- Article from Focus Exporter column of Export-Import Bank of Thailand’s Newsletter For February 1998

“Jintana Food”, a gum-based candy producer, was established in 1993.  After only 5 years in operation, Jintana Food Ltd., led by a young manager of 35 years old, Mr. Noppadol Tantiponganant, has reached the top level of candy producers and has become a leader in gum-based candy production in Southeast Asia.  Its production includes a variety of gummy candy types and flavors, the products that win the consumer’s market.  More over, Jintana Food’s product quality is competitive to those produced in Europe or in the U.S.

Noppadol talked to us about the reasons behind his ideas of establishing Jintana Food Co., Ltd.  He said that the concept for establishing the company happened during his study for a master degree in Marketing in the U.S.  Noppadol noticed that in the U.S., there were many types of candies for kids that not only produced good taste, but at the same time, were fun to eat.  He was particularly interested in gummy candy and its characteristic of softness, fruity fragrance, nutrition and attractive shapes.  Upon his return to Thailand, Noppadol was offered by a Japanese company to sell their technology and machines for the gummy products.  Noppadol, then, started to study the gummy market seriously and found that their potential markets were extensive.

Noppadol decided to establish Jintana Food Co.,Ltd. by first purchasing the machines from Japan.  Later on, after he secured Government of Thailand Board of Investment’s promotional privileges, Noppadol invested further in machines from Australia and the Netherlands.  The Jintana Food factory was first located at Kabinburi District which is  located on the outskirts of Bangkok and started with 160 workers.

“To produce quality gummy products, requires a detailed focus in processing as much as modern machines”, explained Noppadol.  These processing details and “secret” recipe are the heart of each company.  One of the examples of the challenges in processing experienced and overcome can be seen from the variation of Thailand’s humidity levels that effect the consistency of the gummies.  The starch formula used in production has the dampness of 13%, but in order to use the starch for making gummies, it must have lower dampness level.  Because of these reasons, Thailand’s humidity levels of 40-60% must be used to calculate the starch formula for the gummy candy production. It took Jintana Food one year to master the technology of reducing the dampness of the starch and to reach the proper adjustment level for the humidity of the air.

Jintana Food gummy candy production has bright colors, smooth texture and nicely blended flavors.  Because of the careful processing procedures, Jintana’s product quality is compatible to those in the foreign countries.  They are popular in Asia, especially in the Asian Countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.  Furthermore, the company was a pioneer in Thailand in exporting candies to the Middle East countries, such as Pakistan and Kuwait.  For the next targeted market, Jintana Food is focusing on the China market.  The candy packages have been updated to serve international market and it has specially been translated into Chinese language for China market.

With Noppadol’s careful planning, Jintana Food went through the 1996 Asia economic crisis without any financial difficulty.  During this time, the company started introducing new products to the market and the brand became increasingly popular to the consumer.  The profit margin in 1997 was 50% higher than in1996 and the export records increased 3-4 times.  When we asked. Noppadol for his strategies in running the company, he said one was that most of his staff were young and active.

Noppadol himself is open to new ideas.  He listened carefully to suggestions and experimented with new ways of production. He always researched thoroughly before making any decision. Regularly creating and manufacturing new recipes for the gummy candy was also one of Noppadol’s main techniques.  After he finalized the design and process, Noppadol said he had to be fast, both in producing and selling, before his competitors get to the market.  With this commitment and new technology, Noppadol and his Jintana Food always is in front of all his competitors.

Responding to the question about the current currency inflation in Thailand that caused the increase in cost of some ingredients’ prices, Noppadol explained that most of the ingredients the company used were local products.  This factor helped keep total producing price low.  Further more, the company could still set the retail price at competitive level because of the research team had developed new recipe formulas that could reduce the producing budget, but maintain the high quality.  Jintana Food’s export record has shown a rapid increase.  With this high export margin, Jintana Food did not suffer any negative effects from the currency inflation.

Jintana Food is recognized as a successful Thai exporter in a very short time.  The company’s products are popular and in demand under the brand name “Jelfy”, “Hop”, “Dino”, “Snake”, etc.  The success of the company gives pride to the owners and all their employees.  The Export-Import Bank of Thailand extents its support and appreciation to Jintana Food in developing new quality products for the consumer market.  Jintana’s success helps improve Thailand’s economy and increases the nation’s exports to overseas markets.

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