IMPACT offers healthy bakery products targeting health-conscious consumers

Published : 2014-05-21

Mr. Paul Kanjanapas, Managing Director of IMPACT Exhibition Management Co., Ltd., which manages and operates IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Muang Thong Thani, said “Nowadays people pay more and more attention to their health and wellness and are more careful about what they are eating. Since IMPACT is recognized as a leading venue for hosting conferences, meetings, events and so forth where approximately two million coffee breaks are served per year, we realize we have to be more attentive to nutrients contained in food and beverage items we serve our customers. To highlight IMPACT as a leading venue that offers top quality food and beverage service and in response to the growing trend of healthy lifestyle, we have come up with an idea to offer healthy coffee break choices to health-conscious customers under the concept of “Healthy Eating for a Healthier Life, We Care”. This is also in line with our efforts to continually develop and strictly maintain food safety standards in accordance with ISO 22000 over the past few years and up until now.”     

Dr. Chatrapa Hudthagosol, a lecturer in the Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health at Mahidol University, and also a representative of the Nutrition Association of Thailand, added “From my extensive work experience, both in Thailand and overseas, as well as opportunities to attend at a number of international academic conferences, I have developed an expertise in the fields of food and nutrition. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to use my expertise as a nutrition consultant for IMPACT’s Healthy Eating for a Healthier Life, We Care campaign. My role is to provide advice and support in selecting more healthy and nutritional ingredients for each recipe. For instance, I suggest reducing the amount of flour, fat and salt and substituting with more nutritious ingredients such as oats, whole wheat flour, rice bran flour and rice bran oil when making baked goods. It is just another way to encourage healthy eating and promote good health among the visitors to IMPACT-held events.

In the fast-paced society, most people are likely to grab something quick and convenient to eat like fast food and bakery goods such as chicken pie, tuna sandwiches and brownies. Besides, they do not care if what they are eating is good or bad for their health until they get sick. Consistent consumption of foods that contain excessive amounts of calories, carbohydrate, fat, sugar and sodium can lead to many chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease,   osteoarthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and many more. However, through technology and social media, more and more people today are aware of the risks of illness and diseases caused by unhealthy eating, resulting in increased health consciousness.”    

       

Under the campaign, there are four choices of Healthy Coffee Break Menu Set to choose from and each set offers a delightful mix of freshly-baked sweet and savory snacks. IMPACT will start serving healthy coffee break to its customers in May 2014 onwards. Although the cost is 10 times higher than traditional baked goods because of some ingredients such as OligoLite sugar, rice bran oil and whole wheat flour, the new healthy items will be offered at reasonable prices.       
However, IMPACT believes that many of its Thai and foreign customers are health-conscious and willing to pay more for better health. So, the healthy coffee break is expected to receive positive feedback. In the meantime, IMPACT will continue to creatively develop and offer the best healthy menus possible. The addition of healthier options will help IMPACT grow its food and beverage revenue by 10% from the current record of 350 million Baht.