Thai food products may be popular in international markets but still need strong support from state agencies to secure trademarks in foreign countries, said food exporter Srichanok Wattanasiri.
Her company, Monty & Totco, manufactures various Thai food products under the brand Thai Choice. For more than four decades, it has been exporting culinary ingredients, including sauces, canned fruit, snacks, beverages and ready-to-eat meal kits, to 50 countries worldwide.
Ms Srichanok, who participated in the Thaifex — Anuga Asia 2024 exhibition at Impact Muang Thong Thani, revealed that the majority of her clients are in the Middle East and Europe and account for 70% of her overseas trade volume.
She is currently eyeing new markets in the Latin America and Africa regions, saying that noodles, coconut milk and dipping sauces are expected to be well received there.
“We would like to be a pioneer in introducing Thai food to a new market,” she said.
The company also pushes healthy Thai products internationally, including with low-sodium sauce and low-fat coconut milk.
She further explained that the future of Thai food exports is bright thanks to support from the state agencies, especially the Department of Export Promotion, which always invites Thai food producers to participate in international food exhibitions overseas.
“Further assistance to facilitate trademark registration in foreign territories would be a great help for Thai food exporters,” she said.
“In many countries, the trademark registration process is rather complicated. Without strong support from the government, Thai food companies risk losing business opportunities.
“One glaring example of this is Sri Racha Sauce which we lost the trademark for despite it originating in Thailand. That should not happen again,” she said.
According to her, Thai Choice’s growth surged 35% immediately after the end of the pandemic and an additional 10% after that, largely due to the popularity of Thai food and the company’s investment in food innovation.
The company plans to phase out tin containers and use carbon-free colours for label printing to meet consumer expectations of environmentally aware food production.