Great news for foodies who have to travel to Bangkok just to get their Krispy Kreme fix . King Food Group Co, a Thai-based company owned by the Mahagitsiri family, has announced that they are looking to enter the food market in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), bringing along Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Pie Face, Jamba Juice and International House of Pancakes.
As a result of rising demand from middle-income people in the region, the president of King Food and local operator of the Krispy Kreme bakery chain, Ausanee Mahagitsiri, has stated that the company would convene with the owners of all bakery brands in its portfolio, including Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Bulgogi Brothers and Pie Face to request the rights to operate bakery chains in the CLMV market.
“These countries are promising markets due to the rise of middle-class people and their lifestyles have rapidly changed to welcome more fast food and bakeries,” she said.
At home, King Group said it would double its investment to 400 million baht (about $11.7 million) to open 22 branches under six bakery, food and juice brands this year. Of those 22 branches, eight will be under the Krispy Kreme brand , four under Cinnabon, three under Pie Face, five under Jamba Juice and two under International House of Pancake.
With the understanding that people are becoming more mindful of their health, Ms Ausanee said King Group is interested in expanding into the fruit and veggie juice sector due to the demand, valuing the market at 200 billion baht (about $5.8 million).
“With all the expansion plans, King Food Group expects its sales to grow 40 percent to 1 billion baht ($29.3 million) by the end of the year.”
According to figures provided by the Thai embassy in Cambodia, the bilateral trade volume of Cambodia and Thailand was valued at $5.6 billion in 2016, a $100 million increase compared to 2015. Thai exports to Cambodia last year were worth $4.7 billion while Cambodian exports to Thailand were valued at $936 million, a 46 percent increase compared to 2015.
Source: Bangkok Post, Khmer Times
