Making trips to the dentist pleasant

Making trips to the dentist pleasant

Kasi Suriyapan follows a family tradition in making an herbal Thai toothpaste a household name

Tepthai toothpaste was one of the country's top media spenders over the last few years.

Ms Kasi says Tepthai is committed to development of quality products and the company invests around 10 million baht in R&D each year.

Last year according to market research firm Nielsen, Tepthai ranked No.5 for ad spending by brand in the country, trailing 29 Shopping Direct Sales, O Shopping Direct Sales, Coke Soft Drinks and RS Mall Direct Sales.

The company hired a number of famous TV actors and actresses such as "Bella" Ranee Campen, "Weir" Sukollawat Kanaros, "Kong" Saharat Sangkapreecha and "Mam" Jintara Sukapat as presenters.

Kasi Suriyapan, director of Tepthai Product Co, said such huge spending is considered worthwhile as the Tepthai brand is rapidly becoming known among consumers as sales increase.

"The ad spending aims to make consumers know what we are doing and the quality products we produce," said Ms Kasi, a daughter of Tepthai founder Sirikorn Chewpreecha.

"Our most important strategy is to provide a highly concentrated herbal formula that helps reduce gum problems, tooth decay and lessens food and drink stains that stick to the teeth and can become plaque."

Ms Kasi, who has a master's degree in cosmetic science, said Tepthai wants to change people's belief that brushing your teeth requires a full brush of toothpaste. Using the size of a green bean seed is enough toothpaste to clean your teeth and refresh your mouth, she said.

FAMILY CALLING

Tepthai was founded by Mrs Sirikorn, now 60, who moved her family from Bangkok to settle down in Na Mom district in Songkhla province after the devastating impact of the Tom Yum Kung financial crisis in 1997.

Mrs Sirikorn made the move because she has a close friend there and they looked into starting a small business together.

At first, Mrs Sirikorn thought of selling Thai sweets, but she ended up in the toothpaste and herbal products business, which she learned from her grandfather who was a former army doctor who specialised in various herbs.

Her grandfather used his knowledge to treat patients in many villages during his lifetime.

In the beginning, the family tried his toothpaste and herbal products on a neighbour who got a toothache. The neighbour wanted to buy the toothpaste and herbs later after his toothache was relieved.

The toothpaste quality was later recommended and spread by word of mouth, encouraging the family to establish a small business with initial capital of only 500 baht.

"Our family's business grew bit by bit. From making the toothpaste by stirring boiled ingredients in an enamel basin, over the years we've grown to become a company and established our brand, expanded distribution channels and eventually built our own factory," Ms Kasi.

The company debuted its brand titled Rak Thai toothpaste in 2003, changing it to Tepthai in 2006 as Rak Thai was already registered by another firm.

The family also decided to include Tepthai products in One Tambon, One Product (Otop) fairs since 2004. In 2013, Tepthai toothpaste was selected as a 5-star Otop product and the brand became more recognised, especially for helping to ease toothaches and gum disease.

In that same year of 2013, Tepthai Product Co was registered.

TARGETING THE MASSES

"From a tiny family business that my mother hoped would generate income after the 1997 financial crisis, our business expansion has to be credited to Mass Marketing Co, with which Tepthai has teamed up since 2014," said Ms Kasi.

"Mass Marketing, a leading distributor of consumer goods in Thailand, has helped in terms of our marketing strategies and increasing distribution channels at modern trade and convenience stores."

The company's products are available in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, the US and Australia.

Tepthai also plans to export to other countries such as China.

The company operates a factory in Na Mom district in Songkhla province that had an investment cost of more than 30 million baht.

The factory employs about 160 local workers, with a production capacity of 1 million tubes of toothpaste per month.

In 2020, the company reported sales of 378 million baht and a profit of 107 million.

She said in order to grow, Tepthai is committed to continuing development of quality products using innovation, with investment in R&D worth around 10 million baht per year.

This investment will help the company expand its customer base to younger generations, said Ms Kasi.

"Our most important strategy is to produce quality products and set high standards, while the brand-building will help reinforce business growth," she said.

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