Ms. Nattiya Netayasupa, Director-General of the Department of Industrial Promotion, revealed that the global snack market is projected to grow significantly. Fortune Business Insights indicates a forecast of over 22.98 trillion baht by 2026. In Thailand, K Research also projects similar growth, with a market value of 49,550 million baht by 2025, continuing to grow at an average rate of 1-3% per year. This reflects the highly competitive snack industry due to the wide variety of options available. As the snack industry continues to grow and become more competitive, manufacturers must seek new sources of raw materials and develop products that offer greater differentiation. Under this competitive context, most snack manufacturers still rely heavily on imported raw materials such as potatoes and corn. While Thailand possesses abundant local raw materials with unique flavors, quality, and nutritional value, it lacks the creative innovation and strong branding capabilities necessary to compete in the global market. Furthermore, modern consumer behavior, especially among urban consumers, prioritizes convenience, novelty, and health. This has led to a need for snacks to simultaneously meet the demands of both deliciousness and nutritional value. This trend and consumer demand aligns with the potential of Thai entrepreneurs to develop diverse products from local ingredients. Therefore, the gap between the ‘potential of community ingredients’ and the ‘demands of the modern market’ has become a significant opportunity to create added value. This is achieved through creative development, ranging from processing ingredients to improve texture, taste, and aroma, while also providing nutritional benefits, to designing distinctive and appealing products that effectively tell a brand story and build market recognition.

Ms. Nattiya further stated that, based on this opportunity, DIPROM developed the “DIPROM Creative Snack Project” as a key mechanism to connect community ingredients to the development of new Thai snack products. It integrates creativity, innovation, and marketing knowledge to accelerate the comprehensive development of SMEs. This project not only aims to create new products for the market but also to leverage existing resources to create added economic value, fostering sustainable growth for entrepreneurs and communities, and paving the way for market expansion both domestically and internationally. And to propel Thai snacks into the high-value market (Value-Based Market),

the DIPROM Creative Snack project has an intensive knowledge incubation mechanism for entrepreneurs through 5 main activities: 1. Foundation training in creative branding, focusing on branding strategies and packaging design to clearly and effectively communicate the brand's identity to the global market. 2. Practical training in developing snack creativity through analyzing the needs of modern consumers, understanding consumer tastes and needs, and designing distinctive snack prototypes that meet international taste and quality standards. 3. Training in business planning and online marketing, helping to translate brand identity into content marketing strategies, influencer selection, and online advertising planning to boost sales. 4. Study tours to inspire and broaden perspectives on food innovation and enhance production capabilities for entrepreneurs. 5. In-depth consulting, with experts dispatched to the business premises to analyze and solve problems.

The project, which was piloted in 2025, has developed knowledge and helped entrepreneurs increase sales by an average of at least 10%, while also generating more than 67.8 million baht in added economic value. In 2026, DIPROM is continuing the project. The goal is to upgrade entrepreneurs and create added economic value of at least 17.6 million baht. Each business will demonstrate measurable results in terms of value creation averaging at least 10%, the development of new products, increased brand awareness through content creation, and the creation of new markets for business expansion.

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