CPRAM Co, affiliated to the giant food conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group, is projecting a 10% growth in sales this year to Bt 27.5 billion (US$3.8 billion). CPRAM President Wisade Wisidwinyoo attributed the growth to better performance within its food and bakery business in the first 4 months of the year.
With the revival of tourism and consumers returning to normal lives after the pandemic, CPRAM is expecting its annual sales to grow at an average of 12% annually over the next 4 years.
The bakery business, in particular, is expected to outpace the ready-to-eat (RTE) food sector as CPRAM plans to introduce new products to the market and restructure its sales channels. The company is developing Indian ready-to-eat (RTE) products to cater to vegetarian consumers over the next 1-2 months. In addition to plant-based products, the company is also developing healthy and functional foods for the market.
Wisade said that growing health concerns amidst the pandemic has led to the growing desire to consume food products with higher nutritional contents. CPRAM also sees higher demand for animal-free food products like vegan and plant-based alternatives. Wisade said, “There is a great potential for vegan and plant-based food. In India for example, around 300-400 million people follow a vegetarian diet. Indian cuisine is also popular worldwide, particularly in Europe and the US.” It will not be long before you see similar trend in favour of vegetarian diet in other countries.
CPRAM’s RTE Indian meals will initially be sold domestically before being exported to international markets.
CPRAM also plans to expand its bakery business to neighbouring countries. It is scheduled to open its first bakery factory in Chon Buri in the 3rd quarter of 2023 boosting its production capacity to 5.2 million bakery items daily. The new factory will support growing demand for bakery products in the eastern region, which has a high concentration of 7-11 convenience stores. Bakery is expected to contribute 35% of its overall sales with the remainder (65%) from RTE food in 2023.
CPRAM currently operates production facilities for its bakery and food businesses at 7 locations in 6 provinces namely in Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Chon Buri, Lamphun, Surat Thani and Khon Kaen.
CPRAM’s market is predominantly local with 95% share, and its overall sales reached Bt 25.5 billion (US$3.53 billion) in 2022.
