Thai Diamond Food sets up JV in Hong Kong
April's Bakery outlets to spread in region
Thai Diamond Food Co, operator of April’s Bakery shops, has set a regional expansion plan, beginning with the establishment of a joint-venture operation in Hong Kong next year.
The JV, Jin Cha Tea House, will look after all franchising of April’s Bakery houses throughout the region, including Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.
Managing director Nathanaporn Euawanthanakhun said the company would appoint its first overseas master franchisee in Singapore in 2015.
“We’re also looking at expanding our franchised outlets in Hong Kong and [mainland] China next year,” she said.
Nathanaporn, 30, developed her bakery business from dream to reality. She graduated in hotel management from the faculty of business administration of Assumption University in 2005. Thai Diamond Food was set up four years ago and has opened 56 April’s Bakery shops in Bangkok. About 50 stores are operated by franchisees, and only six are owned by the company.
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“We plan to open another 20 April’s Bakery franchises in the Kingdom next year, focusing on major cities in the provinces,” Nathanaporn said.
“We want to have a total of 80 April’s Bakery outlets in Thailand within five years, mostly through franchising.”
She said the company had just launched its Manee brand of pineapple cakes using a Taiwanese recipe. The brand will later use other ingredients such as durian, banana and cranberry, targeting foreign tourists as customers.
“We joined a hotel and food fair in Singapore this year and earned positive feedback from potential customers. We got a list of potential distributors in major markets, such as [mainland] China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and the US, for export of our Manee products. We will be able to make cakes and other baked goods under their brands via original-equipment-manufacturing contracts.
“In the next 12 months, we expect the regional market to contribute about 20 per cent of our total revenue. However, the contributions of the domestic and overseas markets will be equal within five years,” she said.
Nathanaporn said the company expected to earn about Bt120 million in total sales this year. That figure is expected to surge to Bt300 million in five years.
