Aiming to increase her family's income and to make use of leisure time after retirement, Pornsri Pitakkwanskul started F&B Organic Company at home, focusing on producing healthy food. The business now generates Bt200,000 to Bt600,000 per month.

Pornsri, 58, set up the company in 2003 after retiring as an office worker with Singapore Airlines.

The rising health consciousness of people at that time inspired her to enter into the health-food business. Fortunately, she has also applied a traditional knowledge of healthy food learned from her mother to create her products.

After a few years of development, a variety of products were launched in May last year. These included black-and-white sesame cereal powder with pure honey, black-and-white ice cream, black-and-white sesame crispy snacks, black sesame tablets, passion fruit powder, and corn drink.

Following retirement, Pornsri decided she was capable of doing more than simply wasting her time. As a result, she decided to spend her own and her family's savings to establish the company.

With initial investment of Bt20 million, she set up a factory at Pathum Thani and purchased hi-tech equipment to produce dehydrated, powdered, non-roasted sesame products.

The company borrowed Bt2 million from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank).

"If lucky, I expect to gain a return on investment within five years of the company starting operations, says Pornsri.

Its "Vita-Q" products have been exported to Singapore and Malaysia. The firm is trying to expand its markets through Asia and Europe by participating in several trade exhibitions in the Kingdom.

The products are also available at leading hospitals, and fresh-mart shops such as Lemon Farm and Doi Kum outlets.

Pornsri doesn't want to sell her products through large retailers because of the complicated regulations of giant companies. She prefers to sell them at more suitable locations that make it easier to reach her targeted customers.

The company is also considering starting a franchise business by selling its ice-cream machines and black-and-white sesame ice-cream powder to interested enterprises.

"I would like to help support small enterprises that want to have their own business," she says. The price for one ice-cream machine is Bt100,000.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation