SET-listed Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) has restructured its restaurant business, with the goal of expanding its revenue by 16% to 5 billion baht in 2019.
Chief operating officer Sathit Sangkanarubordee said the company recently set up a new firm called CPF Restaurant and Food Chain Co to handle the expansion of potential food categories under Five Star food group and its restaurant business.
The move aims at increasing sales by double-digit rates every year and boosting overall restaurant numbers under Charoen Pokphand Group, the parent firm, to 50,000 branches in the long term.
There are about 5,000 branches of various food brands under Five Star Group, including Five Star, Ped Yang Chaosuo grilled duck restaurant, Star Coffee and Oscars Burger.
"When talking about Five Star, we hope customers will no longer think of only grilled chicken, but a variety of food and drink," Mr Sathit said.
He wants to develop three new food or beverage brands a year to keep abreast of the young generation's continuously changing appetite and thirst for entrepreneurship.
Mr Sathit said the company also plans to build business ownership, with all food businesses under CPF Restaurant and Food Chain operated by franchisees.
"We don't want to open a single branch of our own restaurants, because we don't want to compete with our franchisees," he said.
Five Star started its grilled chicken business 33 years ago, gradually adding fried chicken in the past decade.
The business model of Five Star changed recently from street kiosks to quick-service restaurants (QSRs) as an option for the middle class.
There are 270 Five Star QSRs, with an aim to reach 600 branches this year.
For the original Five Star kiosk, the company will cap the number at 4,000 branches across the country.
Mr Sathit said the company aims to beef up its beverage business after branching out to the beverage sector last year.
"We are interested in coffee and milk tea because both have rising demand," he said.
There were 200 Star Coffee shops across the country last year, with the figure to reach 500 branches by the end of this year.
The company expects 300 new Star Coffee shops to open a year in 2020 and 2021.
Investment in a Star Coffee franchise is 300,000-400,000 baht and a shop can break even in two years.
The company also developed a milk tea kiosk for new entrepreneurs requiring investment of 30,000-40,000 baht.