CP AXTRA Elevates "Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's" to Drive Screen-to-Plate Eatertainment, Turning Content into Real Dishes and Driving Food Business Growth - newswit

• Extending its Own Entertainment IP from a cooking show into Own Brand menu items, now available at Lotus's.
• Bringing content to life in stores through Pop-up Experiences, where customers meet the featured chefs and sample dishes from the show.
• Expanding the ready-to-eat portfolio in line with the "Happy & Healthy Mall" strategy by broadening product variety and elevating hypermarkets into comprehensive food destinations.

CP AXTRA Public Company Limited (CP AXTRA), operator of the wholesale and retail businesses Makro and Lotus's, is transforming Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's, the popular cooking competition, into an ongoing business initiative. Featured recipes from the show have been developed into Lotus's own-brand product lines — spanning Delica ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods, and bakery items, now available nationwide at Lotus's. CP AXTRA has further extended the initiative through in-store pop-up experiences where customers meet the chefs and taste the dishes for themselves. Connecting content, products, and experiences unlocks growth opportunities in the food business — particularly in ready-to-eat (RTE), in line with the "Happy & Healthy Mall" strategy to diversify product offerings and elevate Lotus's hypermarkets into comprehensive food destinations.

Ms. Vorawan Phianlikhitwong, Chief Transformation Officer, CP AXTRA Public Company Limited, said, "Good cooking is not limited to the kitchens of professional chefs. It is found in the homes of Thai people across every walk of life. That is why Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's is more than just a cooking show. Rather than viewing content purely as a brand awareness tool, we see it as a starting point that can expand into real products and real experiences — taking dishes viewers see on screen and making them available on Lotus's shelves nationwide. The program also gives participating chefs a path to turn their own skills and their recipes into businesses of their own. We believe this model creates sustainable growth for all parties: consumers enjoy new culinary experiences, chefs gain opportunities to build their skills into real businesses, and Thailand's broader food industry can grow alongside them."

Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's is Lotus's Own Entertainment IP, developed around the concept "From Screen to Plate." With 100 contestants drawn from diverse professions, it has the highest number of contestants among culinary competitions in Thailand, with every featured dish developed and selected in collaboration with culinary faculty and food experts from Suan Dusit University. The initiative runs on a 3C model — Content, Community, and Commerce — carrying the show's dishes and the stories behind them into products for production and sale.

Featured recipes from the show have been developed into ready-to-eat products under the Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's brand across three core categories: ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods, and bakery items. Lotus's hypermarkets carry the complete collection, while smaller supermarket formats feature a frozen foods range optimized for neighborhood convenience and accessibility. The product line-up has helped drive growth in the ready-to-eat segment, with customer satisfaction above 90%. Top sellers include Crispy Fried Chicken Wings with Chili and Salt, a signature recipe from Khun Wal, a local cook from the Morn Thong community (Morn Thong Wittaya) and one of the show's contestants, and Spaghetti Carbonara with Creamy Mushroom Sauce, the dish that won Season 1 of Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's, created by Chef Aon.

Beyond in-store sales, CP AXTRA is extending Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's into an Eatertainment experience through the Hidden Taste Thailand Pop-up Experience — bringing competing chefs from the show directly into stores to meet customers and offer competition dishes for sampling. The experience debuted at Happitat and will rotate across key Lotus's locations nationwide.

From content creation to product development and real-life experiences, CP AXTRA continues to expand its ready-to-eat portfolio, using consumer behavior insights to guide product direction. New menu line-ups and themed menus are introduced each month, widening choice and covering more dining occasions. CP AXTRA aims to grow its total ready-to-eat portfolio to 300 menu items, in alignment with its "Happy & Healthy Mall" strategy to increase product variety across hypermarkets and transform them into comprehensive food destinations.

Hidden Taste Thailand Presented by Lotus's shows how CP AXTRA extends its Own Entertainment IP — connecting consumer interests to accessible, convenient, and value-for-money products and experiences, creating opportunities for chefs to build on their culinary skills and turn them into real businesses, while supporting the sustainable growth of CP AXTRA's food business alongside consumers and chefs.