Thai Union targets older consumers
THAI UNION Group Pls (TU) will adjust its 2025 plan to cope with an ageing society under a plan to focus on producing functional foods that promote optimal health.
The seafood producer also aims to increase sales by 5 per cent from innovative products next year in spite of what it flags as several risk factors and high competition.
Chief executive officer Thiraphong Chansiri said the company will revise its 2025 plan to one that focuses on increasing profits with contingencies to cope with every risk.
“The theme for the 2025 plan is the ageing society and the products with which we must respond to it,” he said. “One type of food is not proper for all people any more. The groups with purchasing power are those at about 60 years old and young people who need functional foods. Therefore, we have to catch up with the trends in society.”
Functional foods are those that have potential beneficial effects on health beyond basic nutrition, mostly relating to health promotion or disease prevention
Thiraphong conceded that “the global economy and markets have changed swiftly with complexity and high risks spanning from Britain’s exit from the EU, the Italian economic situation, the US-China trade spat to unrest in the Middle East, while consumers are more diverse”.
“This year, the company's income remained relatively flat due to higher raw material costs as a result of baht appreciation by over 10 per cent early this year compared to the previous year,” he said.
“For the first nine months of this year, the company’s income totalled Bt34.17 billion, down 1.9 per cent year on year. Net profit was Bt1.31 billion.”
He said the seafood industry has seen challenges on the global stage, given the higher competition from competitors in the same industry and other alternative products.
“TU is expected to see its income grow by 5 per cent next year from products, starting from tuna oil, from an innovation centre,” Thiraphong said.
“The prices of seafood products have increased sharply as operators must adjust themselves to cope with costs, prompting consumers to switch to buy other products instead.
“In order to attract consumers, the company has to find new products to market with cost reduction.” About 40 per cent of the company’s total income comes from tuna, 25 per cent from shrimp and the rest from other products such as salmon, sardine, mackerel and ready-to-eat food. Moreover, most of the total income comes from overseas.
The company aims to retain at least 10 per cent of total income from domestic sales, Thiraphong said.
