Herbal toothpaste maker seeks global audience for concoctions using secrets of the jungle. By Nanchanok Wongsamuth
It all started in 2010 when Ekkhapop Suwanakij’s father found an herbal encyclopaedia in Pali language that was given to him,consisting of information on herbs and medicine during Lord Buddha’s era. His father, Mr Pichet, then conducted further scientific research on it.
“At that time, there were no dentists.Monks that walked through the woods would face a lot of problems. They used the bark of Bodhi trees, which have qualities in curing various conditions including oral diseases,” said Mr Ekkhapop, now managing director of Sahapan Group (Thailand) Co. “People believed in an ancient remedy that suggested they kept the boiled bark of the Bodhi tree in their mouth to alleviate pains from toothaches.”
The company has modernised this treatment following over a year of testing, adding other ingredients such as clove oil, chamomile, Siam miswak and mint extracts. The new product is an herbal toothpaste named GumAlive.
Founded in 1937, Sahapan Group started off as a drug store in Phitsanulok province. Mr Ekkhapop’s father was the second-generation owner when the shop was relocated to Bangkok.He had a vast knowledge of medicine and herbs, but he remembers consumers were less sophisticated then.
The group’s first products were related to skin care.
“In the past, many people were farmers and experienced various skin problems. Our first products were a cooling powder and cooling soap,which were very popular at that time,”said Mr Ekkhapop.
In 2007, the group introduced its herbal oral care line. The first product was called Kolbadent, which was aimed at the mass market and sold at both modern and traditional trade stores,though it is 10-20 baht more expensive than normal toothpastes.
GumAlive was introduced early last year and costs around 150 baht retail due to the difficult extraction processes.
With a production capacity of 600 tonnes per month, the product is mainly targeted toward modern trade channels. Its production plant is in Chaeng Watthana.
“The outcome has been very good,considering it was only launched a short time ago and our marketing budget is smaller than the market leaders,” said Mr Ekkhapop.
“Sampling is the most important part [of marketing], as oral care is used inside your mouth. Letting people test the product will help them to see the difference [from other toothpaste brands]. Some even bought the product as soon as they tested it.
Creating the brand and packaging also play a vital role.”
This year the company is expected to grow by 5-6% from its existing market base, he said.
The firm exports to Laos, Cambodia,Myanmar, Vietnam and the Middle East. GumAlive is sold in England now,but it will expand to Europe and Hong Kong later this year.
Exports amount to 25% of total sales,and the company plans to increase this to 30% this year, he added.
New oral care products will be introduced in the future, such as natural mouthwash, mouth spray and mouth drops. Mr Ekkhapop envisions creating a global brand within five years.
“We will expand by joining with trading partners. It is hard to find partners, but once it happens, everything just flows quickly,” he said.
Mr Ekkhapop added with fierce competition, innovative products will have an edge.
Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find funding for innovation hard to come by, the government has introduced more projects to encourage their participation,including those by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).
But Mr Ekkhapop fretted that the conditions to take part in such programmes often allow only larger companies to take part.
Sahapan’s products were jointly developed by NSTDA, the National Research Council of Thailand and the Office of Industrial Promotion.
“When I was a kid at the family’s drug store, I learned customers are patients. We are here to try and soothe their pain,” he said.
Reference :
Squeezing nature’s remedies. Bangkok Post (ENTREPRENEURS). ฉบับวันที่ 19 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2556.– ( 76 Views)
