CP Axtra, or CPAXT, which operates the Makro-Lotus wholesale and retail business, is extending its cooking competition Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's into real product development under the Lotus's brand, covering boxed ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods and bakery items. These are sold in large hypermarket branches across all three formats, while smaller supermarkets focus on frozen foods. The programme is Lotus's own entertainment IP, built on the concept of from screen to plate. It drew 100 contestants from a wide range of professions, the largest number among cooking competitions in Thailand, and worked with food experts from Suan Dusit University to develop and select menus under a 3C model spanning Content and Community through to Commerce. Among the popular menus are crispy chicken wings with salt and chili, a recipe from Khun Wa, a cook from the Monthong community, and creamy mushroom carbonara spaghetti, the winning dish of season one by Chef On, Ms. Worawan Pianlikhitwong, Chief Transformation Officer of CPAXT. She said the company sees content as a starting point that can be extended into real products and experiences, while giving chefs the chance to turn their menus into businesses. CP Axtra aims to expand its ready-to-eat, or RTE, food portfolio to a total of 300 menus, in line with its Happy & Healthy Mall strategy to elevate hypermarkets into comprehensive food destinations. It is also extending the programme into a Hidden Taste Thailand Pop-up Experience that brings the show's chefs to meet consumers inside branches, starting at Happitat as the first location, with plans to rotate the event through major branches nationwide.
CP Axtra Public Company LimitedCP Axtra is extending its Hidden Taste IP into real Lotus's ready-to-eat, frozen and bakery products, targeting 300 RTE menus to drive product demand.
