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Published on November 7, 2007

The move is in line with the company's growth-driven strategy to introduce balm products that will capture new users and boost exports.

All production facilities at its existing factory on Charan Sanitwong Road in the capital's Bangkok Yai district will be relocated to the new plant.

"Our current factory on a five-rai plot has limitations for expanding our products," marketing director Yosaporn Leelarasamee said yesterday.

Yosaporn, 35, is the third generation of the Leelarasamee family, which founded the business 60 years ago.

The company produces about 360,000 units of balm per day and employs about 100 workers. The Nonthaburi factory will start operating at the end of January.

"With the new factory on a 25-rai plot and with more than 8,000 square metres of factory space, the company can increase the production capacity of its balm products by five times," said Yosaporn.

"We will turn our Bangkok factory into a property project.

"It could become a small shopping mall, which would give investment benefit to the company in the long term." The balm market in Thailand is quite mature, with a small growth rate of only 1-2 per cent per annum.

"The strategy set for our Golden Cup Balm is defensive, aimed at protecting our leading share in the market," said Yosaporn.

Golden Cup has 52 per cent of the Bt1-billion market. Core users of the company's balm are people aged over 30.

"What we have to do to grow our business is to introduce new products that cater to new consumer segments," said Yosaporn.

Golden Cup yesterday announced the launch of its new Kiddy Balm for children. About Bt30 million has been invested in media spending, including TV commercials, for the product's launch. The company expects to sell Kiddy Balm worth Bt70 million in the first 12 months. The Thai market for children's balms is estimated at about Bt200 million.

The company is looking to launch a new balm product to target teenagers in the near future.

Yosaporn said the company planned to increase its exports to major markets around the world. It currently exports to neighbouring markets including Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

"We are appointing a local distributor in Dubai, which will be a hub for us to penetrate the Middle East market. We have also started shipments to the Netherlands and have found a distributor in the UK," said Yosaporn.

Golden Cup expects to increase its export ratio from 7-8 per cent of sales to about 40 per cent in the next three to four years.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Nation