Oishi aims to make bigger inroads into packaged food market

Kotchakorn Attarangsan, vice president of food business development, said that the expansion would help Oishi Group to better utilise its food-processing plant in Ban Bueng district, Chon Buri.
Established in 2015, the factory produces 24,000 tonnes of food products a year. It runs at between 50 to 60 per cent of capacity and will take the next four to five years for output to reach full capacity.
The move is in line with the “2020 Vision” of its parent company, Thai Beverage, to increase the proportion of the contribution from non-alcoholic beverages and foods to about the same level as that from alcoholic drinks, such as spirits and beers, by that year.
“My personal aim is to get a balanced portfolio between beverages, restaurants and packaged food by 2030,” said Nongnuch Buranasetkul, president and chief executive officer of Oishi Group.
“We expect the packaged food market in Thailand will grow constantly by around 10 per cent per annum from 2015 until 2020. The market size will reach about 60,000 tonnes and approximately Bt14 billion in 2020," Kotchakorn said.
Kotchakorn said that the group is exporting its packaged food products to three or four markets in Europe, including Germany, France, and Ireland, and will this year expand its reach to Britain, Austria and Denmark. In Asean, the packaged food products are being exported to Myanmar and Cambodia, with Laos to be added in the near future.
Oishi Group said its sales for the 2017 fiscal year, to the end of September last year, were Bt13.5 billion, down 0.6 per cent from the previous fiscal year.
Revenue from food business was 6.4 billion, a drop of 0.8 per cent from the previous fiscal year. Revenue from the beverage business was Bt7.05 billion, a 0.4 per cent decline from the last fiscal year.
However, the group's net profits from both businesses increased. Total net profits were Bt1.4 billion, up 28.5 per cent from the previous fiscal year. Net profit from the food business were Bt210 million, representing 76.5 per cent growth due to an adjustment of proactive marketing strategies and cost management, the company said. Net profits from the beverage business were Bt1.2 billion, up 22.8 per cent due to product innovation and promotional campaigns that attracted the attention of consumers, as well as efficient production capacity and marketing budget management.
“For fiscal year 2018, Oishi Group will focus on maintaining our leadership in the Japanese-style food and beverage business, with the following four main strategies, which are customer centric, focusing on building the best experience consumers wants; innovation, developing outstanding and unique products, services, and marketing activities that create value for consumers; digital transformation, using various digital tools to drive the business and reach a wider variety of consumers; and continue to build and support brand, developing a powerful and admired brand that results in Oishi gaining trust from consumers,” said Nongnuch.
Paisarn Aowsathaporn, executive vice president of food business, said the group will invest about Bt400 million in the expansion of Oishi's new Japanese restaurants as well as renovating existing outlets. The group has operates 241 restaurants, and a further 20 new restaurants will be added this year.
Jesdakorn Ghosh, senior vice president of beverage business, said: “For 2018, the beverage business will focus on key strategies, which are: Secure Thailand, by growing our portfolio share through innovation and launching of healthier products for the future; and Larger Export Footprint, by growing export of our beverages, especially to CLMV market (comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam).”