Looking at the perspective of “Prayudh Mahagitsiri”; building a business that supports the Thai farmers

Today, not only has he passed on a business worth billions to his Gen 2 heirs, at the age of nearly 80, he is also at the helm of driving a business to help society-especially the farmers.

Lately Prayudh, as a recipient of the National Exemplary Father Award of 2022, in the private sector division,from the National Association of Model Fathers, talked about passing on the business to his son.

“Actually it's part of the culture and nature of a family, to love each other and sow the seed of knowledge in the various aspects of society, academics and work , therefore Geung(Prayudh’s son) is now the CEO and the head of the group. Now I am an employee and have to ask my son for money,” the NESCAFÉ mogul said and laughed.

He went on to say that “Now my son has to work very hard as he has to take responsibility for all the work that his father has done in more than 50 years- within a short span of 5-10 years, it’s really not so easy, as there are many businesses.”

"Prayudh" is considered to be the pioneer who built the first few industrial factories in Thailand. These factories are in 4 industries and include the following:- NESCAFÉ instant coffee factory, BOPP film factory, stainless steel factory and also a pure copper smelting plant.

Furthermore, there are a wide variety of other businesses that include an oil drilling service business in the Middle East, together with 40-50 cargo ships traveling around the world, there is also an undersea repair service for oil rigs. Together with a fertilizer factory, food business, real estate development.

“Various tasks take time to learn and understand because each business is very specific in its own way. But it’s fortunate that my son is a quick learner and I hope that he enjoys his work,” Khun Praudh added.

When asked about the principles of doing business that were passed on to his heirs, "Khun Prayudh" gave an answer that was beneficial to all businessmen, not only to his heirs personally.

“Take it easy, don't get stressed about work, but you have to be disciplined, attentive, and responsible. and must not be careless How hard is work actually? We have to go through it happily.”

Khun Prayudh gave an example of his determination to accomplish something. Seven years ago he had the determination to practice tennis and he had to wake up at 4:30am every day, reach the tennis court at 5:45am. Two coaches were waiting there and taught him for 700 days. There was one day that the alarm clock didn’t ring and he was running late, but still drove to the courts, to train – it was about taking full responsibility because of his determination to accomplish something.

As for taking it easy, what Khun Prayudh meant was “make every day your vacation…foreigners or the general salaried employee have official days of rest”. But for this executive, there was never a time that he had to take a vacation because during the day he mentioned that  “we can also relax at the appropriate time during the day”. He said he would invite his family to enjoy and go to various places. He said “To relax just depends on how we organize our own time.”

He elaborated further “Whatever we want to do we have to be serious about it, and remember what has brought us here to where we are now, stick to those principles and it’s not necessary to add on more, don’t struggle too much and try and create an outstanding point that will allow you to carry on securely on your life’s path. You can enhance this a little bit, but don’t push too hard.”

Another determined effort of Khun Prayudh, is his perspective on building a business based on agricultural products. Thailand has many agricultural products beneficial for consumers and at the same time he aimed at promoting Thai farmers to have a better income. For example the Longan Essence P80, which is a nourishing drink made of 100% natural longan extract. It is an innovation based on the 500 year old Chinese elixir, the longan fruit and is also called ‘dragon eye’ and has medicinal qualities. He jointly invested more than 1,500 million baht in research with Chiang Mai University over the period of 10 years, along with this he has built a factory in Lamphun province, worth over  2.5 billion bahts that meets international quality standards. To supply the factory with longans, he purchases more than 10,000 tons of longans per year from farmers, this thereby creates a stable income for the longan farmers.

Even though in the past it, P80,  has not been very successful in the Thai market, but now P80 products have made their way to Vietnam. Longa which is a carbonated drink that uses P80 as its base formula, has also become a best seller. P80 has outstanding benefits and qualities, "Khun Prayudh" is looking for a team with great marketing capabilities who would help drive P80 to meet its sales goals both domestically and internationally. The international markets targeted include China, South Korea, Japan, Middle East and the United States.

"To do something successfully we have to try, but we have to try with people who have the knowledge and know the methods to achieve this success, hence reaching the pinnacle quickly. Up to now we have been partially successful. Up till now we are still putting in our best efforts and hope to find the right team!" he said.

Other than P80, Khun Prayudh has also assigned a team of experts from Chiang Mai University to study and research the properties of teak that have many health benefits. He wants to create products that will sell well and at the same time support farmers similar to P80 Longan Essence. The research results of teak are expected to be revealed soon and then will be certified.

With this perspective that is beneficial to society, this executive is ready to move forward with all the potential he has, be it with his main family business and a business that helps society but there are obstacles to be overcome and will be overcome.

“To be successful in business it looks easy, everyone calls me the President of Nescafe, but before I could reach this point it took me 50 years, and I have overcome many obstacles. Therefore, I have to be tolerant, put in my best effort-success doesn’t come easily. With perseverance it is also a training of my mind and myself. Everyone has potential, the key is how to uncover this potential – and this is all in the effort that is put in.”

Today, not only did "Prayudh Mahagitsiri" give us knowledge about doing business but also revealed how to connect business with society- especially the groups of Thai farmers. It is very interesting to follow updates on him and his businesses.