Responding to the trend among the new generation of coffee lovers to drink black and iced coffee, the new variant is Thailand’s first café-style zero-sugar black coffee mix, offering the full taste and aroma of finely ground roasted Arabica coffee with no sweetness and only five calories.

Certified with the “Healthier Choice Logo, it’s a cold soluble coffee that is easy to prepare and great when served either iced or hot, according to the maker.

Nescafé Americano has also introduced Thanapob “Tor” Leeratanakajorn as its brand ambassador to reinforce the brand as the “coolest black drink for the new generation”.

The Thai bcoffee-mix market, valued at Bt16.2 billion, grew 5.1 per cent last year.

Nescafé established the two-in-one category when it launched Nescafé Americano in March last year.

It has been tremendously successful, receiving great feedback from the new generation of coffee drinkers, with 71 per cent of Nescafé Americano consumers aged 20 to 39, the company said.

The Americano and black coffee trend is also showing strong growth in other models.

At NESCAFÉ HUB@Chidlom, Iced Americano is the second best-selling beverage, while Nitro Americano is in fourth place.

For Nescafé Dolce Gusto, black coffee is the best-selling beverage with growth of over 31 per cent.

Victor Seah, chairman and chief executive officer of Nestlé Indochina, said on Tuesday: “Following the great response to Nescafé Americano, I am pleased that we are celebrating the launch of new Nescafé Americano Zero Sugar. It’s the coolest black drink with no sugar that meets Thai coffee lovers’ evolving preference for healthier black coffee … This product innovation is our latest SKU to be certified with the Healthier Choice Logo.

“It strengthens Nestlé’s position as the leading food and beverage company, with 48 SKUs certified with the Healthier Choice Logo, the highest number for any company in our category.”

Naritta Vipulyasekha, business manager – Nescafé Coffee Mixes; Nestlé (Thai), said: “Innovative new Nescafé Americano Zero Sugar is the result of our understanding the changing needs of the new generation of coffee drinkers who want a healthier choice for black and iced coffee. Based on our social listening, we discovered that there is consumer demand for Americano coffee that is not sweet and does not contain any sugar.”

Brand ambassador “Tor” Thanapob will convey the product concept of Nescafé Americano through a new commercial entitled “Cool You Down,” which airs from today on leading TV stations and digital platforms.

Citing the annual report for 2018, Zhu told a press conference yesterday Huawei enjoyed 15.1 per cent year-on-year growth in the Asia Pacific region last year, resulting in the revenue of nearly US$12 billion.

“We do not have any concern over the potential impacts of the backwind from the US. So far, our business in Myanmar as well as in the region is growing well, even higher than the past few years,” he said.

“We have not witnessed any single sign of negative impacts in our business yet. Many of our corporate clients in Myanmar as well as in the region are so professional that they are wise enough to see the truth, when it comes to cyber security of Huawei products and solutions.”

Zhu said the trend would go on, as their clients from both public and private sectors continue to believe in Huawei’s offerings.

“The major difference between Myanmar and other Asean countries is that this country has a big population, and enjoyed very rapid economic growth over the past few years, when compared to others in the region,” he said.

“Myanmar enjoyed significant growth in the ICT industry in the past few years. Mobile penetration in Myanmar is currently around 100 per cent of the population, but only 20 per cent have access to 4G services. Broadband services account for only one per cent of the population so there is much room for improvement.”

He said both Myanmar and regional markets could not be interfered in by the US, provided that the demand for better, safer technology is on the rise in Asia Pacific.

“We do not mind being banned from the US market. But, they are trying to persuade other countries not to use Huawei’s offerings. It is a big problem for us,” he said.

“We still enjoy very good performance, and a stable growth. Millions of customers from most of the countries around the world still choose to trust us, and give us a lot of support. So, we believe this influence [by the US] will be smaller and smaller.”

Zhu said Huawei could maintain its healthy growth in Myanmar last year, like in other Asean countries. Its consumer business grew by 36 per cent, with more than 1 million smart devices sold in Myanmar. Enterprise and cloud business achieved many breakthroughs, and Huawei worked with KBZ bank to launch mobile money services which have served nearly 2 million users so far.

“Since 2018, when Huawei Cloud was introduced to Myanmar, many local enterprises across the industry are able to rapidly and efficiently deploy IT system and services,” he said.

“We will bring more products and solutions to Myanmar, on a par with other Asean countries. No one can stop Huawei, and we will be growing further locally, regionally and globally.”

He said the firm would further invest in manpower, digital systems and accounting services to better serve the increasing volume of visitors coming to the country.

“We need to be ready for international visitors flocking to Myanmar. We must have enough capacity in place to serve more tourists if Myanmar is to become one of the top tourism destinations in Asia,” he said.

As part of the strategy to maintain its leadership in the destination management segment, the firm will boost its human capital and workforce over time.

“We have set our heart on doing well at the corporate level. Now, we are focusing on decentralisation, allowing all the line managers to freely make their own decisions on most of the important matters,” he said.

