Coca’s latest concept plucks produce from own farm
After more than six decades building a suki legend, Coca Holding International Co, a pioneer of suki restaurants in Thailand, is creating a new milestone.
The company is opening a new-generation suki concept at CentralWorld with a focus on sustainability, using raw materials such as rice and vegetables from its own chemical-free farms.
“Coca restaurant at CentralWorld, which is scheduled to open on Nov 28, will be totally different from all existing ones in terms of recipes, decoration, design, mood and tone to make the restaurant look younger,” said chief executive Pitaya Phanphensophon.
The move is driven by the third generation of the Phanphensophon family, led by oldest daughter Natalie.
“My children, with an educational background from nutrition and food science to architecture, law and finance, have worked together and thought outside the box to move the company ahead and stay for 500 or 1,000 years, like companies in Europe,” Mr Pitaya said.
He said Coca is emphasising looking after customers by using materials that offer food safety.
The company has begun planting seasonal vegetables such as chilli peppers, beetroot, cos lettuce and spinach at the 20-rai Coca boutique farm in Chachoengsao province to supply restaurants.
Coca Holding has also collaborated with staff to grow organic rice on the latter’s farmland in Nakhon Ratchasima and bought organic pork from a group of smallscale farmers in Nan.
Coca’s own farm accounts for about 30% of all raw materials supplied to the group’s
restaurants. The company aims to raise the portion to 80% over the next few years.
“With our intention to offer our customers a back-to-basics experience, we believe this will lead customers to revisit our restaurants,” said Ms Natalie, the company’s chief operating officer.
According to company executives, the Coca concept store at CentralWorld still serves customers with favourite recipes dating back 60 years, plus a la carte menus designed to appeal to the young generation and suki menus to serve all three generations from kids to adults.
Apart from CentralWorld, the company has also diversified to open Coca @ RBSC, providing dim sum, Thai and Western dishes under one roof at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
The company is looking for strategic partners to expand the concept at other exclusive clubs and golf courses in the future.
There are nine Coca restaurants in Bangkok and Hua Hin. The company plans to open two new restaurants next year in the Ratchaphruek and Rama II areas.
Restaurant sites will be scaled down to 100-120 square metres from the original 300 sq m. Each requires an investment of 10 million baht.
“We don’t want to open many restaurants per year,” Mr Pitaya said. “We just want organic growth and to have chefs to craft all the recipes for customers.”
The company also plans to modernise its existing Coca branches at Siam Square and Sukhumvit Soi 39 to lure the younger generation aged 18-25. Each will require an investment of 15 million baht.
With the plan, the company expects to increase sales by 10% next year from an estimated 450-500 million baht this year.