Cerebos (Thailand) embarks on bird's-nest education campaign

       Cerebos (Thailand), manufacturer of bird's-nest soup and essence of chicken, has launched a Bt50-million marketing campaign to educate consumers about the nutritional value of its products.
       The campaign is aimed at countering misconceptions about the quality of birds' nests that are harvested from natural caves and those from "cavelike" structures.
       CEO Lackana Leelayouthayotin yesterday said local consumers did not understand the difference between ingredients from natural caves and ingredients from structures built specifically to house bird's nests. This is harming the image of manufacturers of premium-grade bird's-nest products, including Cerebos.
       "We must educate the public about soup made from nests found in natural caves, which provide the best quality," she said.
       The campaign features Brand's new formula, which uses 30-per-cent more bird's-nest content. Cerebos (Thailand) has also raised its price for the soup 5 per cent.
       The company is also using "love ambassadors" to promote the new formula's theme of "Love and Care".
       Lackana said Cerebos (Thailand) had not been much affected from the misperceptions, as sales revenue grew 10 per cent in the first nine months of the year. The overall bird's-nest market is expected to grow in double digits this year, from last year's value of Bt2.5 billion.
       Cerebos has targeted sales growth of only 10 per cent this year, less than the 20 per cent seen in recent years, because of the economic slowdown. But Lackana said health supplements in general were still experiencing growth despite the economic slowdown.
       "The downturn has led people to be more selective, and so bird's-nest and chicken soup products are still growing to an extent," she said.
       Lackana said a complete economic recovery was expected next year, which meant the company could then look forward to a return to 20-per-cent sales growth.