Bangkok--26 Aug--The Union Frozen Products
Strategically expand into all market territories throughout the world, projecting 15 billion baht sales revenue within 5 years.
The Union Frozen Products celebrates its 30th Anniversary with pride of being Thai company that has the ability to compete in global market with world class brand. The company announced its plan to set a new milestone by becoming a key global leader in frozen seafood business with consistent plan to expand its business to cover all significant markets around the world. The company also set up five-year strategic target to achieve 15 billion baht in sales with all-round strengths. It also planned to be listed in the local stock market within the next 3 to 5 years.
Anurat Khokasai, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operation Officer of The Union Frozen Products Company Limited (UFP), one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of frozen seafood in Thailand, revealed, that on its 30th anniversary the company has planned to expand its annual export sales to different markets around the world from currently 10 billion baht to about 15 billion baht in the next 5 years, by strategizing on its core competencies for sustained competitive advantage. UFP is a frozen seafood manufacturer with a comprehensive range of products in the areas of manufacturing, logistics and marketing, using its distinctive capabilities and ensuring on-time delivery. It employs modern technology, premium product quality control and an ability to develop products that serve the unique customer requirements of its different market segments.
"Most importantly, UFP has strong bases in overseas markets. We have strong and long-term partnership of over 15-20 years with major importers in each market, particularly in the USA and Japan. In the US, for instance, the company has key strategic partners namely Red Chamber and Aqua Star, who are leading importers in the US and also manage the distribution of frozen shrimps to all major supermarkets in the US, such as Walmart, Safeway, Ahold, and Costco, etc. In Japan, UFP has strong ties with Kyokuyo, which is one of the top-three distributors of frozen seafood in Japan. Kyokuyo has imported frozen seafood from UFP and distributed them to renowned supermarkets and restaurants throughout Japan. Most recently, the joint venture Company has invested 30 million baht to expand the production capacity for Saba and Kyokuyo will assist in exporting Saba products to be marketed in Japan," said Anurat.
UFP has also penetrated the European markets by exporting frozen seafood to more than 40 companies. The company has also planned to expand its frozen seafood export, leveraging its partnership with business alliances in all major geographies. The company, however, is looking for potential partners in new regions such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe including Russia. It confidently expects to be able to export frozen seafood products to these new markets within the next couple of years.
Anurat said that "UFP is currently one of Thailand’s forefront frozen shrimp exporters accounting for total export sales of between 7.5 billion to 10 billion baht per annum with continuous growth rate of 5 to 10 percent a year. The company also has a 10 percent market share of Thailand’s total frozen seafood export market. It has also emerged as a leading player of frozen seafood products in the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat range in the domestic market under the popular "Prantalay" brand. The company will be more focused on expanding its product lines to cover other chilled food items as an alternative, to enable local customers to cook meat-based foods offering higher protein content.
As for the future direction where the frozen seafood business growth is concerned, Anurat said, "the company has set its ambition in the next 5 to 10 years to become a robust company with a global footprint. The company also plans to be listed on the local stock market within the next 3 to 5 years backed with expansion plan, including investment in the development of raw material sourcing and production processes, in order to provide width and depth to its product development ventures."
"Today, we (UFP) are very proud of being a Thai company with the ability to produce and export products from Thailand generating several hundred billion baht over the past 30 years. In addition to developing and producing products with world-class standards and being widely accepted by global markets and individual customers around the world, we are also proud of our contributing, care and concern for society and environment. We emphasize on corporate social responsibility in the same way as our export business, as at UFP we believe, such responsibility would enable The Union Frozen Products Group to achieve stable and sustainable growth in the future", added Anurat.