Instant foods are set to enjoy continued growth of five per cent a year although the competition in the industry is intensifying, according to a report on Tuesday from Thai News Agency (TNA).
Pipat Paniengvej, president of Thai President Foods Plc, producer and distributor of the Mama-brand instant noodle, was quoted as saying that the instant food market still has room to grow this year as the products are still in great demand despite the economic slowdown.
In the current economic climate, most consumers want to save and prefer to buy and keep instant foods for consumption in case of emergencies. Because of this, he said, it was highly likely the sector would continue to grow at five per cent a year on average.
Pipat admitted that the competition in the instant food business remains stiffer in terms of prices and product quality at the present time.
Consumers are interested in new flavours, resulting in producers scrambling to introduce new options in the marketplace, he said. Pipat said the instant noodle market would manage to sustain its growth of five per cent next year, adding that his company would continue to introduce new flavours to satisfy consumers' appetite for variety.
The company's revenue for this year is expected to reach 4.5 billion baht (US$ 102 million), representing sales growth of 4-5 per cent per annum.