Page 65 - #54 English
P. 65

products to buy at the plantation. Putting the comment to use,
          they added a shop for visitors to buy Choui Fong’s tea products.
          The first phase of the shop sold only tea products which received
          excellent feedback because visitors knew they were getting qual-
          ity products and they can relate the quality to what they had seen
          at the plantation.

                 The success was not unexpected as it conformed with
          the goal that was set 5 years earlier. It’s important to educate
          consumers, and Choui Fong started on a small scale by having
          knowledgeable staffs advising customers on the benefits of dif-
          ferent tea. Social network is also a powerful tool to reach mass
          audiences. Each review and share helps put Choui Fong name out
          to the world, and it shows a great number of people who love tea.
          With confidence in the market, the next phase of the shop was
          taken and the complete Tea House was born.

                 Choui Fong Tea is the pride of Thai tea industry since the
          first day it took the step into the industry. It creates jobs for locals
          who otherwise have to leave their homes to find jobs elsewhere.
          It creates income and security, and it has become an important
          landmark of Chiangrai and strengthened the reputation of the
          province as the tea capital.
                 Choui Fong will continue to evolve with continuous
          development of new products and brand image. New products
          for this year will focus on blending tea with Thai herbs and
          fruits to boost health benefits and enhance the flavour. Those
          who don’t really like the traditional taste of tea will have more
          option to choose from. In addition to tea options, tea bag design      Previously Choui Fong exported around 90% of its tea to
          has been improved to make tea brewing more convenient for   Taiwan, but that statistic changed dramatically to 90% domestic
          consumers, as well as cafés and hotels. More importantly, Choui   sale and 10% export to Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, USA,
          Fong’s ultimate goal is to develop the plantation into the center   Japan, etc. The company now focuses on developing tea blends
          for tea knowledge where people or organizations can come to   for domestic sale before introducing those blends outside the
          learn everything from management, marketing, and export, to   country.
          tourism-related side of the business.
                                                                      The new tea blend collection aimed to make tea more
                                                               enjoyable for those who aren’t familiar with Chinese or Thai tea,
                                                               especially westerners. New products like fruit or floral teas don’t
                                                               just make tea easier to drink, but they also look modern. If you are
                                                               interested, the new tea collection is sold at the organic product
                                                               section at Gourmet Markets at Siam Paragon, Emporium, and
                                                               EmQuartier, as well as Mega Bangna.

                                                                      Thai tea industry has taken a strong foundation and it’s
                                                               growing steadily with more consumers joining the trend and
                                                               more tea-related products like ice-cream and tea pillow are be-
                                                               ing invented. Tea used to be considered a drink for the elderlies,
                                                               but the average age of tea drinkers is rapidly decreasing as young
                                                               consumers jump into the market. If this continues to be the trend,
                                                               the domestic demand for tea will grow tremendously and the tea
                                                               drinker age will get younger and younger.
                                                                      There are endless possibilities of tea to choose from
                                                               today. You don’t have to dig very deep to learn that tea has many
                                                               health benefits, especially hot tea. In addition to lowering choles-
                                                               terol and preventing cancer and diabetes, tea brewing is a form of
                                                               art which helps us relax and regain focus.

                                                                 Special Thanks
                                                                 Chanya Wanaspitaksakul: Choui Fong Tea Plantation,
                                                                 Chiang Rai
                                                             65
   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70