Potential with a loud pop

AT 8 ON a sunny morning just over a month ago a young man wove his way through anti-government demonstrators in the Siam Square area and stopped just outside the main doors of Siam Paragon shopping mall.

Four hours later, Waramet Mantasut became the first Thai customer of the newly arrived Garrett Popcorn and was rewarded for his efforts by the Chicago-based company with four bags and two buckets of the crunchy corn worth a total of Bt4,000 that in keeping Garrett tradition was paid for by the popcorn giant’s chief executive Lance Chody.

Five weeks later, the queues outside Garrett are as long as ever and the outlet is raking in the cash.

Popcorn, it seems, has finally made its way out of the cinema and into the mainstream market with several new local brands joining Garrett in targeting deep-pocketed Thais.

So what’s behind this latest fad and, more importantly, will it be more than a flash in the pan? 

Young businessman Ittipat “Tob” Peeradechapan, the genius behind the popular Tao Kae Noi seaweed snacks, doesn’t have all the answers but he’s savvy enough not to buck the trend. Days before Garrett opened to great fanfare, he launched his Tob Corn store at Terminal 21, the shopping centre gracing the Asoke intersection.

“Thais actually love popcorn,” he says. “The growing number of people going to the cinema has seen popcorn sales reach about Bt2 billion annually. With more Thais travelling abroad, there’s also a greater awareness of international brands. Online sales have soared too, so the time was right to expand into popcorn,” adds the young chief executive of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing.

Sharing Tao Kae Noi shop’s premises, the first Tob Corn outlet boasts a glass-walled kitchen that allows customers to see the popping process. Six flavours – Paris caramel, nori teriyaki, caramel almonds, caramel macadamia, crispy coconut and strawberry – are currently on offer and come in three sizes, with small bags costing from Bt59 to Bt149 and the large size ranging from Bt199 to Bt299.

“Compared to an international brand that’s been operating for more than 50 years, I’m a real lightweight,” Ittipat laughs. “However, I think my 10 years of experience in the snack business have taught me a lot about the Thai taste and my flavours are designed to please the Thai palate. New flavours will be added every two months. ”

“I use mushroom kernels from the US because the round shape and large flake size make it perfect for added coatings like caramel. The Paris caramel flavour, which is made from French butter and salt, has a slightly salty aftertaste that tones down the sweetness of the caramel. The best-selling flavour so far is nori teriyaki so I guess we got the combination of salty nori and caramel teriyaki exactly right,” he adds.

Now serving an average of 4,000 customers a week, 70 per cent of them Thai, Ittipat plans to open six Tob Corn outlets this year and reach 100 shops across the country within five years. With the support of Tao Kae Noi’s strong marketing channel, popcorn sales are expected to top Bt100 million this year and he’s targetting a Bt1 billion turnover in five years. The company also plans to sell its products via modern retail channels in the middle of this year.

“The premium popcorn market has only just got underway but I think we can match the sales of popcorn in theatres,” says Ittipat.

 Despite prices that range from Bt90 for a small bag to Bt2,300 for a bucket, Garrett Popcorn is thriving and the store is confident it will only not meet its target of 6,000 customers a week before the end of the year but become one of the top three grossing shops worldwide by the end of this year. It is operated by Caramel Crisp Thailand, a joint venture between Garrett and Suchad Chiaranussati, founder of Real Estate Capital Asia Partners.

“We believe what we deliver to customer is happiness. We don’t sell popcorn; we sell sensational flavours. Our popcorn is made fresh daily, one batch at a time, and contains no preservatives. The fresh, hand-crafted corn popped in old-fashioned copper kettles offers customers a special experience,” says Chody.

Long before Caramel Crisp Thailand and Tob Corn were born, siblings Jakrapan and Preeyanuch Somsakraksanti were beginning to satisfy the Thai craving for popcorn. They opened their first Popco outlet at Chamchuri Square three years ago and now have seven branches in the capital as well as a franchise in Khon Kaen.

 

 

“I discovered while I was living in the US that popcorn came in several different flavours. So when I came home, I convinced my younger sister to quit her job and join me in business. Back then no one else was offering freshly cooked popcorn in different flavours,” says Jakrapan.

The pair learned by doing and a year later Popco was offering buttery, BBQ, cheese, sour cream, caramel, cashew nut and choco-flake snacks. Bags come in only one size – 90-95 grams for the salty flavours and 190-195 grams for the sweet.

Three new flavours – wasabi, strawberry and durian – are introduced later and another two outlets are in the planning stage. The price is a very reasonable Bt65 a bag for all flavours except the cashew nut and durian, which go for Bt75.

For anyone wanting a bigger bang to their corn, Popco has cheese, sour cream, BBQ and wasabi seasonings and banana and blueberry will be added soon.

“I don’t think popcorn is a fashion snack that will eventually fade. Three years of growing profits would seem to prove that,” says Preeyanuch, adding that they are selling about 50,000 bags every week.

The Internet is popping too with several local brands, among them Delipop, Le Kate, Popbablycorn and Nine Popcorn, offering their sweet and savoury snacks online. Prices range from Bt100 to Bt400 a bag.

“My mother’s passion for popcorn inspired me to create my brand. I brought a recipe from an American popcorn brand then played with it to suit the Thai taste,” says Arrak Sawatpanit, owner of Nine Popcorn.

He introduced the corn last year at his aunt’s bakery Pak on Asoke and had so much positive feedback that he decided to offer the goodies online. Now available in almond caramel, cashew nut, cherry berry and mixed nuts, his corn is also on sale at Villa supermarket and the multi-store Selected at Siam Center.

While Arrak declines to reveal his sales figure, he is confident that there’s plenty of potential for growth.

“It’s an easy-to-eat snack that can be enjoyed by all the family and with high disposable incomes, people are willing to spend more on quality,” he says.