The Thai hot drinks sector is projected to grow from ฿45.8bn (US$1.5bn) in 2020 to ฿64.9bn (US$2.2bn) by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% over the five-year period, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Thailand Hot Drinks – Market Assessment and Forecasts to 2025’ reveals that the market is majorly driven by the growth of the hot coffee category, which is forecast to register the fastest value CAGR of 7.4% during 2020–2025. This is followed by ‘other hot drinks’ category, which is expected to record a CAGR of 5.3% during the same period.

Jhinuk Roy, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The hot drinks sector in Thailand was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to changed consumer preferences towards hot drinks products such as increased consumption of green tea and herbal tea. Furthermore, the rising dominance of the hot coffee category in Thailand, over other hot drink categories is backed by a growing consumer preference for more caffeinated drinks, along with rapid urbanization and increased purchasing power.”

‘Convenience stores’ was the leading distribution channel in the Thai hot drinks sector in 2020 followed by and ‘hypermarkets & supermarkets’ and ‘food & drinks’ specialists.

Per capita expenditure (PCE) of hot drinks in Thailand increased from US$15.4 in 2015 to US$20.8 in 2020, which was higher than the regional level (US$20.4) but lower when compared to the global level (US$31.8). Furthermore, per capita expenditure of hot drinks in Thailand is expected to increase and reach US$30.1 by 2025.

​Nestle., Jacobs Douwe Egberts, and New Concept Product Co. Ltd. were the top three companies in the Thai hot drinks sector by value in 2020, while Nescafé and Super were the leading brands.

Roy concludes: “Resurgence of COVID-19 infection across the country has impacted consumer buying patterns, leading them to focus on products with health and wellness attributes such as ‘organic’ and ‘consist of natural ingredients’.”