Chairat Kongsuphamanon, the second generation of the Kongsuphamanon family, set up a new marketing and distribution company called Greenday Global three months ago to cash in on the growth potential of the local healthy snack market.
As the oldest son of Phichet Kongsuphamanon, now 62, who founded AS World Trading, an exporting company for processed foods mainly to the Asian communities in the US, about 20 years ago, Chairat has applied modern marketing principles and strategic business plans to the new company, which he says is set to become a pioneer in the local healthy snack segment, which accounts for about 15 per cent of the total Bt13-billion snack market.
Graduating with a bachelor's degree in food science from Chulalongkorn University in 2003, Chairat, now 29, then spent about four years (between 2005 and 2009) working as general manager at AS World Trading. He is now vice president of Greenday Global. His younger sister Sayamon Kanchanavisudhiphol, 28, is managing director at Greenday Global in charge of sales and marketing.
"I myself will oversee the overall picture of Greenday Global company, which is expected to see 20-per-cent growth in domestic sales every year," said Chairat.
He said the growth of healthy, organic snacks in the US was much higher than in Thailand.
"We have seen the demand for health snacks in Thailand also growing dramatically every year as consumers have more health conscious even in eating snacks. However, there is no key existing player in the local healthy snack segment," he said. "What we have done today is to communicate and educate Thai consumers about the benefits of healthy snacks," he said.
Chairat said that AS World Trading 10 years ago set up its factory, located on King Kaew Road in Samut Prakan province, to produce pickled fruits and vegetables, mainly for export. Five years ago the company moved its factory to the current six-rai land plot in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan, and started producing processed fruit snacks.
In the first year of operation, the company's entire production of fruit snacks were exported. Local distribution began in the second year. Today, about 40 per cent of Greenday premium snacks are sold locally and 60 per cent exported. The company is also looking for new export markets for its healthy snack products, including the Middle East, Japan and Korea.
Chairat said that Greenday Global expected to grow the total sales of Greenday health snacks by 20 per cent this year to about Bt70 million, including export.
The company plans to launch another healthy snack brand, namely Herbozo, to expand to young consumers.