Dishing out growth with Japanese treats

Vathunyoo, now 33, spent his savings of Bt3 million to open the first store in 2014. In addition to the take from the seven outlets under his White Day brand, the business also generates sales from supplying restaurants, a catering service and deliveries. Altogether, sales average Bt3 million a month, with the shops accounting for up to Bt2 million of the total.
“I have a Japanese friend and back then we discussed ways to open a Japanese cake and bakery shop in Thailand under the concept of cake and bakery items as gifts for people. This inspiration came from the White Day Festival in Japan, a day famous for men giving chocolates or bakery items to women,” he said.
Once Vathunyoo, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Thammasat University, decided to take plunge, he quit his job. He then spent two years learning as much as he could about the bakery business, including product tasting, before opening his first shop at Circle Ratchapruk.
Vathunyoo gained plenty of positive feedback from customers and the shop was soon generating average sales of Bt300,000 a month. This gave Vathunyoo the confidence to open the second outlet at end of 2014. 
“I decided to open a Japanese-style cake and bakery shop in Thailand when I saw a shift in Thai consumer behaviour towards coffee and bakery items,” he said.
“That got me thinking that if I opened a Japanese style bakery, then this would match with people’s changing lifestyles. 
“When my first shop succeeded in reaching average monthly sales of Bt300,000, that provided the incentive and the challenge for me to expand the business.
 “With the first two shops having opened in 2014, I then opened one or two branches a year until I reached the seven outlets in Bangkok in 2017.”
Aside from Circle Ratchapruk, the other stores are in Siam Center, Future Park Rangsit, Megabangna, Central Plaza at Rama 9, Rama 3, and Lad Prao.
Buoyed by the business success of reaching seven branches in Bangkok, Vathunyoo plans to open more outlets in the provinces this year and the next. The company also plans to start a new brand for a franchise business in this year.
In support of the planned business expansion, the company has set an aside an investment budget of Bt3 million to improve its production capacity, from about 1,000 cakes a day to 3,000 by the end of this year.
“We have to expand our production capacity to support our business expansion this year and the next,” Vathunyoo said. He said with modesty that could not say whether the business was a success but that it was generating enough income to cover the proposed expansion,
Vathunyoo was also proud to say that the business had created jobs for his employers and that the customers are happy to keep coming back. More new flavours are being added to the product range, he added.
“In this business, we have to learn about the customers’ behaviour and develop our products to match with their demands,” he said. “This is a challenge for me to undertake and it makes me happy when I see that our customers are enjoying what we serve them.”