestle each claim market shares
of 46%. There are also imported brands in the market, such as Dairy Queen, Haagen-
Dazs and Baskin-Robbins.
Icre-cream consists mainly of milk. Since the country imports 99% of its milk, the ice-
cream industry is vulnerable to foreign Exchange fluctuations. Another concern is the
presence of adequate storage and handling facilities, since ice-cream easily melts, The
product’s shelf life usually ranges from two weeks to one-year, depending on the
conditions of its storage.
Consumption is largely influenced by quality, such as flavor, body and texture,
appearance or color of the product , and packaging. Increasing competition in the
market has also led manufactures to develop and lauch new production techniques,
flavors, and products.
Overall, there is still a large market for ice-cream. In the Philippines, where ice-cream is
considered as a traditional dessert, there is definitely room for increasing the low per-
capita consumption. The key is in providing quality products at competitve prices.