Press materials
Amazon Global Selling in Thailand continues celebrating the achievement of Thai women business owners beyond International Women’s Day
Cross border e-commerce helps women sellers from Thailand bring authentic Thai products to global customers in a diverse and equitable environment
BANGKOK, Thailand March 15, 2022 – Amazon Global Selling’s (AGS) commitment to gender diversity and inclusion is ongoing as it continues to celebrate women sellers from Thailand in the cross-border e-commerce sector while highlighting their achievements in honor of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022 this month.
Statistics show that women currently hold 32% of senior leadership positions in Thailand, much higher than the global average[1]. A poll from 2021 indicated that 42% of businesses selling in Amazon’s store worldwide are women-owned[2]. And Amazon is highlighting stories of those who positively impact local economies.
“Amazon has been long advocating a diversified and inclusive culture worldwide which echo these objectives. We are glad to be able to work closely with and support these Thai women sellers to showcase and put a spotlight on women led businesses and highlight issues that can hold women back,” Jamie Brennan, head of Amazon Global Selling in Thailand, said.
Sangtien Simsiriwong | Faay Haus
Thai entrepreneur Sangtien Simsiriwong is the founder of Faay Haus, an ergonomically designed wooden utensils brand. She is instrumental in identifying and working with artisan communities in Thailand’s northeast. Sangtien sells quality Thai products in global markets to support local communities that keep families together so they don’t leave to find work in Bangkok.
Sangtien and her artisan teams produce real teak wood kitchen utensils using raw materials sourced from renewable forests that are chemical and pesticide free.
Faay Haus products are sold exclusively on Amazon with the company providing access to a global customer base. Sales increased by 30-40% per year before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the artisan community also growing from six to as many as 50 individuals.
COVID amplified online customer shopping behavior, and together with cross border e-commerce support through Amazon, sales grew by a whopping 150% during the first year of the pandemic. She further innovated to support local communities, working with housewives in Nongbualumphoo to generate revenue outside of rice planting season, by investing in raw materials and equipment to create new product lines made from ‘loofahs’.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) has proved invaluable to Sangtien, it helps her store products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and FBA handles packing, shipping and customer service on her behalf.
“Our brand and the community have grown together on Amazon. With great support from the local Global Selling team, I am able to focus on community and new product development without worrying about logistics, customer service or payment issues,” said Sangtien, founder of Faay Haus.
Supranee Doowa Srikureja| Incas by Asiya
Supranee Doowa Srikureja wanted to make her passion her business. She believes that with real passion, commitment and perseverance anyone can succeed regardless of gender. For her it’s all about never giving up and believing in what you do, even when no one else does. Incas by Asiya was born from this entrepreneur’s talent and offers a range of organically certified and non-GMO verified herbal teas, exotic spices and superfoods, primarily made from Thai-based raw materials like kaffir lime leaves, butterfly pea and chrysanthemum flowers. Her products are sustainably sourced and support local farmers in rural Thai communities.
She gives consumers easier access to organic and ethically sourced food as society becomes more health-conscious. Supranee identified opportunities in the market for healthy products and created a brand that she would personally buy and use on a regular basis. She started selling domestically but the organic and premium product space in Thailand is niche and traction was limited. After a few months Supranee decided to enter the e-commerce space with Amazon and it has become her primary business channel. Since then, Amazon has shaped her business to provide the flexibility to operate across multiple countries from the comfort of her own home.
“Cross border e-commerce has allowed niche brands such as Incas by Asiya to thrive and grow among international customers. I would say that my business has undeniably improved after joining Amazon primarily due to its global reach. It’s wonderful to have customers from all over the world who appreciate Incas and its products. This has increased revenue and ultimately the bottom line while brand recognition continues to gradually grow on Amazon in the herbal tea and supplement categories, which should also support future product launches,” said Supranee, CEO of Asiya Life.
Pim Pritsangkul | Banana Joe
Pim Pritsangkul understands the importance of brand building from her background in advertising and marketing. She also gleaned experience from her family’s food export business and combined these experiences to create a healthy food brand, Banana Joe, for export with her partner.
They settled into healthy alternative snack sector using Thai Hom Thong bananas to make banana chips. Hom Thong are known as one of the best tasting of Thai bananas and Banana Joe products are gluten free, handmade with natural flavor and no trans-fats, MSG, or preservatives added.
Pim and her partner worked hard to combine exotic Thai flavors and chips made from Thai Hom Thong bananas to show the world how great Thai snacks can be. Since then, Banana Joe received 1-star Great Taste recognition for two of its products by Great Taste, one of the world’s most coveted food awards.
Banana Joe started exporting through traditional channels, working with US-based distributors who placed products in different stores around the country. This proved time consuming, so they decide to give e-commerce a try and were pleasantly surprised how simple it was to sign up with Amazon. They found FBA empowered them with more control and support from customer service to logistics making everything simpler as their business with Amazon grew exponentially. This let Pim reach worldwide customers on Amazon while building the brand in a more effective way.
According to Pim, aspiring women entrepreneurs should not be afraid to try something new. She had never tried cross border e-commerce before she did it successfully with the support of Amazon.
‘We are very much a data driven company and Amazon provides us with all the data we need in a timely manner so we can analyze and improve our products while assisting with new product development. The Amazon Global Selling team in Thailand provides excellent support and they are an integral part our ongoing success story’, said Pim, Head of Marketing, Banana Joe.
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For more information about Amazon Global Selling for Thai sellers, please visit https://sell.amazon.co.th/
For media inquiry please contact:
Maetavarin Maneekulpan | +66-2260-5820 | mae@tqpr.com
- https://www.grantthornton.co.th/press-releases/press-release-2020/women-in-business-2020-report2/ ↑
- Based on survey result of around 50,000 response in 2021 February. ↑