Puri said there had been no product shortages on Thai shelves through March, April, and May — a claim that would represent a meaningful competitive advantage as smaller manufacturers struggle with spot-market volatility.
On the consumer side, the company is absorbing cost increases rather than passing them on, while running promotions of up to 50 per cent through government subsidy schemes across 75,000 retail outlets.
It is also riding a structural shift in purchasing behaviour: Thai consumers are increasingly buying in larger pack sizes and refill formats to secure better unit pricing, a trend the company is actively encouraging.
AI and the Digital Frontier
Underpinning the strategy is a substantial bet on digital channels and artificial intelligence. Unilever says it now works with more than 100,000 content creators in Thailand, producing roughly 3,000 pieces of social media content per day.
The company uses AI to mine e-commerce reviews, social media comments, and lifestyle data for product insights, cutting the time from concept to shelf from more than a year to as little as three months.
E-commerce now accounts for 25 to 30 per cent of Unilever’s Thai sales depending on the category. New products are increasingly launched online before being pushed into physical retail.
A Century in the Making
Unilever Thailand is approaching its centenary — the company was established as Siam Industries in 1932 — and Puri is keen to frame the current moment as a strategic inflection point.
The parent company has been acquiring wellbeing and supplement brands globally, and Puri confirmed that some of those portfolios are under consideration for a Thai launch.
Whether the export-led strategy delivers the forex gains the company promises will depend on factors outside Bangkok’s control — not least the trajectory of oil prices, trade tariffs, and global retailer appetite for Thai-made FMCG.
But for a company that says 90 per cent of what it sells in Thailand is also made there, the “Make in Thailand for the World” slogan is less a marketing line than a statement of existing capability.
“I am very confident,” Puri said, “that as we finish 100 years, Unilever will be here for another 100 years as well.”