90% of Thai people in urban areas drink CSD out of home
Refreshment, less sugar, and a great taste are prioritised by a rapidly changing population.
Carbonated Soft Drinks have been a popular beverage for Thai consumers for a long time, as Thailand is a tropical country which is warm and humid all year round. Thai people want products that help them feel refreshed.
Through analysis of Kantar’s Out of Home Panel, we found that 90% of Thai consumers in urban areas purchase CSD to drink away from their home, more than 22 times per year, and spending more than 19 THB per shopping trip.
Thai consumers call for low- or zero-sugar CSD that tastes good.
There are a couple of key trends which brands need to understand in order to drive more consumers to choose their products to meet their needs. First, it is important to understand Thailand’s changing demographics. Our society is ageing rapidly, with those aged 60 and above making up the majority of the population, replacing those aged 19 and below, which had been the largest population cluster since 1960.
The other major demographic change is decreasing family size. The average family size has reduced to fewer than three people, with Greater Bangkok having an even lower average of fewer than two people.
The second trend is the desire for health benefits, which is still driving the Thai food and beverage market, including CSD.
Cola is still the biggest CSD segment, with Lemon-Lime flavour consumers’ second most popular choice.
But if we look deeper, we can start to see evidence of the increasing importance of the Flavour segment, especially no-sugar variants which have been picking up shoppers really fast.
Meanwhile, the penetration of full-sugar Lemon-Lime and full-sugar Flavour drinks has started to drop significantly.
Reducing sugar levels in food and drink to support improved health is a global movement. The Thai government, World Health Organisation (WHO), and consumers are all talking about it. Currently, most Thai consumers are looking for beverages with less or zero sugar, and CSD brands are diversifying their product offerings to match shoppers’ needs.
In May 2023, WHO released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against their use to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Despite this, more than 60% of Thai shoppers are still consuming no-sugar CSDs out of the home, and this is likely to continue to increase.
