Founder set to take Sushi Boy to Myanmar on franchise basis

“We surveyed the demand for Japanese food in Myanmar last year and saw an opportunity to expand our business under the franchise system in the country. Then we will expand to Vietnam and Laos in the next three to five years,” he said.
Given the planned business expansion in Myanmar, plus a recovering Thai economy, the company targets sharp revenue growth from Bt90 million last year to Bt150 million this year.
In the domestic market, the company plans to open one or two new branches this year with an investment cost of up to Bt10 million, he added.
Kritsada graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Thammasat University, followed by a master’s in marketing in Australia.
He then started his working life in strategic planning at advertising company Prakit and FCB, whose name has since been changed to Prakit Holding.
Seven years at the ad company inspired Kritsada to become an entrepreneur. After leaving Prakit, he initially took jobs in restaurant and car-care businesses in Australia.
During this two-year period, he discovered what line of business he would pursue after working in several positions at a restaurant, from dishwasher to waiter – and eventually learning to be a chef.
“I was happy at being a chef and confident this would be my field, especially Japanese food, which is popular among both Thai customers and foreigners,” he said.
Kritsada managed to save Bt2 million during his time in Australia, money that he would use to start his own business in Thailand.
“It was difficult having only Bt2 million to spend on opening our restaurant in Thailand, but I tried under my business model to keep costs down by doing everything in the restaurant by myself, with the help of my wife, at our first branch at Lotus Express Town in Town in 2009 under the Sushi Boy brand,” he explained.
During the first month of operation, the restaurant generated sales of Bt200,000, which was enough to pay the rent on the property, and their salaries, with a little profit left over.
This initial success inspired him gradually to expand the business over the next five years, and his company now has 10 branches in Bangkok.
The company also established Tatumi Food (Thailand) with registered capital of Bt1 million in 2013.
Tatumi Food (Thailand) is a Japanese-food processing specialist that supplies Sushi Boy’s 10 branches.
It also sells to other restaurants that do not have their own chefs to prepare their Japanese food.
“We have been able to expand our business thanks to support from Thai Credit Guarantee Corp, which has guaranteed our lending from the time that we opened our third branch through to investing in our new manufacturing. TCG is behind our business success,” said Sushi Boy’s founder.