Bangkok--16 May--JWT Public Relations With the launch of ‘Blood Group’ menu to please health-conscious consumers and recent Bt10-million investment on major upgrade of packaging system, the leader in frozen seafood market now eyes at Q2 sales of Bt300 million Prantalay Marketing Company Limited, the leader in frozen seafood innovations under the brand ‘Prantalay’, announces a first-quarter sales growth of over 20% and reaffirms its leadership in frozen seafood innovations with a comprehensive lineup of new products and an investment of over Bt10 million in advanced vacuum packaging machinery that helps preserve natural moisture and maintain appetizing look of the products. With ‘Blood Group’ menu as the latest highlight, offering more than ten choices of ready-to-eat seafood to please health-conscious consumers, the company feels confident that its second-quarter sales will exceed Bt300 million and the sales target of Bt1.2 billion for this year is within comfortable reach. According to Mr. Anurat Khokasai, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operation Officer of Prantalay Marketing Company Limited, the company has recorded Q1/2008 sales of more than Bt240 million, which is a year-on-year growth of about 20%. Of this, a growth of more than 80% was seen in ready-to-cook frozen seafood products while ready-to-eat seafood products experienced about 20% growth. At the same time, the company’s sushi product line has expanded its distribution in modern trade stores to over 80%, an increase of about 20% from 60% previously. The expansion in modern trade channel was attributed to the ongoing growth of about 10% of modern trade stores themselves and the more availability of the sales space in this channel due to the pull-out of other occupants. Compared to the overall 20-30% growth of frozen food market, Prantalay brand is on a positive growth trend and remains one of the top brands in the market. The second quarter of this year will see an all-encompassing expansion of Prantalay’s product lines in response to consumers’ demand for new savors. To offer new products with premium quality, the company’s R&D team focuses its work on nutrition and food innovations in order to ensure nutritious benefits for the consumers. New ready-to-cook products to be launched will include the popular Murrel Fish Fillet, Basa Fish Fillet, and Red Tilapia Fillet. As for ready-to-eat meals, the company is preparing to launch ‘Blood Group’ menu, which is the latest innovation catered for different nutritional requirements of different consumers. The menu will comprise 12 choices of food in the beginning, such as Brown Rice with Stir-Fried Tofu Assorted Vegetables for consumers with Blood Group A; Brown Rice with Stir-Fried Shrimp, Broccoli, and Shitake Mushroom for consumers with Blood Group B; Fish Noodle with Seafood in Spicy Basil Sauce for consumers with Blood Group O; and Brown Rice with Snapper in Stir-Fried Curry Paste and Crispy Basil for consumers with Blood Group AB. Meanwhile, the sushi product line under the brand ‘I LOVE SUSHI by Prantalay’ will adhere to its unique character as fusion-style sushi with original Japanese taste. The company has merged local raw materials and ingredients with distinctive characteristics of sushi, such as in ‘Sushi Kham Muang’ or sushi with northern Thai styled ‘Nam Prik Ong’ chilli paste, ‘Isaan Sushi’ or sushi with northeastern Thai styled ‘Jim Jaew’ sauce, and ‘Sushi Manora’ or sushi with southern Thai styled ‘Gaeng Tai Pla’ fish curry. With this new menu, the company hopes to make sushi more popular among Thai consumers in different parts of the country — a strategy that will contribute to expansion of the product line and its customer base in the regions. Mr. Anurat says further that the company has also invested over Bt10 million to upgrade its packaging machinery from IQF system to vacuum system, which is the latest innovation in product packaging. With this new system, the outer surface of the products is not exposed to the air, thus the natural moisture and appetizing look of the products can be preserved even after defrosting. The upgrade included installation of ten vacuum packaging machines, each with a packaging capacity of 3-5 tons of products per day. In terms of sales promotion, the company will carry on with the campaign under which booths are set up to offer new customers the opportunity to experience the freshness and delicious taste of frozen seafood products from Prantalay. An evaluation of the sales promotion activities has led to a finding that sales generated by members of Prantalay card increased from 20% to 40% during these activities while sales from new customers rose from 15-20% to 30-40%, which suggests that the strategy has successfully reached potential customers. Prantalay will also take part in the upcoming food exhibition, THAIFEX — The World of Food Asia 2008, with a booth area of 108 square meters to be set up under the concept ‘Healthinnovation’ or Health with Innovation, aiming to introduce the company’s frozen seafood innovations to international and Thai visitors who have never experienced the freshness of Prantalay products. At this exhibition, Prantalay will showcase its comprehensive range of products that covers all the lifestyle of today’s consumers, such as ready-to-cook frozen seafood, ready-to-eat seafood, as well as sushi product line that will highlight its fusion-style menu catered for different tastes of Thai consumers in different regions of the country. “With the proactive marketing strategy and the complete range of Prantalay products that embraces consumers of all lifestyles, our sales for the second quarter of this year will grow to Bt300 million and we feel very confident that the sales target of Bt1.2 billion for this year will be achieved,” Mr. Anurat concludes. For more information, please contact: JWT Public Relations, JWT (Thailand) Khun Prasit Kritsadaariyachon (Bob), T: 02-204-8216 or 081-586-2813 Khun Porntip Wiriyakitpattana(Bee), T: 02-204-8210 or 086-813-1981