Ms. Suporn Denpaisarn proposed to the Meeting for consideration and approval on launching a new product under “est” brand in February. The objective of this new product launch was to recruit “est Play” new users through new flavor launch “Grapeberry” and to drive both brand awareness and trial through new thematic communication and sampling. Total “est Play” A&P budget was set at Baht 52 million, divided into Baht 31.5 million for media & PR, Baht 7.3 million for sampling & premium, Baht 9.1 million for production, Baht 3.3 million for agency fee, and Baht 0.7 million for research. (Details are as appeared in the attachments to the agenda.)
Mr. Lee Meng Tat had shared his view that the team planned to exclude
7-Eleven, which had the highest negative gross margin. In this connection, the overall gross margin could improve though this might result in lower volume and could impact the unit cost. He also informed that the modern trade’s gross margin was also negative. Notwithstanding the low gross margin, which was similar to the existing est Play flavors, the introduction of a new flavor would stimulate and renew consumers’ interest in “est Play”.
He therefore supported the proposal to launch the new product under “est” brand.
Mr. Somchai Bulsook, 1st Vice President, inquired about the product test. In this regard, Ms. Jesdakorn Ghosh gave affirmation response. The product would not be distributed in 7-Eleven in order to improve the bottom line.
Mr. Dhitivute Bulsook, Director, recommended the sale of “Grape Flavour” in RB since, in the past, some products had been impacted from the sunrise exposure.
Ms. Jesdakorn confirmed that the new “est Play” would not have RB. She also affirmed the market growth at 5% from this new product was expectable.
The Chairman emphasized that, along with an attempt to boost the portfolio, which SKUs provided the incremental benefit should be focused. In addition, he assigned Mr. Vivek Chhabra, Director, to ensure the tracking on “est Play’ performance as it would be beneficial for the Marketing team to project and improve the portfolio. Key SKU for “est Cola” should also be considered in terms of sizing and price.
Furthermore, the Chairman emphasized that it was significant to have clear communication with teams and study which subcategories would help pushing up the growth of NAB portfolio to the top line. It was also needed to consider the effectiveness of marketing investment. In this regard, he emphasized the cooperation between the Sales and the Marketing teams to execute according to the plan. The team shall focus on the target and streamline any problem to ensure the NAB success in the long run.
Finally, the Chairman gave direction to Mr. Vivek on the launch of new “est Play” that any urgent issue could be submitted to himself directly for ratification in order to ensure prompt action.
The Meeting was proposed to consider the matter.
After consideration, the Meeting resolved to give approval for launching a new product under ‘est’ brand as proposed.