Herbal supplement firm diversifies into energy-efficient freeze drying
EASTERN Herb Co, a producer and distributor of food supplements and herbal snacks, has diversified its business by spending more than Bt10 million over 10 years to develop a high-performance freeze-drying machine, which it has now brought on the market.
The company won a patent for |the machine from the Commerce Ministry’s Intellectual Property Department early this year, and introduced it to the market at the “ProPak Asia” event last month.
The machine got the positive feedback at the event from both domestic and foreign manufacturers, especially from Asean countries such as the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, the company’s owner and chief executive officer Patr Nangsue said in an interview with The Nation.
He said the device had been designed to use significantly less energy than other freeze-drying machines.
According to Eastern Herb’s research, its machine will use Bt20 worth of electricity to make 1 kilogram of freeze-dried product, 10 per cent of the cost of using a conventional machine.
The system is also designed to maintain the original quality of dried products, such as the colour of fresh vegetables and fruits.
Patr said his company initially had to use freeze-drying technology from Germany to produce its herbal foods and supplements when it established its business in 2002. “We learned how to improve the machine to make quality products and also save electricity costs for the long term.”
Since 2002, the company had been developing the machine to the point that it could introduce it to the market in the second quarter of this year.
He said the company aimed to sell up to 10 units this year, worth Bt50 million, after putting it on the market last month.
In the current second half of the year, Eastern Herb plans to launch a new snack food produced by its patented freeze-drying technology under the brand “My Fit”.
“We plan to launch up to 30 snack-food products made from fresh vegetables and fruits,” said Patr, 47.
The company targets revenue doubling this year from the Bt100 million it posted in 2015.
Patr earned a bachelor’s degree from the Royal Police Cadet Academy, a Master of Business Administration from the National Institute of Development Administration, and a doctorate from the University of South Australia. He said he decided to resign from the police when he saw the business opportunities from Thai herbal culture. That inspired him to spend Bt300,000 of his savings to launch his Vetchakorn Osoto brand.
“The key to our success has been learning how to make quality products and also differentiate them to match customers’ demand, and then develop the technology ourselves. This is the way to complete with multinationals and to be a healthy small company,” he said.
