Launched in Malaysia
T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries Co., Ltd. has recently launched the Warrior sparkling energy drink in Malaysia on 31 March 2017 through Allexcel. The launch in Malaysia is part of a plan to roll out the sparkling energy drink in Southeast Asia.
Allexcel has rights for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Jate Samathivathanachai, Director of Strategy & Investments, Allexcel Trading Sdn. Bhd. said in an interview with the author that the company will seek those markets [Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei] out slowly.
Vietnam is the first market for Warrior
T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries, the brand owner, is getting Warrior into the rest of Indochina. Vietnam is the first market for the Warrior sparkling energy drink. In Vietnam, the company distributes the product through the general trade (GT) first before moving into the modern trade (MT), said Pornsak Sermwitwatwong, Senior Manager, Business Development T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries Bangkok, Thailand.
It is therefore not surprising to find that the major convenience store chains like Circle K as well as the modern supermarkets like Co.Op and Giant are still not carrying Warrior in their stores. The author only saw Warrior selling by roadside vendors when visiting Ho Chi Minh City in March 2017.
Available in all channels in Malaysia
In Malaysia, the company has made available Warrior concurrently in the modern trade and general trade, explained Pornsak. He added that the Warrior sparkling energy drink is now in all the Indochina countries including in Myanmar and Cambodia.
Pioneer in new sparkling energy drink category
Pornsak also said that the Warrior sparkling energy drink is not competing against the regular energy drink like Carabao. Instead, it operates in the new sparkling energy segment, which makes it a pioneer in the sparkling energy category in the region.
