Soft drinks market / Haadthip

Editorial staff

Haadthip Plc (HTC), the exclusive bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company for the 14 southern provinces of Thailand, plans to spend 1.2 billion baht on a new production line for glass bottle products and extend warehouse this year.

This investment aligns with its overarching goal of achieving a total sales revenue of 15 billion baht by 2032.

Maj Gen Patchara Rattakul

Maj Gen Patchara Rattakul, the company’s chief executive officer, said that the budget of 800 million baht will be used to new production line for glass bottle products, which will be installed at its facility in Poon Pin district, Surat Thani province. The remaining 500 million baht will be used for extending space of warehouse for another 10,000 square metres.

This strategic investment is slated for completion by the fourth quarter of 2024 and aligns with HTC's commitment to sustainability and operational excellence.

“We recognize the immense potential in the glass bottle business, particularly in the hospitality and food service sectors, where on-premise consumption is prevalent. It is also an area where we have higher competitive advantage against our competition. Besides, we believe glass bottles will allow us to manage packaging material costs better and reduce our use of plastic packaging which is critical to accomplishing our sustainability commitments,” Maj Gen Patchara said.

He adds that the company expects to have continued growth at a rate of approximately 6-8% this year, driven by the promising tourism outlook in the South.

The company plans to introduce new products tailored to the preferences of Thai consumers. Additionally, HTC sees significant opportunities in expanding its zero-sugar beverage segment, which witnessed a remarkable 31% growth in 2023 and currently accounts for only 3% of HTC’s total sales revenue.

HTC achieved a total revenue of 7.8 billion baht in 2023, marking the highest figure in the past five years and representing a significant 13.6% growth compared to 2022. The net profit for the year reached 598 million baht, reflecting a remarkable 38.8% increase from the previous year.

HTC continued its growth trajectory in 2023 and this was largely fueled by the tourism boom in the southern region. He pointed to the rapid recovery of Thailand's tourism sector, particularly in the southern provinces, surpassing other regions.

Furthermore, HTC implemented price adjustments in August 2022 and April 2023, resulting in an average retail price increase of 6% and 1.5% respectively.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand received as many as 28 million foreign tourists in 2023 which represents a growth of 154% from 2022. In addition, the Bank of Thailand’s statistics on hotel occupancy also suggest that the southern region had received more tourists than the other regions did.  

This prompted the company’s decision to focus on the right pack sizes and channel strategies as tourists’ spending tend to concentrate more in hotels, restaurants, food shops and convenience stores.  

In the long term, HTC aims to solidify its market leadership in the 14 southern provinces, targeting 15 billion baht in sales and a 35% market share of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages by 2032.

On the other hand, the group plans to expand the portfolio into the real estate business to 14 southern provinces with land sizes ranging from 3-4 rai, 10 rai, hostels 100 rai.

“We have been marketing soft drinks in Thailand for 50 years and we will expand to develop other businesses. Due to our potential and long time strong connections with local people in the South , it is enough strong to expand to other business,” he said