The firm currently has 60 employees with 75 per cent based in the company’s headquarters in Yangon while the rest work at its three branches in Bagan, Mandalay and Inle.

“We are constantly monitoring the latest developments in tourism . We will expand our team with the new generation, such as graduates from tourism study,” he said.

He stressed the importance of grooming local talents. In this regard, the firm provides in-house training to foster the personal development of its staff, and raises awareness on social and environmental problems industry players are facing.

“We have nurtured more than 120 professional service providers in the hospitality sector, and I personally give lectures on tourism at the National Management Degree College,” he said.

Thet Lwin Toh established a tour operations company in 1993, offering pilgrimage tours to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and quickly became a pioneering outbound tourism operator. Three years later, he founded Myanmar Voyages Co to provide inbound and outbound exclusive tours.

The executive takes pride in becoming the pioneer in bringing Spanish, Northern Europe and South American visitors to Myanmar. As a Travelife certified company, it offers exclusive tours and logistic services such as aviation ground handling and port coordination.

Designed to delight all kind of visitors, the firm offers a wide range of packages from one-day excursions to multi-week tours including extension tours, short breaks, honeymoon trips, classic tours, luxury tours, leisure tours, adventure tours, trekking, balloon adventures, and day trips.

“Our experienced team is always ready to help customers design the trip of their dreams, customising the tours to their satisfaction,” he said.

“We believe that friendship comes before business. We aim to establish close and long-lasting relationships with our partners, trying our best to make them feel like a second family.”

According to the executive, Myanmar Voyages currently enjoys 10 to 20 per cent growth on a yearly basis. Inbound tourism and package tours will be the key driver of the firm’s growth in the near future, while it will also focus on cruise tourism, leisure tours and MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions). To date, the firm has provided personalised services to thousands of visitors coming to Myanmar via more than 120 luxury cruises and it has acquired more than half of the market shares in Myanmar’s cruise tourism.

In light of Myanmar’s Look East policy which aims to boost visitor arrivals from Eastern countries, Thet Lwin Toh foresees an increase in visitors from Japan, China, Korea and India in the next few months.

Yet, he considers zero dollar tours by some Chinese companies as a “growing threat” to Myanmar’s tourism industry.

“We have witnessed bold moves by tourism authorities to improve visitor arrivals by allowing visa-free travels and the visa-on-arrival scheme for some countries. It is a step in the right decision, and we expect it to continue,” he said.

“But, the authorities must be cautious about foreign tour operators taking advantages of our opening, and should take measures to protect the interest of locals.”

The company, Tri Trerak Co Ltd, recently launched its ‘ME’ jigsaw soaps as the first product in its portfolio. The soaps target premium customers both in Thailand and abroad.

Since starting the business two months ago, the first lot of 50,000 pieces of ‘ME’ soaps have been sold domestically. The company has had new orders for more than 100,000 pieces, Trerak said.

“I think I’m professional about beauty. I’m 52, but still look young, and I would like to share this beauty secret with everyone,” said Trerak, the managing director of Tri Trerak Co Ltd.

“The main inspiration behind the launch of my own cosmetics and skincare firm is ‘ME’ and Thai women of all generations. I would like to share beauty secrets with Thai women. They are so beautiful and in good shape.

“This means they always take care of their beauty and health. And that makes me think about myself that I should never stop taking care of myself. This is why I came up with my product,” said Trerak.

She added that she expects her business to grow fast because she has come up with a niche product with very good branding.

“My brand will offer all skincare products as well as cosmetics in the future. It is my dream to create both cosmetics and skincare lines. I’m crazily in love with these products,” said Trerak.

“I am focusing on innovation and having a niche for all my products. I would like to have it as close to nature as possible,” said Trerak, adding, “I have the courage to do things differently.”

Trerak said she wants to create a strong brand with a clear concept, which is: ‘Boutique beauty is urban, unique, chic with the best quality’. Also, innovation of new products is the main key,” she said.

“I am blending all these together for my customers to see and feel the difference to have loyal customers in the future,” said Trerak. “With my ambition and dreams, I would like to see my business grow stronger and stronger. I will continue to produce innovative and boutique skincare products for everyone,” she added.

Trerak said that she is yet to export her products to other countries.

“At the moment, we are dealing with the buyers from Sri Lanka and Bahrain. We are working on the documentation, because those countries have strict regulations on the import of cosmetic products.”

She revealed that when she attended the Baan Lae Suan Fair last month, she was contacted by two well-known department stores such as Siam Discovery Center and Lotte Duty Free to present and sell her products in their department stores. “However, I have to manage and complete our shop within the next two months as promised,” she said.

Trerak said that she has been busy this month attending a business-matching platform in Myanmar. She is also preparing for another local fair called Style Bangkok and an international fair in Hong Kong. She is also setting up franchise stores in Chiang Mai and Phuket in the next two months, Trerak said.

Trerak said in the first year of operations, the company expects 70 of sales in the domestic market and 30 per cent from exports.

“Over the next three years, I expect to have 70 per cent of annual revenue from exports and 30 per cent from the domestic market,” she said.