Japanese food manufacturer Ezaki Glico Co is launching its ice-cream business next week in Thailand, its first international market outside Japan, under the well-known brand Glico Pocky.
The business will be run under a new company, Glico Frozen (Thailand) Co, established in June last year with registered capital of 200 million baht.
Glico Frozen managing director Kiyotaka Shimamori said the company will introduce Glico ice-cream products to the Thai market next Wednesday.
The products are made by Chomthana Co, the producer of Cremo brand ice cream.
Mr Shimamori said that despite the unfavourable economy, Glico remained confident in putting investment into Thailand, considering the country as its biggest Asean market with a large number of young customers.
He also said food business received minimal impact from the slow economy.
Thai Glico Co has two chocolate and biscuit factories in Pathum Thani that serve the domestic market and exports to Indonesia and Vietnam. Its head office is on Phloenchit Road in Bangkok.
The company will spend about 300 million baht to promote Glico ice cream in Thailand from 2016-20.
It aims to earn 600-900 million baht in sales over the next five years.
According to Euro Monitor International, a market research company, ice-cream business in Thailand in 2014 was worth 11.84 billion baht and increased by 8% to 12.8 billion baht in 2015.
About 55% of ice-cream products in the market are priced lower than 15 baht apiece.
The portion of premium ice cream in the market is small, increasing the opportunity for the Japanese firm to develop premium-grade products in Thailand.
Glico plans to offer four brands of ice cream in the Thai market: Palitte, Giant Cone, Panapp and Seventeen Ice.
Mikio Kusama, senior corporate officer for international operations of Ezaki Glico, said the company had been involved in the ice-cream business since 1953 and he was confident its ice-cream products would receive a good market response from Thai customers.
Apart from Thailand, Ezaki Glico plans to expand its ice-cream business in Indonesia in the second half of this year.
Glico was established in Japan in 1922 and has expanded its products for sale in more than 30 countries.
Its overall sales in 2014 were worth 93 billion baht, with 12.8% contributed by the international market.
Glico in Thailand contributes about 3-4% to the company's international business.
In 2014, Glico recorded 3.3 billion baht in sales in Thailand.