DB Group imports Japanese cheesecakes
DB GROUP is bringing a variety of cheesecakes and other bakery items from the Japanese city of Otaru under the LeTao brand. The company aims to expand to 20 branches and enlarge its bakery business line with various Japanese brands.
Dolnapa Thamwattana and Kwanchai Ongkamongkol, both managing directors, said yesterday that DB Group had collaborated with KCC Company in Japan to import LeTao, a cheesecake and bakery shop on the northern island of Hokkaido.
The aim is to allow Thais to taste real cheesecake from an original recipe. It is a very rare to import a whole pound (450 grams) of cake, because of the complexity in processing and the high budget needed for the most expensive category of air shipping.
The bakery market in Thailand is booming. Cheesecakes especially have won over a large consumer base. There are many new brands competing for market share.
The company saw this opportunity and started the business with confidence in the quality and outstanding taste of it products.
The main target is mass premium customers with higher purchasing potential.
The company will sell the signature cheesecake at Bt890 per pound and other desserts at a starting price of Bt390, which are only Bt100-Bt200 different from the price of these products in Japan.
The company gives priority to locations that fit the target customer and are passed by many people to generate brand awareness.
The first branch was opened at Siam Paragon, followed by The EM Quartier and Central Ladprao. These three branches are standalone and take-home shops.
The company plans to launch five to six more branches with a budget of Bt800,000 to Bt1 million per branch and generate annual revenue of about Bt70 million within three years.
First-year revenue is penned in at Bt30 million for the LeTao business alone.
This does not include coffee houses, which will be opened soon as well as other bakery shops.
The company is looking to import other products in the future to become an original dessert and bakery retailer, starting with freshly baked bread.
The bakery market has been expanding by 7-7.6 per cent annually over the past five years to reach Bt22.3 billion now, of which Bt12.8 billion is for bread, Bt5 billion for cake and Bt4.4 billion for pies and pastry.
The market is predicted to grow by 5 per cent a year through 2020, according to the Food Intelligence Centre of Thailand.
