Cat chat for cash

CyberPetSociety.com is the first in what could be an interactive online empire


By Sirinia
DAILY XPRESS


Money is everywhere if you know how to grab it, the rich assure us. Sign up at http://www.cyberpetsociety.com/, for example, leave a question or comment, and you get paid.
In its first month, 300 people joined and 35,000 others came to have a look, which is far fewer than Udomsak Lojaroenrat expected, but he's not sweating it.

He's confident more surfers will be lured by the promise of virtual money - "Munta dollars" - that can be accumulated and spent on gifts or donated to organisations that take care of animals.
The Web board has its own appeal, with a lot of member interaction, and there are online "DJs" on the site's radio channel talking about pet care.
That's online radio - so it's global. No local restrictions there.
The gift items are provided by the site's sponsors, who pay Bt300 a minute for advertising time on the radio.
Udomsak will also soon make it possible to spend those Munta dollars on six other websites he's launching, geared to finances, cars, health, men's and women's interests and Bangkok restaurants and sightseeing.
Run by Munta Agro Business, the pet website has a whole posse of DJs and three squads of support staff who keep the information flowing.
What about video content? Broadband limitations are the only thing holding Udomsak back. While the big cities might have the capacity for mass viewing online, he says, most Thais are able, for now, only to hear, not see.
He expects the technology to be widely available by the end of next year, though, when television sets will be equipped with Internet browsers. Then you can turn on your TV and watch anything online that moves. And that's when Udomsak becomes a TV producer.

Tempura rising

Overseeing Thailand's Fuji restaurants as they mark a quarter century, Daisaku Tanaka awaits the next phase

By Kupluthai Pungkanon
DAILY XPRESS


Japanese food is so ubiquitous in Bangkok these days that's hard to believe it was a rare thing 25 years ago, when the Fuji restaurants first started laying out the sushi for us.
"People only had Japanese food on special occasions," says Fuji Group managing director Daisaku Tanaka. "We saw the opportunity."

A whole lot of raw fish and rice later, the group controls 40 per cent of the Japanese-food market in Thailand, with nearly 60 branches, including its affiliates Shidai Koku, Coco Ichibanya and Sushi Tsukiji. It also does well with its Fuji drinks, salad dressings and sauces.
Ironically enough, in Japan, the Fuji Group's top restaurant is Bangkok Kitchen.
"Growth in the past two decades has been satisfactory," Tanaka says, somewhat modestly.
"We can separate Thais' adoption of Japanese food into three stages: First came the basic menu - grilled saba and tempura. Then there was more variety in the menu, with bento, futomaki, sashimi, sushi, teriyaki and tonkatsu.
"Now comes the third stage, in which restaurants will specialise in certain kinds of Japanese food. In Japan some restaurants sell only udon, or ramen, or maybe just eel dishes."



Tanaka, who's 36 and was trained in law, says the group remains a family business while employing 5,000 people. Each branch has 60 to 70 people on staff, and everyone has a specific job - if they're in the sushi department, that's all they'll prepare.
"We have a Japanese head chef and we run things in the Japanese way, with strict discipline, good manners, mutual respect and cleanliness."
The future challenge, he believes, doesn't involve the chain's further expansion, but making sure every branch meets those standards.

The secret is out

From a modest start in Malaysia, Secret Recipe cafes are popping up all over. That’s good cheesecake!

By Kupluthai Pungkanon
DILY XPRESS

In a decade, family – values guy Dato Stephen Sim has given Aia a truly interesting lifestyle café, the best cheesecake around and the fastest – growing franchine business. So what’s the secret to Secret Repine?


“It involves a lot of trust,” Sim says.
A “concept café”, secret repine got it start in Kualalumpur in 1997. The concept was to make cheesecake a lifestyle choice and worth the higher price
“Back then there were no lifestyle café, says Sim, 49. “People would buy cake only for special occasions, like a birthday. They’d very seldom go to a shop and buy a piece of cake and have a cup of coffee”.
With a family of six – one had worked in a bakery and another has experience building a brand business – Sim got two outlets up and running.
Skip ahead to 2008. Current employment: almost 3,000. Number of outlets: more than 180 in Malaysia and 40 more in cities in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and of course, Thailand (where there are 11, plus two kiosks and four counters), and more opening in Pakistan and Brunei.


