PAPAPIN “AOM” VERAPUCHONG
Third-generation heir to Thai Nakorn Patana
One of Thailand’s leading firms in the pharmaceutical and skincare industry, Thai Nakorn Patana (or TNP Healthcare), is home to such well-known brands as Sara, Tiffy, Antazil and Neotica Balm – which are all highly regarded throughout Thailand. For more than 40 years, these brands have been the core of the business, driving the company’s growth into a large conglomerate and a leading name in the pharmaceutical and skincare industry. Papapin “Aom” Verapuchong, the third-generation successor of the firm (originally founded by Vinai Verapuchong, her grandfather) says she aspires to grow the family business and dreams of building up Preme Nobu to follow in the footsteps of the company’s other top brands.
Aom says that as the eldest grandchild, her “a-kong” (grandfather in Chinese) wanted her to manage the Tiffy, Sara and Antazil brands. She was, nonetheless, determined to focus on Preme Nobu skin care products. This next generation executive felt she would be more capable if she could turn it into a high-growth brand that was as strong as the company’s main brands. Of course, it was a path not without certain obstacles.
Aom joined the family business three years ago, at the age of 25, after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in the fields of Sociology and Anthropology from Chulalongkorn University. As the manager for drugs and advertising, she was tasked with supervising both agents and sales of Preme Nobu in Thailand.
“My role included all online jobs and implementing various distribution channels, whether it’s Shopee or Lazada, contacting influencers, doing all campaigns via Tiktok, Youtube, and also making a yearly plan. Joining hands with business entities such as Watsons, CJ, 7-11 or Eveandboy, I had to be the person to go in and talk with them by myself.
“When I first joined the company, I visited 6,000 drugstores in Bangkok and its vicinity, walking along the streets like other company representatives, wearing the company uniform. I visited drugstores to introduce who we were and enquired about problems the pharmacies were facing, and what drugs should be developed. I ventured into the market in this manner for a full year until we knew a lot of drugstores, understood the conditions of the pharmacies, and what promotions must be made for them.
“Drugstores and pharmacies were like our teachers as they were very knowledgeable. I think no-one could have given us the same knowledge as them,” she remarks.
For Thai Nakorn Patana, Aom admits there has been a good relationship with drugstores from her grandfather’s generation to her father’s generation, leading up to her own generation. “They are like family who are familiar with our company. Now, even the grandchildren at these drugstores have become my friends. It’s a very good inheritance of the gen-to-gen culture.”
Since she joined the business, her hard work and sincerity have not only made the market accept her as the heir of Thai Nakorn Patana, but also her subordinates within the Preme Nobu department have opened their hearts to join her on this journey to create a successful product. She says she seeks to foster a new generation of executives to develop the brand and grow alongside each other, focusing on new thinking and new growth in the present digital era.
While many people have ‘passion’ to build their own business out of the family business framework, Aom always felt grateful towards her grandfather for giving her and other descendants a good life, and it was this that convinced her it her mission to continue with the prosperity of Thai Nakorn Patana. “My grandfather never forced me to come back and work for the family business,” she says, “but I took it as the duty of the elder sibling and eldest grandchild to continue the business. Responsibility may have to come before happiness.”
“Over the past three years, during the time I’ve managed the business by myself, I felt the most proud in my life when my a-kong walked in and hugged me and said ‘I’m very proud of Aom’.” Every time she talks about this moment it brings forth a few tears of joy, as normally a-kong will not praise anyone.
The current vision, for this aspiring 28-year-old, is to build and develop Thai Nakorn Patana for a long, long time, well into the foreseeable future. “In reality we probably won’t create many new things, but I will keep the company stable, growing, and branching out into other business lines and creating new products. As for my aspirations, I mostly want Thai people to take pride in Thai medicine, and for everyone to have access to medicines of Thai Nakorn Patana.
“Today, many people still believe that Western medicine is better, but I want Thais to be confident that Thai medicine has the same potential. I want Thai people to be confident in the talents of their own people,” she goes on to say. “I am someone who supports everything that is Thai whether it’s Thai designer clothes, Thai restaurants or even Thai medicine. And I am confident that our medicine is definitely good for Thai people.”
My grandfather never forced me to come back and work for the family business, but I took it as the duty of the elder sibling and eldest grandchild to continue the business. Responsibility may have to come before happiness