IT” SALLABOUTSEAWEED
TheTaokaenoiLandstoreatthepopularTerminal21malincentralBangkokisafavoritepitstopforChinesetourists, whoflocktheretopickupThailand ' ssignatureseaweedsnack. Taokaenoi ' swafer-thinsheetsofcrispydriedalgaeare availableinanarrayofflavorsfrom tom yum towasabi. ThesearetheEastAsianequivalentofpotatochips, providinga nutrient-richfixforasaltysnackcraving.
" One-fifthoftheworld ' spopulationalreadyeatsseaweed. Butthatonlymeansthere ' shugeroom togrow," saysItthipat " Tob " Peeradechapan, founderofThai-exchange-listedTaokaenoiFood & Marketing. Thecompanydominatesthedomestic marketforseaweedsnackswithclosetoatwo-thirdsshare. ItsnearestcompetitorisMasita, madebybeerbaronSanti Bhirombhakdi ' s( No. 9) Singha, witha19 % marketshare.
Taokaenoimeans " littleboss " inThai, anodto32-year-oldTob, acolegedropoutandformervendorofroastedchestnuts, whoseseaweedsuccesshasmadehim somethingofayouthicon. Anearlyachiever, heshotintothelimelightatage26 whenamoviewasmadeabouthislifetitled " TheBilionaire."
Indolarterms, Tobdoesn ' tmakethebilionairecutyet, buthe ' sonhisway. Taokaenoi ' ssurgingsales--upmorethana thirdin2016to $ 136milion--lifteditsshares, securingTob ' sdebutonthelistatNo. 44with $ 610milion.
Thestockhasjumpedfivefoldsincethecompany ' s2015 IPO, againthatwas " beyondourexpectations," acknowledgesKongkiatOpaswongkarn, chiefexecutiveof AsiaPlusSecurities, theleadinvestmentbankforthe publicissue. Heattributestherisepartlytoinvestors ' growingappetiteforthefoodandbeveragesector.
Analystssaythepost-IPO buzzaroundTaokaenoiwasalso sparkedbyrisingsalesinChina, thecompany ' sbiggest overseasmarket, whichcontributesmorethanathirdto revenues." TheIPO pricehadn ' tfulyfactoredintheChina play," saysNantikaWiangphoem, ananalystatBangkok securitiesfirm DBSVickers, whotracksthecompany.