WAIWAI History

7 Founders, One Vision : The Beginning of Wai Wai

In 1970, together 7 founders pooled their funding together to establish Thai Preserved Food Factory Company Limited.

Namely, the founders are Mr. Charn Tamkongka, Mr. Kamon Chuangcharoendee, Mr. Kitti Pongsri, Mr. Surin Napapruekchat, Mr. Srisuk Prompongsri and Mr. Somchai Laovanantaphun. A collaboration between Teochew and Taiwanese migrants which were rare at that period in Thailand. While, Mr. Kitti Pongsri acts as the general manager.

Timeline of WaiWai

The company spent the first year investing in setting up instant noodle and rice dehydrated noodle manufacturing operations to enter the market under the ‘Wai Wai’ brand. The company procured production equipment from Taiwan and Japan, as well as collaborating with popular Taiwanese instant noodle brand ‘Wei Lih’ to assist in setting up production.

From Crisis to Opportunity

Then during the 2 years when products entered the market, the company suffered from many hurdles, mainly they were production difficulty and storage for instant noodles and dehydrated rice vermicelli sales were small. The capital eventually dwindled and that company considered closing down. However, the Vietnam war sparked a huge food demand for the U.S. army, hence the outstanding stock in the company was supplied to the Vietnam war effort. This came at the right time to give a much needed second-wind for the company.

Expanding Offerings Supporting Growth

The result from the company's products entering the Vietnamese market improved the company's growing concern. Nevertheless, the shareholders came together to assess why their relatively good quality products at an affordable price weren’t selling well. They raised the reason that their original instant noodles with mild flavor weren’t received well by the market.

Therefore to better meet consumers’ expectations, the noodle portion was reduced from 75g to 55g while fried garlic and chilli powder was added to create a more flavorful taste. In a short period, the revised original instant noodle recipe was a huge success and became a powerhouse in generating profit to compensate for the company’s earlier poor performance. The company then went on to introduce a variety of new flavors, such as Tom Yum Shrimp, Minced Pork, Braised Duck and Crab flavors that meet Thai consumer taste.

Rice Vermicelli, A Chinese Favorite

High-quality Thai rice is sourced for Wai Wai branded dehydrated rice vermicelli. Given its great taste at an affordable price, it has become a popular staple among Asian and Chinese consumers around the world. Through the years our manufacturing process became standardized and partially automated to maintain consistency in large-scale production. Our production can supply above 100 tons of Rice Vermicelli to meet domestic and the ever expanding global demand for the product. The factory area was expanded to dedicate more manufacturing towards Rice Vermicelli products.

Just before start of the millennium, the leadership of the company was passed on to Mr. Precha Napaprukchat acting as the new general manager. The company reached new heights and currently holds 2nd place in Thai instant noodle market share, while Wai Wai Rice Vermicelli is praised as ‘world’s best’