Consumer Confidence Returns in Thailand after Bird Flu Crisis

BANGKOK: -- Two months after the bird flu panic reached its peak, consumer confidence regarding the safety of cooked chicken is almost back to normal with most restaurants and stalls serving poultry dishes again, said Panithan Sethabutr, managing director of Yum Restaurants International (Thailand) Co.

Mr Panithan said the bird flu scare that broke out in late January did not affect restaurant chains with strong brand recognition, only small operators.

Brand-name restaurant chains, particularly Yum's flagship KFC outlets, did not lose customers during the bird flu epidemic, he insisted.

"Instead, it gave us an opportunity to tell consumers how hygienic and how sophisticated our production process is," said Mr Panithan.

With the crisis behind them, competition between major restaurant chains will focus on new menu launches, while those that cannot afford to innovate will compete on price, said Mr Panithan.

Yum, which operates 308 KFC outlets in 54 provinces, plans to introduce three new menu items this year.

Launched yesterday was a Thai-style spicy chicken wing dish called KFC "Wingz Zaab", backed by a 20-million-baht promotional campaign.

Two months ago, after the Thai government officially admitted that avian flu had been wreaking havoc on local farms, human fatalities linked to eating chicken prompted many restaurant operators to quickly drop their poultry menus. Many roadside stalls selling Hunan chicken rice disappeared.

Singer-turned-entrepreneur Ruangsak "James" Loychusak, president of James Chicken Rice Co, a franchise umbrella for 160 Hunan chicken rice stalls in 14 provinces, quickly announced that his franchises' menus would be expanded from offering Hunan chicken rice exclusively to include pork and seafood.

Although major restaurant chains dismiss the impact of bird flu on their sales, Ruangsak admitted that the move was driven by the fact that his company had seen an over 25 percent drop in sales, especially in the provinces.

Now, most Thai consumers accept that well-cooked chicken is safe to eat following the government's aggressive information campaign.

One well-known, open-all-night Hunan chicken rice shop on Srinakarin Road has resumed selling its signature dish after a one-month pause, even though chicken supplies are limited.

At some major shopping malls visited by the Bangkok Post yesterday, restaurant outlets with chicken-heavy menus, including KFC, were packed with customers.

An official at the Seacon Square McDonald's outlet said his outlet's chicken menu items were just as popular now as they were before the bird flu outbreak.

--The Post and others 2004-03-31

By the time I'd been warned of the problem( and a certain Mr Shannywanka had time to get rid of any shares he had in poultry related companys ) it was to late to worry, so I carried on regardless.