FACTORS INFLUENCE THAI ENTREPRENEUR TO INVOLVE IN CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY

Abstract

Chocolate has been one of the most powerful economic plants in many countries for decades. Most people around the world believe that the best quality chocolate always comes from European countries. However, Thailand is one of the most suitable places to grow cacao plants because of the weather conditions. Currently, a few Thai people are starting to process Thai single origin chocolate and expose the product in the market. Chocolate is a new upcoming trend in Thailand following the coffee specialty. It has lots of taste notes, which sellers can deeply communicate with customers to bargain for higher prices. There is still a lot of market share for new players together with opportunity. People in this Thai chocolate community are supporting each other to expand the market. The objective of this study was to discover the factors that influence Thai entrepreneurs to be involved in the chocolate industry. The purpose of this research is to study the variety of the single origin cacao and chocolate in Thailand, how those entrepreneurs started to join the chocolate community, and the opportunity that they see in the market. This thematic paper implied qualitative research methodology, interviewing 5 entrepreneurs from 5 different fields, which are farmer, processor, chocolate maker, brewers, and community leader.