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Organic farm taps health-conscious consumers' taste for wheatgrass.
Walailak Keeratipipatpong
An organic farm in Chachoengsao has found a new business that could be even more promising than chemical-free vegetables and fruit - refreshing people with naturally nutritious richness from young wheatgrass.
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| Ms Kotchapan says wheatgrass is ready after eight days to extract into juice, though consumers can also buy her company’s ready-to drink product. |
Young wheat plants and their many applications have become popular among Thai consumers, especially those keen on holistic health. Part of the appeal is that people can grow the plants themselves at home using a simple process.
"These groups of consumers prefer buying plant kits to grow wheatgrass at home. It takes only seven or eight days for the young grass to grow and be ready for picking and extracting into healthy drinks," said Kotchapan Tienrungsri, managing director of First Organic Farm Co.
The company started growing wheatgrass four years ago on part of its 120-rai organic farm in Chachoengsao and now it is expanding its focus on the new product. A variety of wheatgrass-based products, such as juice powder, tablets and kits are being distributed by the company's subsidiary, Dailygreen Co.
Wheatgrass is renowned for its high concentrations of chlorophyll, enzymes, vitamins and amino acids.
"It is said that the nutrition of a 20cc glass of wheatgrass juice is equivalent to a kilogramme of vegetables," Miss Kotchapan said.
Claimed medical benefits include the ability to improve the digestive system, treat diabetes, prevent cancer, and detoxify heavy metals from the blood.
The company supplies fresh wheatgrass to many spa outlets including Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin, as well as health-food shops.
"Spa outlets prefer taking fresh wheatgrass and extracting drinks for clients in their detox programme," she said.
According to Miss Kotchapan, the wheatgrass business in Thailand is still young with a few players, though consumption has been recognised in western countries for many decades.
But the business is on the rise in line with growing health-consciousness among people and she is confident her products have a competitive edge thanks to organically grown plants.
The company uses only young grass that is planted for eight days, the most appropriate duration to yield nutritive substances.
Some producers, she said, used plants as old as 60 days in order to gain higher volumes and the fields might not free from chemicals.
Her farm in Chachoengsao received the Organic Thailand award from the Agriculture Ministry in 2004, and it is applying for certification from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), to prepare for exporting its products.
The area used to be a research and development farm for organic aquaculture products of its subsidiary, White Crane. "So, it took less work to change the site into an organic farm," she said.
It now grows about 30 kinds of vegetables and a few varieties of fruit such as dragonfruit and mulberry. Each day, about one tonnes of vegetables are packed under the Daily Green brand name and sold at leading supermarkets such as Golden Place, Lemon Farm and The Emporium. Prices are about 20-30% higher than for conventionally grown vegetables.
Production of fruit remains small and mostly goes to making health foods and food supplements.
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