Firm aims at a bigger bite of the Thai snack market
S Khonkaen presenters display the company’s new snack package under the Entree brand yesterday.
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A major processed-food producer is confident its venture into snacks will see it grab 3 per cent of the total snack market within three years.
S Khonkaen Food Industry Plc produces pork snacks under the brand Entrée, which contributed sales of Bt100 million to the firm's total trade of Bt1.03 billion last year.
CEO Charoen Rujirasopon said he expects the firm's snack sales to reach Bt300 million within three years with the launch of new products this year.
He said the firm ventured into snacks because of the size of the market.
The Thai snack market is worth about Bt10 billion while the processed-pork market is valued at Bt1 billion.
S Khonkaen is a major manufacturer of processed pork and seafood.
The next product it will release is a roast pork snack under the Entree brand.
The product is aimed at the upper end of the market, with expected annual sales of between Bt30 million and Bt40 million.
Later, an Entree seafood snack will also focus on the high-end market and another brand will target lower-spending groups, Charoen said.
"Now we have 1 per cent of the snack market, but we plan to increase our share to 3 per cent in a few years," he said.
Charoen said the company had invested Bt20 million in machinery that could combine the four processes in snack manufacturing and packaging inside a single machine.
This investment should enable the company to raise quality and increase production capacity of Nam pork snacks from 1,000 to 3,000 tonnes, he added.
The snacks have an added inner package made from a special material to restrict humidity and airflow.
"Thailand's pork market can grow far more if we advertise continuously and convince our consumers of our products' quality and cleanliness," Charoen said.
The latest investment is part of scheme to expand exports to the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
Charoen said the company expected its sales to surge 15 per cent this year.
S Khonkaen reported total sales of Bt1.03 billion and a net profit of Bt18.36 million last year. It reported sales of Bt271.7 million and a net profit of Bt13.86 million in the first quarter, of which 85 per cent came from domestic sales.
Charoen said he was confident his firm would meet its sales-growth target.
Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, The Nation
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