Thailand: Spice exporter gets taste for overseas expansion

Nguan Soon Group, the producer of Hand Brand No. 1 pepper and other spices, is planning an international expansion this year.

Spice Story’s branch in Singapore will serve as a model for Thai spice exporters, prompting other Thai players to follow in the company’s footsteps, says Mr Visit.

Managing director Visit Limprana said the company will see its first foreign location of its Spice Story spice and pepper concept store.

Spice Story is now open in Bangkok's Siam Paragon shopping centre, where some international retailers stumbled across it by accident, he said.

"That led to our being approached by a number of foreign retailers such as Takashimaya in Singapore and Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in London to open a spice shop in their retail complexes," said Mr Visit.

If a deal can be worked out, Spice Story will be the company's second business to go international following six decades of pepper exports.

The first foreign Spice Story store is expected to open in Singapore's Takashimaya shopping centre this year at a cost of 10 million baht.

About 70% of its offerings will be Thai pepper and other spices and the rest international spices.

Mr Visit said the branch in Singapore will serve as a model for Thai spice exporters, prompting other Thai players to follow in the company's footsteps.

Up to six more Spice Story shops are also expected in Japan, the US and Europe within the next five years.

Now is the right time for Nguan Soon to enter international markets, given the worldwide popularity of Thai cuisine, said Mr Visit, adding that the advent of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 will present even more opportunities.

To ensure an adequate supply, the group recently started negotiating with the Lao, Vietnamese and Burmese governments for the contract farming of some spices. Other spices that cannot be grown in this area will be imported from elsewhere.

Mr Visit, who is also chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries' food processing industry club, said the number of Thai restaurants outside the country now stands at 13,000, up from 7,000 three years ago.

He said the Thai ingredients industry would benefit more from the increasing popularity of Thai food worldwide if the government supported local ingredients for both Thai restaurants and ready-to-eat meals abroad.

The club will join hands with UBM Asia (Thailand) to arrange the Food Ingredients Asia 2011 fair at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok from Sept 21-23.

The event will enable local ingredient suppliers to meet buyers from other Asean countries, while seminars will provide information about the AEC for spice producers.

Also this year, Nguan Soon will introduce a chain of Thai fast-food restaurants in Bahrain called Muay Thai.

It has already set up a joint venture in that country, Muaythai Quickmeal, with registered capital of 20 million baht, to operate the chain.

Nguan Soon owns 90% and a Bahraini partner 10%.

Muay Thai will offer 30-40 menu items including combo sets of sticky rice, papaya salad and grilled chicken.

(Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/235066/spice-exporter-gets-taste-for-overseas-expansion)