Better Way (Thailand) Co, a leading direct sales company under the Mistine brand, plans to form joint ventures with local partners in China and Indonesia to expand its business in both countries this year.
Managing director Danai Derojanawong said the company was in the process of registering Better Way China to operate its Mistine business via online and retail channels.
The new company will have registered capital of 100 million baht, with Better Way (Thailand) holding a 49% stake and its Chinese partner the remaining 51%. The business in China will kick off in the fourth quarter.
China will be the fourth country in which the company's Mistine-related business has expanded, after Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Mistine products in China will be sold via health and beauty store chains such as Watsons and Sasa in three big cities -- Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Mistine products will later be sold via the popular websites T-Mall and Taopou.
Better Way expects 2 billion baht in sales from the Chinese market in the first year of operations.
"The Mistine brand is very popular among Chinese customers, so there will be a future of us there," Mr Danai said.
Apart from China, the company is also negotiating with Pharos Group, which operates a health & beauty chain in Indonesia, to jointly expand Mistine products in the country by the end of this year.
Better Way seeks to expand its business to Indonesia due to the country's large population and good economic growth.
Meanwhile, S&J International Enterprise Plc, a cosmetics manufacturer under Saha Group, plans to set up its cosmetics production base in Malaysia. If the S&J plant is successfully established, Better Way plans to hire it to produce cosmetics for it in the country.
Better Way expects its first-year sales from Indonesia to hit 150 million baht.
It also plans to open a new Mistine head office and warehouse in Yangon this July.
The move is to support future growth in Myanmar. Due to several factors, including the weakness of the Myanmar kyat, Mistine sales grew slightly in 2015 to 300 million baht. The company expects that figure to reach 400 million baht this year.
If the expansion goes as expected, Mistine sales abroad next year are projected at 3 billion baht, driven by Myanmar and China, Mr Danai said.