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Published on March 22, 2008

Berli Jucker Foods plans to launch convenience-food items this year as part of its strategy to diversify its product portfolio from snack foods.

"We want to increase our sales from Bt2.2 billion last year to Bt5 billion in five years," managing director Surat Poobangkerdphol said yesterday.

Surat was promoted to his present position in January, succeeding Pathapong Iamsura, who is now executive vice president for consumer products at the parent company, Berli Jucker.

"My mission as the new managing director is to strengthen our existing snack brands. Berli Jucker Foods has a corporate share of 16 per cent of the local snack market, second to Frito-Lay, which has 25 per cent," he said.

The company's flagship snack brands are Dozo rice crackers, Tasto potato chips, Party extruded snacks and Campus extruded snacks.

The company will focus on maintaining its key customer base of young consumers, ranging

from secondary to university students.

"We are quite specialised in building brands," he said.

The expansion of the snack-maker's portfolio into convenience foods, including beverages, biscuits, cookies and wafers, will be conducted through its existing brands or by creating new ones.

The new products will be handled by the company's own snack production facilities in Samut Prakan as well by independent producers under contract.

The total snack market is projected to grow from Bt13 billion last year to about Bt15 billion this year, he said. Potato-chip products are expected to see the highest growth at 17.4 per cent to more than Bt4 billion. Sales of extruded snacks will slow from 18.7-per-cent growth posted last year to only 8.9 per cent projected for this year. Fish snacks will also witness a huge drop-off this year, from 22.9 per cent last year to only 9.6 per cent.

"The total snack market grew by about 17 per cent in the first two months of this year.

We also expect the total market to grow by at least 15 per cent for the whole year. Berli Jucker Foods sees its total snack sales increasing 20 per cent this year to Bt2.6 billion," he said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation