Lactasoy to invest US$17.3 million on market expansion

Lactasoy’s General Sales Manager, Monlika Chiraphadhanakul, said that the value of Thailand’s soy milk market has increased to Bt 19 billion (US$549 million) last year, up from Baht 16-17 billion (US$462-491 million) in 2021.

Meanwhile, Lactasoy sales grew 2-3% both domestically and overseas, helped by the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, especially with regard to border trade and the resumption of logistics. The growth of the soy milk market last year was attributed to growing health consciousness during the pandemic and an increase in the popularity of plant-based products.

Lactasoy is planning to inject Bt 600 million (US$17.3 million) to expand its business with more than 25% of it to be allocated for the installation of solar cells at its factory in Prachin Buri under a clean energy initiative, with the aim of reducing the company’s operation costs.

In addition, Lactasoy will also increase its marketing budget by 20-25% from last year to Bt 400 million (US$11.6 million) this year to promote its products in Thailand. Lactasoy also plans to roll out aggressive marketing campaigns in Indochina this year.

The company is also planning to adjust the formula of Lactasoy’s chocolate soy milk and launch new products to the market this year.

The remaining budget was allocated to buy new machinery to increase production capacity at the Prachin Buri factory this year to 2 billion cartons per year, up from 1.7 billion last year. The higher capacity is to support market growth in Thailand and Indochina, as well as to open 2 new Lactasoy warehouses in the Isan region in the 3rd  quarter this year.

Lactasoy aims to grow its sales by 5-8% this year from Bt 10.6 billion (US$306 million) last year, with 80% to be derived from the domestic market and the remaining 20% from 45 other countries. Lactasoy projects its share from exports to grow by another 10% in 2023.