Joint effort to promote Thai food worldwide
The Commerce Ministry is holding talks with the London-based Blue Elephant Thai-restaurant chain to form a joint venture, in an attempt to expand Thai cuisine worldwide.
If successful, the ministry will approach Thai brands that have set up shop in other regions, such as S&P Restaurants and Bakery. The Blue Elephant's top management views the idea favourably, said Rachane Potjanasuntorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department. The ministry is in the process of drawing up a joint-venture agreement. The strategy is designed to promote Thai restaurants, ingredients and decorative items abroad, in order to boost exports. Under the plan, an independent company will be set up by October under the state-run Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO). This company will form joint ventures with leading Thai restaurants. "It's a pilot project for the PWO's management. The plan will create synergy in that the Blue Elephant has experience with restaurant management and Thai dishes, while the company has wider sourcing expertise," Rachane said. The two sides will discuss in greater detail whether the new restaurant will be a Blue Elephant or a completely new brand. The plan is first to open a joint-venture restaurant in China, which enjoys high levels of consumption, but where the number of Thai eateries is still small. The Blue Elephant currently has outlets in London, Brussels, Paris and Moscow, among others. The ministry wants to see 20,000 Thai restaurants worldwide by 2008, compared with 9,200 at present.
Achara Pongvutitham The Nation
|
