Despite a challenging business environment impacting the overall restaurant sector, Salad Factory expects the healthy food industry to continue to grow, noting that it could potentially outpace the overall market.
The value of the Thai restaurant and beverage shop sector is expected to reach 646 billion baht in 2025, a 2.8% increase from the previous year, according to Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research).
However, Piya Dankum, chief executive of Green Food Factory Co Ltd, the operator of Salad Factory restaurants, expects healthy eateries to see annual growth of 10-20% over the next three years, based on previous trends.
He has observed increasing demand for healthy food in Thailand following the pandemic, as more people are prioritising their health.
With the country now an aged society, more individuals will be health-conscious, creating further opportunities for healthy restaurants.
The company says the Thai healthy restaurant market was valued at around 1.6 billion baht in 2021, and is projected to have reached 4.5 billion baht in 2024.
These figures are collected from restaurants registered with the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Business Development.
Mr Piya added that the company expects the market value could reach 5.2 billion baht in 2025, representing around 15% growth, outpacing the overall Thai restaurant market.
He said that as there is room for growth in the segment, many entrepreneurs are expected to jump on the healthy restaurant bandwagon.
"Five years from now, I expect this restaurant segment to show minimal growth, as it reaches maturity," he said.
Oliver Gottschall, chief operating officer for food business at Betagro Plc, added that the healthy food market continues to grow by 7-10% annually, in line with consumer behaviour that is increasingly focused on health and nutrition.
The main target groups include urban residents, the new generation, individuals with food allergies, and those controlling their weight, who are seeking healthy, delicious food made from clean, safe and reliable ingredients.
To align with the healthy food trend, Betagro and Salad Factory are continuing their collaboration for a second year and have introduced five new dishes using chicken breast from Betagro's S-Pure brand, including chicken katsu with Nagano miso sauce and grilled chicken breast crunchy avocado salad.
Mr Piya said the company currently operates 48 restaurants, with 46 located in the Bangkok metropolitan region.
The company plans to invest 50 million baht in branch expansion, aiming to open 8-9 new restaurants in 2025, having already opened three stores this year.
The goal is to operate 54 branches by year-end, he said.