Zen talks up Khiang brand

Zen talks up Khiang brand

Firm gets streetwise to boost food sales

Mr Boonyong announces Zen Corporation's plans for expanding the street food brand Khiang.
Mr Boonyong announces Zen Corporation's plans for expanding the street food brand Khiang.

Zen Corporation Group Plc, the operator of Zen, AKA and Tummour restaurants, is ramping up its street food business in a bid to boost sales to 10 billion baht in the next five years.

According to chief executive Boonyong Tansakul, the company is committed to expanding into the street food business, with Khiang as the flagship brand to tap the 370-billion-baht market.

The company introduced the Khiang brand eight months ago, aiming at middle- to low-income customers. The brand augments the existing portfolio, which focuses on the middle- to high-income segment.

Some 41 Khiang branches are available in the Thai market, taking in 300,000-1 million baht per day per branch.

"We are very satisfied with the response to the Khiang brand," Mr Boonyong said. "Although it is less than one year old, the rate of expansion has been very quick."

The street food market is attractive because there is no big chain in the sector and the competition is less fierce than in other food sectors, he said.

Khiang restaurants are at PTT petrol stations, commercial buildings, kiosks, food courts, community malls and shopping malls, as well as at the counter bar at Tesco Lotus hypermarkets.

Khiang is the 12th food brand under Zen Corp.

According to Mr Boonyong, the company aims to raise the number of Khiang restaurants to 50 by year-end, with the figure to top 1,000 nationwide within five years.

Some 80% of Khiang restaurants will open on a franchise basis and 20% through the company's own investment.

The company plans to add Khiang at MRT stations and promote takeaway orders targeting office workers, students and mass transit riders.

There are 280 restaurant branches under Zen's 12 brands, which include Tummour, I-san, Zen and AKA. The company expects total restaurants under the various formats to reach 1,300 branches over the next five years.

Zen forecasts sales from all food brands to reach 3 billion baht this year, a rise of 10% from the previous year. Of the total, an estimated 70 million baht will come from the Khiang brand.

For the next five years, Zen has set a sales target of 10 billion baht, with Khiang to contribute 5 billion baht.

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