Press Release – Business 13 March 2018

Aquafina® Appoints “Maria Poonlertlarp” As First Brand Ambassador Aiming for Top 5 in ’s THB33 Billion Packaged Drinking Water Category

Bangkok – Aquafina drinking water by Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand) Company Limited, makes a significant move in Thailand’s THB33 billion‐valued packaged drinking water category1 by appointing the Thailand 2017 Maria Poonlertlarp as its first brand ambassador, restating the brand’s position as the world’s leading drinking water. The brand will also activate a THB70 million marketing campaign – “Aquafina® Clean, Clear and Quality” – this summer to capitalize on consumers’ increased focus on health and wellness.

Somchai Ketchaikosol, marketing director for beverages of PepsiCo Services Asia Limited, commented “In 2017, Thailand’s liquid refreshing beverage industry experienced a decline of 3 per cent2, due to the result of the country’s economic downturn, the slowdown in household spending and also the climate conditions where the rainy season was longer than usual. Nonetheless, the packaged drinking water was still among the top three categories with highest growth, with an increase of approximately 0.7 per cent3 compared to the year before. Especially the mineral water segment, which accounts for around 12 per cent4 of the entire drinking water category, grew by 8 per cent5 given new players stepping into the market last year including our Aquafina Minérale.”

“Thanks to the growing trend of healthy lifestyle and eating perceptions, Thailand’s THB 4 billion mineral water segment6 continues to grow year by year, especially in the convenience store which is the main distribution channel. Last year, mineral water saw 9 per cent7 growth in this channel while plain drinking water rose by only 3 per cent8. Launched only a half year ago, Aquafina Minérale has received a highly positive feedback from consumers and become one of the five best‐selling mineral water in the channel.”

“This year, we have seen a more aggressive competition in the category since the beginning of the year with major players kicking off their marketing campaigns for summer as earlier as February. Then, we are now launching our new campaign ‘Aquafina®: Clean, Clear and Quality’ to highlight quality of our world‐class drinking water, assured by state‐of‐the‐art HydRO‐7™ technology, which is PepsiCo’s trademarked seven‐step purification process.”

Under this new campaign, Aquafina has set aside budget of THB 70 million for its marketing activities, covering both drinking water and mineral water. The campaign is anchored by new commercial featuring Maria Poonlertlarp and backed by other supporting media as well as trade promotion activities both in traditional‐trade and modern‐trade channels.

“We are certain that our new campaign coupled with sale support programs and proactive channel expansion will bring Aquafina brand to become one of the five most popular drinking water brands by the end of this year,” concluded Somchai.

Follow updates on activities of Aquafina drinking water and Aquafina Minérale mineral water on Aquafina Thailand Facebook. The new Aquafina’s TV commercial can be viewed at https://youtu.be/FDRafD3Ob3Q

1‐8 Source: The Nielsen Company (Thailand) Limited

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For more information, please contact Verve Public Relations Consultancy: Atinart Bunditwongrat (Hui) Tel: 02‐204‐8225, 095‐514‐9964 E‐mail: [email protected] Pornchanan Yamarat (Gift) Tel: 02‐204‐8223, 081‐755‐1105 E‐mail: [email protected]