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 .