In a major announcement, Big Cola, a prominent carbonated beverage brand in Thailand, has secured a 2-year agreement to become an Official Regional Partner of Manchester City, the English football club that holds the distinction of being the first to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
AJE Thailand Co., Ltd.’s Marketing Manager, Chanin Thiencharoen, stated that the company is allocating over THB 100 million to its marketing budget in 2025, focusing on sponsorship to enhance its international brand image and appeal to a younger audience. Manchester City’s success and global fanbase, including in Thailand, make them an ideal partner.
In 2025, AJE Thailand will begin with the ‘Big Cola x Manchester City’ campaign, offering consumers the chance to win trips to England for Premier League matches, which is projected to significantly increase sales. According to the company, there are currently 5 million Manchester City fans in Thailand and 44 million in Indonesia.
The company’s distribution strategy in Thailand involves achieving full coverage of the 400,000 traditional trade outlets (compared to the current 60%). The company has expanded to 90% of modern trade channels. These efforts aim to strengthen competitiveness and unlock new business opportunities.
AJE Thai aims to diversify their product categories beyond carbonated soft drinks by introducing products from other categories including RTD coffee. At the moment, Big Cola contributes 90% of revenue and 10% from other beverage categories. The future goal is to raise the revenue contribution of other beverages to 15% and then to 20%. AJE Thai’s other drinks include Big Tea (tea beverages), Volt (carbonated energy drinks) and Vida (drinking water). The company registered sales of THB 3.6 billion in 2024 with a goal to increase it to THB 4.5 billion in 2025.
