Bangkok--16 Jul--Tea The Cha
Simply W, a tea cafe and shop agent for British spirit tea brand, “Whittard of Chelsea” in Thailand launches online distribution channel to expand customer base beyond Bangkok. Tapping a rising demand of premium tea market, worth Bt1,500 million per year, the shop expects that the online platform will boost customer awareness as well as its business growth along with the plan to operate 10 branches in Bangkok, Samui, and Chiang Mai by the end of this year.
Mr. Chirapong Sakullachat, Chef Executive Officer of Tea The Cha (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a wholesaler of Whittard of Chelsea and a developer of tea caf?, Simply W, unveiled that the company, which has been in a tea industry since 2005, foresees a strong potential in premium tea consumer market beyond Bangkok.
“Tea consumption market in Thailand has been growing, especially in the past few years with a jump of demand from consumers. This promising trend is resulted from key factors which include a positive image of tea brands and tea shops which have been established by a number of top players, plus the positive image of premium tea drinker, as well as an increasing trend of health lovers who seek to consume natural beverage. It is expected that the market value, excluding the Ready to Drink Tea market, stood around Bt1,500 million per annum. With the fact that premium tea consumption trend is on a rise as well as a strong competition among domestic and international tea brands, the company is tapping this opportunity to catch the market demand by expanding distribution channel. Part of the strategies is to use the online platform, http://www.simplywcafe.com, to establish the awareness and expand the market to the nationwide level.”
He added, “Prior to the launch of online channel, Whittard of Chelsea products were introduced only at the tea caf?, Simply W. The shop operates eight branches at Bangkok premium shopping malls, Suvarnabhumi Airport and at Koh Samui Airport. It also uses Whittard of Chelsea as the core ingredient for its beverage menu. Meanwhile, once the online distribution has launched, it has been gaining a well feedback from the online customers of which over 50% of online orders are from outside of Bangkok. In addition, the company also gained orders from corporate market which seek for premium gifts for their customers.
On the website, customers can find Whittard of Chelsea traditional tea products as well as the instant tea with different flavors. In addition, there are other imported gourmet products such as salad dressing branded Brainnas and breakfast cereal, Jordans. These products offers special price online with no delivering fee.
Mr Chirapong said, the company targets 25% of business growth in overall, and the online sales activity is part of the effort. The company also aims to add two more branches of Simply W by the end of this year, included Chiang Mai and the second branch in Koh Samui. In addition, the company also plans to expand the footprint of Simply W to neighboring countries after the integration of AEC.
Simply W is a pilot for tea caf? concept within Thailand. The shop aims to respond the demand of consumer’s lifestyle and targets upscale and middle class consumers. Besides the traditional tea beverages, Simply W also introduced Tea Mocktail and other beverages menu with more than 50 choices.
Eight branches of Simply W are located at The Emporium, Siam Paragon, La Villa Phaholyothin, Central World, Central Ladprao, Central Rama 9, Suvarnabhumi Airport and Koh Samui Airport.
For more details about Simply W products and services, please visit http://www.simplywcafe.com
Or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/whittardthailand