THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Entrepreneur looks for sweet rewards from export push

Entrepreneur looks for sweet rewards from export push

A PRODUCER of the Thai traditional snack known as krayasat – with rice and coconut among the main ingredients – has its sights set on the Asean and European markets this year when its manufacturing plant in Nakhon Ratchasima province is due to gain key accreditation standards.

Panitta Srikeaw, the owner and managing director of Pranee Food 2015 Co Ltd, is looking ahead to a boost in business after the production plant is awarded certificates for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) this year. 
“Currently, our products are already exported by our suppliers who place orders with us for our krayasat, but it goes out under their own brands to countries in Asean and Europe,” Panitta said at interview with The Nation.
“Now, we plan to export by ourselves and for that, we need to get GMP and HACCP certification. We aim to get the licences for them this year. Then we will export our products under our brand, Pranee Krayasat, to the European and Asean markets this year.”
Krayasat is a Thai traditional snack that is produced from rice, coconut, sugar and sesame, and is best known for being served during the Buddhist Lent period. Nowadays, though, Thais are happy to eat the snack throughout the year and it is regarded as a souvenir product from the country’s Northeast.
Panitta said the business idea was inspired by her mother Pranee’s practice of preparing the dish for sale as part of celebrations for Buddhist Lent. It quickly became popular with the local people and tourists who visit the province. As a result, her mother decided to keep cooking throughout the year and that led to sales reaching an average of Bt1 million to Bt2 million a month. 
Then Panitta joined her mother in the business after she graduated from secondary school.
Panitta decided to develop more versions of the dish, expanding from the original recipe to encompass 10 flavours and working on building up the brand as Pranee Krayasat,
Panitta devoted attention to matters such as packaging and this led to sales growth in the double digits, for an average of Bt23 million a year. 
Buoyed by that success in the domestic market, Panitta said that she decided to establish Pranee Food 2015 Co Ltd in 2015 with registered capital of Bt1 million under an ultimate goal of exporting under the house brand. The initial exposure to overseas markets came from supplying its customers with krayasat for sale under their own brands to markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and Asean.
“If we can sell our products under our brand that will help us to increase our sales value and improve the sustainability of our business,” Panitta said. “As a result, we invested Bt3.7 million last year to upgrade our manufacturing plant and repackaging facilities, while also applying to get GMP and HACCP certification for exports under our own brand.
“Our focus is on Asean countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos. We also expect to export to Europe, too, by developing our products to become a snack that is easy for foreigners to eat.”
With last year’s investment, Panitta said she is confident that the business will enjoy double-digit growth in 2019, following the start of exports to Asean and European markets.
 

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