Ex-office workers see health drink venture take off in first year

Established with registered capital of Bt4 million to produce and distribute high-protein milk to serve health-conscious consumers, the company succeeded in generating sales of Bt25 million in 2016, its first year of operation.
“We saw that there was demand for high-protein milk when we ran a fitness business with friends in 2014. Most of the people exercising at the fitness centre wanted to drink a high-protein energy drink or high-protein milk, but local producers didn’t offer such options, which had to be imported. This challenged us to research and develop our own high-protein milk to serve local demand,” Chatchanee, who is business development manager at Crossmax Retail, explained.
Determined to establish a business to produce and distribute high-protein milk, the three friends began the research and development part of the process by travelling overseas during 2015 and learning about the technology required to make such a product.
That stage took up virtually the whole year and involved them pooling savings of Bt3 million to research and develop their new product, she said.
By December 2015, the company was ready to introduce its first high-protein milk under the Hooray Better Shake brand, initially putting 4,000 packs on the market, most of them distributed to target customers at their fitness centre, and to health centres. 
After receiving positive feedback, the company started to increase production and distribute its product to fitness centres and modern-trade outlets such as Tops, Villa, Max Value, Home Fresh Mark and Food Land, covering 350 branches in total nationwide.
The first year’s operations proved a great success, with sales of around Bt25 million being generated. 
The company now targets sales of Bt40 million this year, during which it is planning to launch a new health product under the Hooray Better Shake brand – a vegetable-based milk for people who cannot drink cow’s milk, Chatchanee said.
Moreover, the company plans to export to Asean countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – the CLMV bloc of countries. 
“We are negotiating with strategic partners in CLMV countries and may commence exports in the middle of this year,” she said.
The business development manager added that the key to the company’s success was that it offered products that specifically matched customer demand, plus the fact that she and her friends/partners were operating in a market with less competition than most drinks companies.
“When you do business, you have to know who your customers are, and who your competitors are. Then make a product that matches the demand and also offers something unique for customers,” she stressed.