The company will start with 13 soap items next month, launching them in the United States before Thailand.

Marketing director Vorravit Siripak said last week the certified products came about because an American customer had requested Puri to manufacture Asian-style organic products.

The average price of the organic bar soap is Bt500.

Most of the ingredients will be imported from Europe and the US, but Puri was requested to make the products at its plant in Thailand so that they can have Thai herbs mixed in to exude an Asian essence and can be enclosed in packages with Asian designs.

Certified organic products are gaining popularity in the US and Europe because more attention is being paid to environmental-friendly products amid the alarm over global warming.

The two markets have a lot of certified organic products, including some for the spa industry. However, Vorravit still sees none with an Asian style that is manufactured in Asia.

Certified organic products contain ingredients that are all grown by a 100-per-cent natural process using non-chemical fertilisers.

Thailand has been slow to warm up to certified organic products, starting from farmers, who have to stop growing anything in their fields for three to five years, then start growing carefully and patiently because it tends to take longer to use only the natural growing process. Another obstacle is the expensive prices of the products.

To build the awareness of the new product category, introducing soap

bars will be a good beginning, Vorravit said.

However, since the products are priced about four to five times higher than other premium brands available in the market, Puri will need to educate consumers on the benefits of certified organic agriculture and environmental-friendly products both for themselves and for the world.

The company will adapt the marketing plan used in the US to the Thai market.

Puri is also looking for farmers in the North - particularly in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai - who might be interested in becoming its contract suppliers. Fields up north tend to have better growing conditions than in other regions due to the good weather.

Vorravit is optimistic that Puri's target customers will give a warm welcome to its new products, because they are usually open to new things.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation