BANGKOK — Thai Union Group is expanding its horizons beyond its canned-fish stronghold, as growing concern about conservation of shrinking fish stocks casts a shadow over its decades-old business model.
The world’s largest maker of canned tuna is developing value-added functional foods from fishery products that would otherwise go to waste, and investing actively in companies on the cutting edge of food tech.
The company has earmarked 6 billion baht ($200 million) for investment this year. “We expect 2021 to be our biggest year for investment in the past three years,” said CEO Thiraphong Chansiri. “Much of that will go to new businesses.”
Recent earnings suggest that Thai Union’s existing businesses are doing fine. Net profit for the nine months through September jumped 69% on the year to 4.8 billion baht, thanks to restructuring as well as recent growth in home cooking.
The pivot is…
