The Thai-based snacking firm struck gold two years ago when popular K-pop star Jisoo, of girl group BLACKPINK fame, posted an Instagram story with the tomato chips that almost instantly went viral.
“We were grateful to Jisoo for liking our tomato chips – we still don’t really know how it happened that it went so viral [as there wasn’t a formal collaboration], but are very pleased with the outcome,” Fashion Food international sales manager Pisit Tiaworapakin told us.
“The recipe of the tomato chips has been the same, longtime one we have been using unchanged for many years so we are glad it has become popular.”
Fashion Food has been in business for over 35 years since 1989, but Jisoo’s recommendation of its signature tomato chips propelled the firm to new heights of recognition, both by local consumers and as a new ‘must-buy’ snack and souvenir for tourists to Thailand.
“Given how well the product is doing, we have no intentions to change its formula or taste but certainly are developing new ones to attract an even wider audience,” he said.
“We already have others such as Paprika and Barbecue, but want to tap on consumer demand for spicy flavours – some new ones we have launched are Spicy Tomato, Mala and Korean Chicken.”
The firm hopes Spicy Tomato in particular will be another signature product for it alongside its original non-spicy counterpart.
“We developed this version based on the original tomato flavour, so definitely hope that it will be able to attract existing consumers as well as newer ones looking for a spicy kick,” Tiaworapakin said.
“It is interesting because it is not only adults that seek out a spicier option – we are seeing that children in Thailand are also interested in this Spicy Tomato and many are buying these as a lunchtime snack.”
Packaging plays
The viral original tomato snack in Thailand comes in very traditional packaging that has also remained unchanged for decades, basically a silver background with pictures of tomatoes as well as the company logo and wording on it.
“This is the version that still does best with tourists, and we want to become the ultimate must-buy for tourists in Thailand just like Tokyo Banana is a must-buy for tourists in Japan,” he added.
This is great for the tourist crowd who would likely eat these on the spot or after a selfie shoot, or bring them back as gifts to be consumed relatively quickly – but not so much for exports.
“The shelf life for the bags is relatively short at around seven months, and we had also planned on expanding exports so developed a cup format for the chips previously – these have been sent to markets like the US and EU and feedback was that this makes the chips easier to eat on-the-go in cars, and can last longer,” he said.
“The shelf life for these can go up to a year – and importantly, after rolling up the cups in more markets including locally, the cups are also a great way to develop limited edition SKUs for occasions like Christmas.”
Banking on the chips’ virality, the firm has already seen major success in exports to markets such as South Korea and Singapore, and is now looking to do the same in China and the Middle East.
