Australian retailer, Coles has recently signed an agreement with major Thai retailer, Central Food Retail Company (Central) to sell 200 Coles house brand products in Thailand.
This will represent a strong opportunity for Australian producers to capitalise on the growing Thai F&B market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7%, according to GlobalData.
Coles Own Brand was launched recently at the ‘Taste of Australia: The Magical Foods of OZ’ event organized in Bangkok. Coles introduced its Australia-made range of baking goods, biscuits, butter, cheese, chips, coffee, honey, nuts, muesli, and spreads.
Coles will leverage on the strong online and offline retail presence of Central in Thailand. The retail chain operator has major plan to expand to other Southeast Asian markets which include Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Bobby Verghese, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData said, “As one of the largest food and beverage markets in Asia, Thailand is attracting interest from consumer packaged goods companies across the globe…Around 30% of Thai respondents said they typically bought bakery, cereals, and morning goods made by foreign/global multinational brands in GlobalData’s Q4 2022 consumer survey.”
Meanwhile, the reduced tariffs on beef and dairy products under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) and Thailand-Australia FTA delivers a competitive edge to Australian producers to enter the regional market. Coles and other retailers will leverage their inherent strengths in the prepared meals, syrups & spreads, meat substitutes, and wines categories, which GlobalData projects will be the fastest-growing categories in the Thai food and beverage sector from 2023 to 2027.
With the recovery from the pandemic, Australian food and drink manufacturers can leverage indigenous superfoods such as manuka honey, lupin beans, and Kakadu plum, to address the rising demand for novel and better-for-you consumption experiences among Thai Millennials and Gen Z youth.
