April Bakery's Business Path From Pork Pie to 1,000 Million Baht, a Bakery Empire That Wasn't Built in a Day
“Dubai Chocolate” is a dessert that became a trend for a while until it became something that you must eat at one time. And that was the turning point that made “April Bakery” famous. Today, we will take everyone to explore the success of this bakery brand that is overtaking every curve with a sweet and rich story. With a variety of products and delicious tastes, it was able to generate exponential growth in income. But April Bakery’s path is not sprinkled with icing sugar. There are interesting stories and are good lessons for entrepreneurs.
From a small business to exponential growth
Going back more than 10 years ago, April Bakery started as a small bakery booth with “Hong Kong Style Pork Pie” as its main product and was considered the first in Thailand to focus on pies. From this small beginning, Ms. Kanokkan Mathuraporn, President and Managing Director of Singha Foods Industries (Thailand) Co., Ltd. under the April Bakery brand, learned through trial and error to create a selling point and build a brand that was memorable and accepted for its product quality.
Ms. Kanokkan Mathuraporn, Managing Director, Singha Foods Industries (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
“It’s not easy to get to where we are today. We’ve had to go through a lot, both in terms of product development, branding, marketing, and many other things. We started our business with roast pork pies. One thing we’ve always held onto is the quality of our products and our sincerity to our customers. That was when we invented the lava mooncakes. That was the turning point that made April Bakery well-known,” said Ms. Kanokkan.
Currently, April Bakery has grown and expanded its branches nationwide, with more than 40 branches and continues to expand its business continuously. Most importantly, we invented and developed “Dubai Chocolate” ourselves, leading to its distribution in convenience stores like 7-Eleven. We expect to generate over 1 billion baht in revenue by 2027, which is a challenging goal but not too far out of reach.
“One of the pain points for consumers is not being able to find Dubai chocolate. If you can find it, the price is quite high. That’s why we searched for a recipe and developed it until it became our own recipe, and then sold it in 7-Eleven for 39 baht, making it well-known and very popular,” added Ms. Kanokkan.
A strategy for success that isn’t just “delicious”
Of course, the delicious taste of the products is a key factor that makes consumers addicted to April Bakery. But behind this success, there are many interesting strategies used to drive the business, such as:
- Continuous product development In particular, product development that keeps up with consumer trends allows April Bakery to attract attention and meet consumer needs directly. Last year, more than 20 new products were developed and the company aims to continuously develop new products.
- Strong online marketing Targeting online marketing allows April Bakery to reach consumers directly and effectively, and emphasizes the use of online channels to promote products and build brand awareness.
- Comprehensive product distribution One point that helps create significant growth is access to convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, more than 10,000 branches nationwide, which helps increase convenience for consumers in purchasing products. It can generate income of up to 60% of total sales, or an average of 300,000 pieces per day.
- Expanding distribution channels One important strategy is not to rely on any one channel to sell products, but to spread the risk through expanding various distribution channels, whether it be Modern Trade, which generates 50% of revenue, Off-line Sales at 30%, e-Commerce generating 20% of sales, and Distributors with 10% of revenue, including setting up booths to introduce products at various Trade Fairs to increase sales opportunities and create brand awareness.
The next step towards expanding overseas markets
Another success of April Bakery is being certified with Halal, ISO and BRC (The British Retail Consortium) which is a food safety standard to reach and penetrate new customer groups and build confidence among consumers both domestically and internationally.
This makes April Bakery plan to expand its business to foreign markets as well, starting with exporting frozen mooncakes to test the market in Singapore and Hong Kong, which are potential markets with high demand for bakery products, including selling in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the big goal of entering the US market through major retail stores such as Costco.
In addition to expanding the business and developing products, April Bakery also focuses on creating sustainability for the business and society by investing in purchasing over 10 rai of land in Mae On District, Chiang Mai Province with an investment budget of over 10 million baht to grow cocoa to use as an ingredient in baking. In addition to creating a difference for the product, it also distributes income to the local area.
Ms. Kanokkan said about the investment, “We don’t just look at profits, but we also look at the sustainability of the business in the long term. By investing in growing our own cocoa, in addition to getting quality raw materials and reducing the cost of importing cocoa, which is currently very high, it also helps farmers in the area and creates jobs and income for the community.”
From humble beginnings to becoming the country’s leading bakery brand, April Bakery has proven that success is not a matter of luck, but of determination and continuous development, while adapting to changing circumstances.
Reference website : www.marketingoops.com