Kirin's new green tea for the hot season
Banking on the steaming summer heat, Kirin is unleashing a grain-flavoured variation to its Namacha line of ready-to-drink green teas to keep consumers cool this Songkran.
Hiroaki Noh, chairman of Siam Kirin Beverage, wants to capture at least 5 per cent of the total Japanese green-tea market through its Bt150-million promotional push. As part of the campaign, the new offering, called Minocha, will be discounted to Bt16 from Bt20 per bottle at all 7-Elevens during the holiday. Oishi dominates the Bt3-billion market, with a 60-per-cent share. Unif is a distant second with 10 per cent. The new flavour - derived from corn, barley and rice - will complement Siam Kirin's line-up of "original" and "low-sweet" flavours. The original flavour now makes up 60 per cent of its sales. Noh would like to see the ratio revised to 40 per cent for original-flavoured green tea and 40 per cent for unsweetened tea, with the new Minocha grain flavour making up the rest. Besides 7-Eleven stores, Namacha is distributed through traditional and modern retail outlets. Noh projects 10-per-cent growth this year, in line with the overall industry, with turnover of Bt300 million.
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