Australian quality and Thai innovation win Swisse a new generation of customers

After just 5 years in Thailand, Australian vitamin and wellness brand Swisse has gone from 3 products to tens of millions of dollars in sales. In recent months the brand has been ranked #2 in the vitamin mineral supplement category on Thailand’s Modern Trade retail market rankings.

‘Thailand is fundamentally important to us,’ says Swisse CEO Nick Mann. ‘It is our fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia now.’

Swisse owes its success to combining Thai market knowledge and insight with the Australian brand’s reputation for quality. That success, however, did require learning some important lessons after a slightly shaky start.

‘The message for Australian brands is you can’t turn up in Thailand and expect to run things the way you do in Australia. The skills required are so incredibly unique and different,’ says Mann.

Adapting to the local market

Swisse began in Australia in 1969 and has grown to be a leading vitamin and wellness brand in the Australian market.

The company was relatively slow to enter Southeast Asia. By the time it decided to explore the region, other Australian brands had already built a strong presence. Mann says those brands had done a great job of educating consumers about Australia’s quality ingredients and high regulatory standards.

The entry path then seemed straightforward: take a few hero products Swisse knew would be easy to register in Thailand, find a distributor, and place the products with the largest retailer.

But the products didn’t sell. ‘We realised our model was completely wrong. And we started again,’ says Mann.

Local expertise key to smooth market entry

The local knowledge of early hires helped transform Swisse’s approach.

‘Team members like Marketing Manager Weerapong ‘Yu’ Bundalsirikul and Senior National Sales Manager Luksikarn ‘Mo’ Tangchotithanavid took a big career risk to come and work for an unknown Australian brand,’ says Mann.

‘But they were exactly who we needed because they’re super entrepreneurial, incredibly creative, incredibly driven. That startup mentality inside a large company is why it’s working.

‘It’s not that it is difficult to enter the market,’ adds Yu. ‘But it is a really dynamic market with a lot of local competition. The key is to understand local demand.’

Swisse drew on local knowledge, innovative packaging and a multi-channel communications approach to build and grow its market share in Thailand.

Innovate to build excitement

Swisse never set out to compete directly for market share. The strategy has always been to grow the category.

Realising the opportunity in beauty vitamins, Swisse focused on its “beauty from within” range. It overcame the comparatively high cost of its products by developing product combinations that offer better value for customers. Its current best-selling product across Asia is an Astaxanthin Glutathione product. That was developed in Thailand by Yu, a trained pharmacist.

Swisse also made products more accessible and affordable by designing smaller pack sizes at a lower price. It also recruited local brand ambassadors to front the launch campaign and create a stronger connection with the Thai market. That has proved a winning combination.

The new format, called Swisse Tubbies, won FMCG Asia’s 2025 Product Launch of the Year award for Thailand. The format has since been picked up by major retailers including Boots and Watsons.

Approaching a younger market in Thailand also meant adopting a new multi-channel approach. Swisse engages with younger customers via 7 direct-to-consumer platforms (including TikTok, Shopee, Lazada and Lines) and shares livestreams from the office most days. The combination of strong local and user-generated content has helped build consumer trust.

Austrade support and connections

Austrade provided initial assistance for Swisse executives to visit Thailand. They also helped arrange introductions to retailers and e-commerce platforms.

‘Austrade’s team in Thailand made introductions and invited us to health-related events and trade shows,’ says Mo. ‘They also provided connections into other markets such as Laos.’

‘I’ve worked with Austrade in nearly every country in Asia and we’ve had continual support,’ says Mann. ‘That could include local government relations support to help clarify interpretations of import laws. Or it might be attending a launch event and doing a keynote speech that helps get cameras and people there.’

Committed to a long-term future

Swisse is conscious of the challenging times, but optimistic about its future in Thailand.

‘Cost-of-living pressures are hitting Thai consumers,’ says Mann. ‘But the market for health products has proved resilient in the past, and Swisse has already shown its ability to adapt to offer value.

‘We are committed to a long future in Thailand. We’re just getting started.’

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