Facing a sluggish economy and a dip in the number of people dining out at restaurants, Thipsamai Group -- renowned for its restaurants' legendary pad Thai -- is adapting by expanding its line of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products in an effort to offset the situation.
Sikarachat Baisamut, chairman of Thipsamai Group and Siam Royal International, which operates Thipsamai Phadthai Pratoopee, said the current economic climate feels like the post-war period when people were feeling exhausted and were grappling with income-related challenges.
"Now is even worse than during the pandemic. Consumers want to spend but many simply can't because their money seems to have less value due to rising prices," he said.
In a trend that seems to have impacted the entire restaurant sector, Thipsamai is witnessing a decrease in diner numbers, with current figures showing a drop of around 20% in on-site diners compared to the corresponding period last year.
The company is currently operating Pratoopee restaurants in five locations, namely on Mahachai Road, at Iconsiam, King Power Rangnam, Siam Paragon and Phutthamonthon Sai 4.
Mr Sikarachat said Thipsamai's restaurants attract both Thai and foreign diners. In general, if there is a decline in foreign diners, Thai diners tend to make up for the decrease, while if there are fewer Thai diners, this tends to be outweighed and foreign diners make up for the deficit, he noted.
To clear the hurdles faced by the restaurant sector, such as a drop in consumer spending and higher costs, Mr Sikarachat emphasised the importance of three key factors for operators: maintaining a service-oriented mindset, upholding high standards, and devoting time to oversee operations effectively.
"Customers are those we love, so we need to treat them with excellent service. We must maintain the standards of our products and services," he said.
He added that business owners must understand every aspect of restaurant management even if they might not excel to the same degree as those working in the field in every area.
To bolster the brand and offset the decline in restaurant diners at the company's restaurant locations by expanding its range of affordable meals for preparing at home, the company launched more than 20 Thai ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products under the "Thipsamai" and "Brand Thai" brands at Thaifex-Anuga Asia 2025.
"We are catering to today's consumers who are seeking convenience whether through ready-to-eat options or products for cooking at home, while also delivering authentic Thai flavours using high-quality local ingredients and adhering to global production standards," he said.
The Thipsamai brand offers frozen pad Thai in six signature flavours such as rich shrimp oil (signature), hot and spicy and vegetarian, along with frozen appetisers such as pad Thai shrimp oil with shrimp spring rolls and other semi-instant and cooking kits.
Meanwhile, Brand Thai offerings include frozen rice noodles, frozen rice meals in a variety of flavours, glass noodles and Hong Kong-style noodles, along with frozen traditional Thai desserts.
The products are distributed at Pratoopee locations and leading supermarkets as well as being exported to international markets including South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and the US.