Green Food Factory Co, the operator of the Salad Factory restaurant chain, is ramping up its expansion and raising its brand awareness to cash in on recovering tourism and strong demand for health food.
According to chief executive Piya Dankum, the company looks set to invest 70 million baht to expand its business this year, including opening nine new branches of Salad Factory in Bangkok and surrounding locations to reach different target groups.
The plan would bring the total number of branches to 39 by the end of this year.
"The country's reopening and rapidly recovering tourism have triggered a surge in foreign arrivals, helping reinvigorate the overall economy while the health food sector is forecast to continue growing," said Mr Piya.
He said the first provincial branch is set to open at Central Pattaya Beach on April 12.
The branch will have an exclusive menu of healthy dishes not available elsewhere such as seafood in the first phase and plans for locally sourced ingredients in the second phase after operating for the first four months in Pattaya.
The company operates three restaurant models -- full shops, compact and kiosks -- that are able to quickly adapt to new challenges and offer greater accessibility in a bid to address rapidly changing customer demands.
In 2023, the company will focus primarily on expanding the full shop concept.
In addition, it will renovate its four existing restaurants to be more stylish and modern in terms of design and service to satisfy the needs of customers.
It will also roll out new products and new dishes via 15 collaboration projects with local and international partners.
The company will also create new revenue from non-restaurant businesses such as salad dressing and ready-to-eat food businesses and open new sales channels.
"With all our strategies, we expect to raise our brand awareness and aim for Salad Factory to become one of the top recognised health food restaurant chains as well as among the food chains that customers visit every week," Mr Piya said.
The Salad Factory restaurant chain entered Thailand's health food business a decade ago by opening its first branch in Muang Thong Thani. The chain serves a variety of healthy salads with 250 menu items.
In 2019, its business grew rapidly after Salad Factory signed a joint venture agreement with Central Restaurants Group.
Thanks to Thailand's relentlessly growing health food market, Mr Piya said there are plenty of opportunities in this business if the brand develops itself consistently to be able to meet rapidly changing consumer needs.
In 2022, the health food market was valued at 5 billion baht, up by 50-60%. There are five leading brands in the health food segment comprising Sizzler, getfresh, Ohkajhu, Farmfactory and Jones Salad.
Thailand's food industry was worth 141 billion baht in 2022, up 14% from 2021.
"The outlook for Thailand's health food market looks favourable and is expected to continue to grow in 2023. The market looks set to enjoy a bumper year as a result of the pandemic easing off and the return to normality," Mr Piya said.
With all its business strategies, the company expects sales to grow by 70% to 720 million baht in 2023, up from 438 million baht in 2022.
