Suki sauce entrepreneurs banking on modern trade to double sales
AFTER ACHIEVING the initial goal of expanding the number of its traditional distribution outlets to 5,000 nationwide, Krua Napat Food Product - a producer and distributor of suki sauces under the Krua Napat brand - has entered modern trade this year in a
“If we increase our distribution channels to other modern traders such as Big C, Tesco Lotus and 7-Eleven, that will enable us to double sales from the current level,” the company’s managing director for operations, Manoch Tangmingchai, said during an interview with The Nation.
Manoch, 33, and his brother, Thongchai Tangmingchai, who is 41, started in business in 2004, producing sauces for pork related to the family business in Ubon Ratchathani province, which runs a pan-grilled-pork restaurant.
The brothers’ sauces sold for Bt20 per 250-millilitre bottle.
“We started our operation from our savings of only Bt20,000,” said Manoch, adding that the products received positive feedback, and generated sales of between Bt100,000 and Bt200,000 a month.
The brothers then decided to establish their own business, Krua Napat Food Product, with registered capital of Bt5 million in 2008 – also based in Ubon Ratchathani.
The company invested up to Bt1 million to build a plant for producing and packaging its sauces, moving from sauces for pork to those for suki, with 12 categories now available.
The plant has the capacity to produces 13,000 250ml bottles of sauce per day.
“In 2007, we opened our own restaurant, but this made a loss of Bt5 million, so we had to shut it down and have since focused fully on manufacturing sauces. We had to borrow from the bank to finance our investment in the manufacturing plant, and the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation guaranteed our loan,” he explained.
The company is confident that its expansion via modern-trade outlets will enable it to double its turnover, which has already grown significantly this year since its products were put on Makro’s shelves
After the market expansion to modern trade, Krua Napat Food Product is investing Bt3 million this year on expanding its production capacity to 50,000 bottles of sauce per day.
“Our product quality and after-sales service are the key factors behind our success in building sustainable growth since 2008,” Manoch said.
