Viput Wanglee, the assistant managing director for sales and marketing, said the increase would come as a result of its integrated corporate customer service operations.

He said the services were divided into five separate processes - selection, distribution, advice to customers on how to store and cook rice, customer feedback, and provision for refunds.

He said the company had started the integrated services in 2004 because no other rice producer was doing it and that it would lead to strong brand loyalty among both corporate and individual customers.

Viput said that before the service was implemented, the biggest problem for customers was uncertainty over the supply and quality of rice distributed by producers.

This, he said, led to complaints from individual customers in restaurants and so less loyalty to the restaurant.

But now, the quality and supply of rice will be maintained as the company controls all the processes from beginning to end.

Viput said that since the service was implemented, Chaitip had seen an increase in sales from Bt5.85 million in 2003 to Bt8.09 million in 2004. Last year saw Bt31.28 million in sales.

Viput said that in 2003, Chaitip was supplying 32 restaurants in Bangkok and its outskirts. This increased to 80 restaurants in 2004 and 408 last year.

He said that this year, Chaitip expected to supply up to 1,660 outlets, comprising 329 hotel restaurants, 342 school and hospital restaurants, and 926 standalone restaurants.

He said the company had allocated a marketing budget of Bt10 million to help it achieve its target, with its main marketing channels being salesmen, road shows, advertising through its website and even in Thailand Restaurant News magazine.

Chaitip, he said, would also expand production capacity in Sara Buri province from the current 30,000 tonnes per year to 100,000 tonnes.

Chaitip was established in 1998 as a rice-producing arm of the Wanglee Group, which also runs a property business. The company knocks out 12 rice products.

Last year, 97 per cent of its total sales came from exports, with the rest from domestic sales.

Viput said the company expected to increase its proportion of domestic sales to 8 per cent this year and 30 per cent in the next five years.

Chaitip's main international markets are countries in Europe, some countries in Asia, such as Hong Kong, and the United States.

Viput said the company planned to provide a budget of Bt31m to strengthen its marketing in international markets.

The Wanglee Group expects Bt700 million in sales this year.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation