Prantalay Marketing’s chief executive Thongchai Tavanapong, centre, and chief marketing officer Anurat Khokasai, left, welcome visitors to the seafood firm’s booth at the recent Thaifex-World of Food Asia 2007 exhibition. It displayed sushi made from pure

Prantalay Marketing, a manufacturer and distributor of frozen seafood, will penetrate China after its market research showed that demand for sushi is rising, particularly in big provinces.

It will open 10 Prantalay sushi shops in Beijing early next year, concentrated in neighbourhoods with many universities, schools and dormitories.

The shops are each expected to achieve Bt1 million in sales per month.

India's economic boom has also attracted Prantalay to plan fast seafood restaurants in Bangalore.

The company declined to disclose the cost of its overseas expansion plan.

It said first-quarter sales grew 35 per cent on year to more than Bt300 million.

Anurat Khokasai, chief marketing and operating officer, said Prantalay would conduct monthly road shows to drum up business at more than 1,000 of its main shops countrywide in order to achieve Bt1 billion in sales this year.

Research revealed that more than 90 per cent of seafood consumers pick Prantalay as their "top of mind" brand.

In the first quarter, Bt100 million or 33 per cent of sales came from ready-to-cook frozen seafood, Bt90 million or 30 per cent from ready-to-eat frozen seafood, Bt100 million or 33 per cent from sushi and about Bt10 million or 4 per cent from other products such as pranprai desserts and seafood sausages.

The company expects to reap Bt300 million in sales this quarter.

Prantalay holds about 75 per cent of the Bt400-million frozen seafood market, 11.7 per cent of the Bt3-billion ready-to-eat frozen seafood market and 50 per cent of the Bt650-million sushi market.

For the second half, various marketing plans and activities have been prepared to boost all product lines.

The company will also launch more premium lines and stress a "healthy seafood" concept to expand its customer base to consumers with high purchasing power and discerning taste for rare and special seafood along with balanced nutrients.

In the ready-to-eat frozen seafood category, Prantalay will introduce more international dishes such as classics from Vietnam, Italy and Japan.

"For the sushi segment, we are now studying the feasibility of launching a delivery service on top of the existing 170 kiosks, with plans to tap into the market of over 40,000 Japanese expats who, with high purchasing power, look for premium sushi products," Anurat said.

"We also plan to spread our sales points to reach more consumers. We have over 6,000 selling points throughout the country, including small shops in communities, the modern trade, convenience stores and mini-marts. And we plan to add about 1,000 more sales points in upscale markets by the end of the year."

Premium ready-to-eat frozen seafood will tempt the taste buds of Singapore and Taiwan, while the company's frozen shrimp is still going strong in Japan.

About Bt50 million will be spent this year to build brand awareness.