“We realized that we had a good product when we entered our marble cheesecake in a competition involving top chefs who are really good with pastry. We just took a cake from the shelf and we entered it, and it won the top prize”.
Then there’s that trust factor. Running a franchise business is like being head of a family, he says.


“You need a lot of trust, because we only choose one representative for each country.
We hand on every aspect of the business to them”.
Secret Repine offers more than 40 type of cakes and other baked desserts, a rang of ice cream and beverages and a fusion – food menu of appetizers, pasta and more. In Bangkok, the fruity special and chocolate banana cheesecake rank as favorites alongside the marble cheesecake.

In Panpuri there is purity

Vorravit Siripark says we can travel though time borne by diferance scents alone.

By Kupluthai Pungkanon
DAILY XPRESS

Thailand’s not short of spas this much we know. Anyone getting into the business had better have a unique selling point and top quality services, says Vorravit Siripark, whose company Puri distributes the Panburi spa and aromatherapy products.
“People are more sophisticated now they know what they want – so the business is quite challenging and competitive,” he says.


“The Thai brands are strong in natural, oriental, exotic ingredients, but weak in packaging.”
Vorravit’s master degree in luxury – foods management from Milan, Italy, is paying off.
“My studies were very specialized, focusing on business, marketing and managing high end brand names. As a student I did research on the potential for spa businesses in Thailand, before the boom started.
Panburi has been offering top quality spa and personal care products, often customized, sine 2003. They ‘re found in spas, resorts and department stores in 21 countries, including in Europe.
The success of Panburi, Vorravit says, begins with its name. Pan, or panya, is Sanskrit for “window, the awakening of the mind”, and puri has multiple meaning in several languages.

In India it refers to the holy city of Orissa. In Bahasa Indonesia it means “palace”, suggesting luxury, and it suggests “purity in English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Panpuri adds eaatern sophistication, the subtle scents of its essential oils – jasmine, lemongrass, ylang ylang, sandalwood and more – and impressive packing.
“I like to think of Panpuri products as having a personality,” says Vorravit. “It could be a mister, Miss or Missus. If it happens to be a lady, she has many dimensions – elegance, sophistication, and yet a unique heritage in the modern world.
“I believe people can travel though time when they smell difference scents. To me, the smell of jasmine reminds me of my childhood with my grand mother. She gave me refreshing drink with jasmine blossoms floating in them.

Money that grows with age

Invest in a few crates of wine, keep it safe and you can double your stake within a few years

By Lisnaree Vichitsoratra
DAILY XPRESS

Investing in a wine is a rare thing in Thailand, but for those who can go abroad and have the money, it’s a good way to make money.

Arnaud Mirey, the brand ambassador for Moet & Chandon Asia Pacific, knows about wine investment, Although he’s yet to part with any bottles from his beloved collection.
Unlike gold, which can fluctuate in value, wine increases in value every year if you keep it in good condition.
“Wine gains value by ageing,” Mirey says. “Your Champagne increases in value because the taste improves.” The best way to invest is through professionals, distributors and brokers, who can also help with the storage. Maintaining your own wine cellar can be a challenge.
Mirey says if your Bordeaux and Burgundy will rise in value 12 to 15 percent in a few years. You can double your investment in 10 years.
Mirey owns 1,000 bottles. He buys wine in packs that usually contain three case, and in each case are six to 12 bottles. “if I’m wealthy enough I’ll be keep my collection, if I want to have a house or have kids, I may sell two case and keep one,” he says.


One of his most valuable wines is a 1996 Chateau Pichon Lalande, considered the 20 th century’s best year and thus a sure-fire value in wine.
If you’re serious about wine investment, you have to keep your stock in the right condition. Air-conditioning is a must in Thailand. Ideally, a cool cellar is available.
One investor who asks not to be identified leaves his collection in England, where he has a broker negotiate sales when the value goes up.
Arnaud keeps his wine at the perfect temperature in a facility in Normandy, France, so he rarely has a problem with his wine going off.