Restaurant operator Tawandang German Brewery Co has re-entered Thailand’s 400-billion-baht restaurant market in a bid to boost sales.
Supote Teerawatanachai, the company’s chief executive, said the company invested 12-15 million baht to open a restaurant called The German Tawandang on two rai of land in Ang Sila subdistrict of Chon Buri’s Muang district last year.
The new restaurant aims at middle-income customers. The company picked Chon Buri because the government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor scheme is expected to spur economic growth in the province.
Plans call for five branches of The German Tawandang in various provinces over the next two years, Mr Supote said.
The German Tawandang is run by a new subsidiary, Tawandang F&B Co, established last year with registered capital of 5 million baht.
“We’ve re-entered restaurants because the business grows faster than the brewery business,” Mr Supote said. “Moreover, it is quite difficult to find a big plot of land with a good price, location and customer traffic.”
Tawandang German Brewery expanded with a restaurant at Siam Discovery and closed it two years ago when it was clear that the conditions of the retail complex did not match the business nature of Tawandang.
Tawandang German Brewery has three branches: Rama III, Ram Intra and Chaeng Wattana.
Sales at Tawandang GermanBrewery are about 800 million baht and are expected to increase to 900 million baht and 1 billion baht in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
To achieve its goals, the company will more aggressively expand its business via delivery and promote its products on social media, eyeing customers below 30 years old. Currently most customers are 40 and older.