Japanese firm Frente finds Thai potato-chip market tasty

The Japanese snack and candy manufacturer Frente Co has joined with the local consumer products distributor Durbell Co, a subsidiary of Red Bull Group, to introduce KaraMucho potato chips with the first-year sales target of 80 million baht.

Frente senior managing director Masaaki Sato said the snack market in Thailand was very promising and the company was confident that its product could gain a 5 percent share within this year.

"The snack market here is growing fast, with growth to reach 200 percent this year. The potato-chip segment will even grow by 243 percent, which is the largest in the snack category,"he said.Competition in the potato-chip segment is intense, with Frito-Lay Thailand controlling more than half of the market. But Frente is confident that its product will become popular among Thai teenagers because its spicy taste stood out from those of its competitors.