Nestlé Thailand Invests US$6.6m in World-First ‘No Added Sugar’ Beverage Version
MILO is expanding its presence in Thailand’s 10,000 million Baht chocolate malt beverage market by investing 200 million baht in the launch of new “MILO UHT No Sucrose,” the first-ever showcase innovation chocolate malt ready-to-drink product that does not contain any added sugar. It’s a pioneering product that reflects the government’s public health policy of encouraging Thai people to consume an appropriate amount of sugar. New MILO No Sucrose highlights the concept of “No Sucrose, yet tasty and nutritious energy from milk and malt” to attract modern moms who are looking for alternative healthier products for their children.
Mr. Victor Seah, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Indochina, said, “At Nestlé, we are constantly improving the nutritional and taste performance of our food and beverage products. This is one of the many actions we are taking to help fulfil the company’s purpose of ‘Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future.’ As of today, Nestlé has 48 SKUs with the Thai Healthier Choice Logo and the company will continue to work with relevant authorities and stakeholders to do our part to support efforts to make Thailand a healthier nation. Although the amount of sugar in our products has always met strict World Health Organization guidelines, we understand the importance of sugar reduction. This is why we take a proactive approach to helping individuals and families reduce their added-sugar intake through educational initiatives and by offering new choices to consumers.”
Mr. Chaiyong Sakulborrirug, Business Executive Officer – Dairy & Adult Nutrition, Nestlé (Thai) Ltd., said, “MILO, as the innovation leader in the Thai chocolate malt beverage market for over six decades, develops every MILO product to offer delicious taste along with nutritional benefits. MILO products have passed Nestlé’s strict quality control standards and fully comply with stringent World Health Organization (WHO) and Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ministry of Public Health regulations. We also continually educate consumers about proper nutrition in response to the government’s public health policy of encouraging Thais to consume an appropriate amount of sugar. The original product, ‘MILO regular,’ developed to provide energy and nutritional value, was followed in 2017 by the launch of ‘MILO 30% Less Sugar.’ Created to meet the needs of those who wanted a product with less sugar, it enjoyed a very positive response from consumers. There is a growing trend among consumers who are becoming more health conscious to look for products that don’t contain sucrose to help reduce the amount of sugar they consume each day. The public and private sector are educating consumers about appropriate sugar consumption and offering them new alternatives for healthy products with less sugar. The “Healthier Choice Logo” program was also introduced to help consumers make more informed decisions about the products they buy. Given these health concerns, we launched MILO UHT No Sucrose as another alternative choice for consumers.”
“New MILO UHT No Sucrose is the first-ever product of this type, developed under the MILO brand to meet today’s consumer needs. It’s the result of a collaboration by three product research & development teams from Nestlé’s global research & development center in Switzerland, the regional level in Singapore, and the local level in Thailand. Their combined efforts led to the successful development of MILO No Sucrose, which has already received the Healthier Choice Logo to ensure mom’s confidence in choosing this product for her kids. We also conducted considerable research with Thai consumers that included testing the product concept and product tasting. The results showed that 9 out of 10 Thai consumers love the product’s taste and will definitely buy MILO UHT No Sucrose,” said Mr. Chaiyong.