One of the key plans for Tops Vita next year is to expand its presence into convenience chain stores and pharmacies that are also under Central Retail.
Central Retail is a major player in Thailand’s retail sector, operating multi-format, multi-category, and omnichannel retail and wholesale platforms.
Tops Vita is Central Retail’s vitamins and health supplements retail arm.
Aside from operating an eponymous e-commerce website, Tops Vita is also present in Tops - a chain of supermarkets operated by the parent firm, as well as convenience chain stores Tops Daily, and pharmacy chain Tops Care.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Dr Monrudee Lertuthai, president of Health and Wellness, Central Retail, said that the plan for next year was to introduce Tops Vita into around 600 more Tops Daily convenience stores and 25 more Tops Care pharmacy stores.
This is based on observations showing how preventive health and wellness has become a trend post COVID-19.
“After COVID-19, people are focusing more on preventive health. One way to take care of yourself using preventive health measures is to take vitamins.
“It’s becoming a trend, that’s why Central Retail is looking at this opportunity and we want to grow the business and we want to make sure that we can offer the right solutions and products for the consumers,” said Dr Monrudee.
Tops Vita also recently took home the third place in the Best Health & Sport Influencer category at the Thailand Influencer Awards 2024.
Asked the factors contributing to the win, Dr Monrudee pointed out the importance of communicating with consumers via trusted figures.
Depending on the types of health supplements involved, these figures could be pharmacists, sports enthusiasts, and family content creators.
These influencers then focus on telling consumers the key ingredients and nutrients that are beneficial for a certain health need.
“They (the influencers) share their personal recommendations for vitamins using unbranded products and they focus on the nutrients, the benefits, and the efficacy that they can get.
“The result is that the video has a very friendly and reliable tone, making the viewers feel as though they were being advised by someone that they can trust,” she said, explaining how this would differ from working with paid key-opinion-leaders (KOLs).
Aside from working with KOLs, she said that Tops Vita also engaged consumers via a self-reporting questionnaire available on Tops Vita’s website.
The intention is to stay in touch with consumers by providing knowledge related to nutrition.
This also holds true for brands that wish to connect with consumers.
“I think the most effective thing is that you need to communicate the ingredients that can meet a particular health goal.
“The other thing is that you need to look at the current trends, which include beauty, sleep solutions, bone and joint health. You need to ensure that as a brand, you have these kinds of products to fulfill these segments.”
While it is true that consumers value data and information, when it comes to clinical trials, her advice is that brands should not simply highlight the key findings.
Details on where the clinical trial was conducted, the profile of the trial participants, and any other information relevant to the consumers should be provided as well.
Expansion plans for 2025
Asked the key plans that Tops Vita has for 2025, Dr Monrudee said that it would be expanding its offline presence across Central Retail’s brick-and-mortar outlets, especially convenience stores and pharmacies.
At the moment, Tops Vita is already present in about 130 Tops supermarkets with a designated section. By year end, the goal is to reach about 160 Tops supermarkets.
Next year, the focus is on setting up its section in more Tops Daily convenience stores and Tops Care pharmacies. There are about 800 Tops Daily convenience stores across Thailand and the goal is to enter about 600 of them.
As for Tops Care pharmacies, the goal is to enter about 25 of them next year.
Exclusive distributor to brands
Another key goal is to expand the number of health supplements that it is an exclusive distributor to.
Tops Vita is currently the exclusive distributor to five brands, including DHC from Japan, Springleaf from Australia, Nature’s Truth from USA, and Holland & Barrett from the UK.
“We are actively becoming the importer and exclusive distributor in Thailand by bringing the well-known brands from other countries, for example, from the US and Australia, into Thailand,” said Dr Monrudee.
So far, Tops Vita has identified five key health categories where it seeks to offer a comprehensive range of products across different price points - from entry level to premium ones.
These five categories are: 1) beauty-from-within 2) sleep support 3）bone and joint health 4) immune support and 5) women’s health.
Tops Vita will then identify both the overseas and local brands that could fit into these categories at different price points.
Watch the video to find out more.
