Some Bt950 million of the budget will be allocated for the installation of the fourth cold aseptic filling line at its beverage plant in Wang Muang district, Saraburi. A total of Bt350 million will be invested in the expansion and renovation of the group’s Japanese restaurants, mainly the Shabushi brand.

About 30 branches of the group’s Japanese restaurants, mainly Shabushi, will be opened this year.

Marut Buranasetkul, president and chief executive of Oishi Group, said it would open a new production line for Oishi beverages in Malaysia this year in partnership with its foreign affiliate Fraser & Neave (F&N). The plant will be responsible for distributing Oishi green tea in Malaysia and other Muslim markets, including Indonesia and parts of the Philippines.

F&N has also been also appointed to handle all marketing and distribution activities for Oishi beverages in Vietnam, to be launched officially this year.

Under the Oishi Group’s business plan, international markets will represent about 40 per cent of the group’s sales by 2020.

Oishi currently operates more than 200 Japanese restaurants under different brands, including Oishi Grand, Oishi Buffet, Shabushi, Nikuya, Oishi Ramen and Kakashi.

Paisarn Aowsathaporn, executive vice president for the food division, said Oishi had 119 Shabushi restaurants, of which 116 were |in Thailand. The company has opened three Shabushi restaurants in Myanmar, of which two are in Yangon and one in Mandalay. It will open its first Shabushi restaurant in Laos next year.

“We have set a [target] for our food business to reach Bt10 billion in annual sales by 2020, and to enjoy annual growth of between 7 and 10 per cent,” he said.

Marut said Oishi Group expected total sales this year to reach Bt14 billion, up 9 per cent over last year, of which half will be from its food business. The group’s food business is expected to grow by 7 per cent this year, and its beverage business by 11 per cent.

He said Oishi Group posted total sales revenue of Bt12.8 billion last year, up 4 per cent over 2014. Revenue from the food business amounted to Bt6.5 billion, down 0.5 per cent from the previous year because the economic slowdown and reduced consumer spending.

However, the beverage business posted Bt6.3 billion in revenue, up by 9 per cent. Total net profit last year was Bt712 million, an increase of 36 per cent.

“In 2016, we [will continue to grow] according to the vision for 2020 in line with the policy of Thai Beverage Group,” Marut said.

Oishi says it has five main business strategies.

The first is growth that uses product innovation to meet the demand of the green-tea market, which is likely to get bigger in the Asian region.

A modern central kitchen that meets global standards is provided to produce raw materials to supply the restaurants in its chain and to produce ready-to-eat frozen and chilled food for sale nationwide and export.

The second strategy is diversity in terms of products, personnel and domestic and international markets.

Third, it says its brands emphasise product innovation and creative marketing activities, as recognised by several awards.

The fourth strategy is the strong potential of an alliance network in Thai Beverage Group to help distribute products in Thailand and other Asian markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Oishi claims dominance in the ready-to-drink tea market in Laos and Cambodia. At the same time, Shabushi restaurants are popular in Asian markets.

The last strategy is professionalism, with both local and regional professional teams who have exchanged their knowledge and experience leading to maximum work efficiency, the company says.