Buffalo milk,
more protein, less cholesterol, different flavour:
Difficulties of introducing a new product to Thai markets
By Jon Fernquest
Murrah Dairy in Chachoengsao province near
Bangkok is one of the pioneers in raising water
buffaloes for milk in Thailand.
Recently, the company's first products, buffalo milk, yoghurt and cheese, have hit local markets.
The dairy farm began operation in 2003 with 400 rai of land and 20 locally bred buffaloes. Later the farm imported another 46 buffalos from India for 2 million baht. Milk production took some time to get going:
By 2005, the buffaloes started producing milk, but all was used to feed their newborns. Only last year was there enough milk for commercial production. Today, they produce 200 litres a day, 40% of which is sold locally.The number of buffaloes has increased to 260 and the investment cost has topped 10 million baht. Milk production per buffalo per day is six to seven litres, low when compared to other countries.
After ten years, milk production per buffalo per day will rise to 14 litres which should make the business profitable.
Business contingency plans
The owner of the dairy farm, Ms. Runchuan Hengtrakulsin, has always had a contingency plan if her business plans didn't turn out as expected.
First, if the farm failed completely, she could always sell buffalo meat to cover most of the cost of purchasing the buffalos.
Various tourism attractions such as farm homestay and buffalo rides could be added to the farm to generate some revenue.
The farm currently runs one restaurant near Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok named Murrah Cafe. A second restaurant in Pattaya is in the works.
The dairy farm has plans to add ice cream and flavoured milk once milk output reaches sufficient levels.
Selling and promoting a completely new product difficult to begin with
The marketing and distribution of these new buffalo milk products has gone slowly to start with. This is largely because the product is new and unknown to Thai consumers.
A higher price has to be charged for buffalo milk for the dairy farm to be profitable, but for the premium the customer pays for the milk they get more protein and less cholesterol.
Distributing the milk free to local schools is one way the new product is being promoted.
Distribution through supermarkets and superstores is more difficult. Special approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be necessary for widespread acceptance by Thai retailers (Read article about similar experiences in a soya-based desert start-up).
Plans to make the business more profitable
To cut back on costs the buffaloes are fed corn, grasses, tapioca, and rice grown on the farm itself, rather than store-bought commercial feeds.
The dairy farm is also collaborating with Chulalongkorn University's Research Center for Bioscience in Animal Production. In this project the dairy farm is feeding the buffalo leucaena leucocephalade, a fast-growing plant that contains up to 20% protein.
There are also plans to use contract farming with local farmers to breed buffalo.
In the long run buffalo can be specially bred to thrive in Thailand's particular climate. Buffalo are already raised on a large scale in some countries including China, Brazil and Italy. In China a mixed breed of local and Murrah buffalo was bred to increase milk production, but this took 40 years.
Read a related article about a company that is making mozzarella from buffalo milk in Thailand.
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, 13-08-08, Bamrung Amnatcharoenrit, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
a dairy farm
- a farm that raises cows for their milk (also goats, sheep, horses,
camels), the milk is "milked" from the animals, processed, and then
sentto stores (See Wikipedia)
ฟาร์มนม
buffalo, domestic buffalo, Asian water buffalo - the
animal used to plow fields for hundreds of years in Thailand and other
Asian countries, also to pull bullock carts, dung used as fertilizer
and fuel when dried, recently (See Wikipedia)
ควายไทย
protein
- large molecules required used in the body to build cells, tissues,
and organs, used in the muscles, skin, bones and the body as a whole,
get protein from eating meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, dairy
products, eggs, and dried beans (See Wikipedia)
โปรตีน
cholesterol - a type of fat produced by the liver
and found in the blood, used by the body to make hormones and build
cell walls, can accumulate in blood vessels blocking normal blood flow
leading to heart attacks and other circulatory complications (See Wikipedia)
คลอเรสเตอรอล ไขมันในเส้นเลือด
a pioneer
- to be one of the first people developing a new business, technology,
or location (See glossary)
ผู้บุกเบิก
yoghurt - a food produced from mil using bacterial
fermentation (fermentation of the milk sugar (lactose) produces lactic
acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its
characteristic tang), nutritionally rich in protein, calcium,
riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 (See Wikipedia)
โยเกิร์ต
took some time
to get going - only started working slowly เริ่มต้นอย่างช้า
a contingency - something that might happen in the
future, a possibility ความเป็นไปได้
a contingency plan - a plan to deal with possible
problems in the future แผนรับมือในอนาคต
didn't turn out as expected - the result was
different then you thought it would be ไม่ได้เป็นไปตามที่คาดไว้
cover most of
the cost - pay most of the expenses of doing something
ครอบคลุมค่าใช้จ่าย
homestay
- when tourist pay to stay in the homes of local families rather than
hotels (in order to get the feel of what life is really like in a
place) โฮมเสตย์
in the works - currently being worked on, not
finished yet กำลังอยู่ในระหว่างดำิเินินการ
distribution - the process of getting the product
from the factory to the customer การจัดจำหน่าย
a premium
- a additional amount over the normal price paid for something extra
พรีเมี่ยม
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) - the government agency that regulates
food and medicine (they made sure the food and medicine is safe to use)
องค์การอาหารและยา
soya-based - made from Soya beans (See Wikipedia on
soya beans) ที่ผสมถั่งเหลือง
start-up - เริ่มต้น
cut back on costs
- reduce costs, reduce expenses in doing business ลดต้นทุนการผลิต
collaborating with - working with on a project
ร่วมมือกับ
contract farming - when a larger company pays
a smaller farmer to farm for it ฟาร์มในเครือข่าย เช่น
ฟาร์มในเครือของเจริญโภคภัณฑ์
breed - raise animals for the
purpose of producing more animals เพาะเลี้ยง
thrive - do well, be healthy,
successful, and strong เจริญเติบโตดี