Does Hua Hin Need a New Butchers Shop?

[richard]

Do you think there's a need in Hua Hin for good retail butchers shop?.

Interesting first post. Are you considering opening a butchers?

Yes i would like to open a fresh meat shop just like in the uk wiith a full window show, i have found all the fresh meat supliers for Beef Lamb Pork, i make my own Bacon, Hams, & Sausages.

Thanks for all your replies.

Local or imported Carcasses?

[caller]

In the UK my wife would travel miles to find such a place but they are now few and far between. Supermarket type produce has stolen their trade and people are not as fussy now about selecting there meat.

Going a little off-topic I know, but I think there are a lot more butchers around in the UK now, especially out of towns. Where I lived, many villages, including my own, and all the local towns had butchers and I think a whole new market has developed where folk are prepared to pay a slightly higher price for quality, traceable produce. I was a regular at my butchers and pretty much stopped buying meat at supermarkets, unless on offer!

Prior to moving to the sticks I lived in the Kingston area and there were several excellent butchers around.

Good luck with your venture, Boycie (your not married to Marlene by any chance, are you?).

[Arlo]

A good butcher is always welcome in my book. What would be nice is to know where the meat came from and what kind of diet the animal had. Was it stuck inside some disgusting meat factory its whole life or was it a free range animal? Was it injected with steroids and fed GMO corn or did it just eat grass? These are questions many people want to know.

To me this type of shop would be a nice place to have in town. Not sure how good it would work here but a lot of the world is heading down this road. People want to know what they are eating. It might not be the easiest thing to set up in Thailand but it sure would be nice.

[Boycie]

The meat would be Farm raised imported from the US & Australia ,and the shop would be Air coned all the other products such as bacon and hams, and sausages would be made fresh on the premises .large orders would be made fresh to order and never frozen.

Marlene would be the cashier lol.

[Foodie]

I think it would be a welcome addition. I am not from Europe and find the cuts that the French butcher offers are not what Im used to and his prices I find high. You have a decent selection at Villa if your willing to pay 1800 baht kilo for Ny Strip Steak. If you are able to offer bone in meat cuts at a decent price I would patronize your shop. I also find If you age the Thai beef it is better because most of the Thai Beef available is not aged at all and is fresh kill. Good Luck

[Gregjam]

From the responses it looks like people would like to see a butcher catering to demands perhaps not currently met but I still question whether the business would be tenable. It looks like the business would primarily cater to expat tastes and price has already been mentioned. Villa is well established and certainly not cheap, would a single shop be able to import at competitive prices. I cannot see that demand during the long low season would be enough to support the proposed business. Best of luck to Boycie if he gives it a go but I am somewhat sceptical whether it would survive.

[Big Boy]

Gregjam's point is the same point I tried to make. There is only one pie, and while it can be sliced another way, you are going to lose something.

Also, reading Boycie's comments, it looks more and more that it might be unique, but it certainly couldn't be at competitive prices. Meat would be imported, so I'm assuming that means frozen. Meat being sold would have been defrosted, so unless Boycie is an excellent planner, there could be considerable wastage at the end of each day, or the next day's meat may not be as fresh as you might like. I'm assuming re-freezing is a big no. I doubt existing retailers freeze their products just for fun.

Some questions are being sidestepped e.g.

What would be nice is to know where the meat came from and what kind of diet the animal had. Was it stuck inside some disgusting meat factory its whole life or was it a free range animal? Was it injected with steroids and fed GMO corn or did it just eat grass?

Going back to the OP:

Do we need a new butchers shop?
Probably not. We've just gone through the busiest food time of the year, and I haven't heard anybody complain that they couldn't buy the meat they required.

Would we like a new butchers shop?
Maybe, if it can bring something new to the party at competitive prices.

Will we get a new butchers shop?
Probably. TIT - the land of extensive market research. Just look at the coffee shops, tailor shops, opticians, launderettes etc etc

[migrant]

As an accountant I have dealt with a number of businesses here in the states. I've found that there are so many badly run businesses that there is almost always room for a well run business that not only understands their craft, but also pricing, inventory, ordering etc.

I haven't bought meat at the existing butcher shops, but have at Villa and Makro. Both places were expensive but good

[NOKYAI]

I don't find Makro meat prices expensive especially the larger cuts. With most things at Makro ( been a customer for over 20 yrs inUK) the savings are in bulk buying. We tend to buy whole loins of pork and cut them into kilo chunks and freeze, chicken in 5kg packs and divide and freeze etc.

[jingjoe]

I would love another butchers shop but i doubt it will work in hua hin.
1. fulltime expats living here is only around 4000 people and divide that pie up (as big boy stated) doesnt leave much
2. a lot of the fulltimers seem to be on a tight budget and probably can't afford red meat regularly.
3. a lot of visitors who fill the numbers in peak season dont cook but eat out.
4. makro have a good selection of imported meats,reasonable sausage and bacon selection that come in suitable cuts and sad as the world is coming, its just easier to do all your shopping in one store.

I would like to see a co op of butcherie and local organic veges and eggs would be nice but!!

[NOKYAI]

Agree with most of that! On your point 2, looking around my friends, most eat out more than they cook at home. We tend to be different as we have carer responsibilities and have to cook anyway so eat more at home.

[Big Boy]

We're all creatures of habit, and buy our meat where we do because it already suits us. A new butcher's shop would probably be busy in the first month while people checked it out. Unless it is something special that really makes it worthwhile, how many are going to make a special journey to buy a similar product to what they are already satisfied with? OK if the new shop is just down the road, but if it requires an extra journey ........................?

We see new businesses open and close every week. The reason usually being because the market is already saturated. Rather than asking on a forum, the OP would be better off investing in some proper market research, which should cover all of the various scenarios. Then working from the professional analysis he should be able to work out the answer for himself. Unfortunately, TIT, and people often to think that if they have something for sale, somebody will buy it.

Would I use it? Probably not. The French butcher is a 5 minute walk away - we've never crossed his threshold. Not because there's anything wrong with his product (I wouldn't know), but we buy our meat along with other shopping - usually Tesco or Makro.

[Boycie]

Yes i would like to open a fresh meat shop just like in the uk wiith a full window show, i have found all the fresh meat supliers for Beef Lamb Pork, i make my own Bacon, Hams, & Sausages.

Why not - go for it!! If the prices are reasonable, I will be a regular customer for sure, as will my gf, who owns 2 businesses involving catering for westerners!!!

Thank you barrys..

[Nereus]

The meat would be Farm raised imported from the US & Australia ,and the shop would be Air coned all the other products such as bacon and hams, and sausages would be made fresh on the premises .large orders would be made fresh to order and never frozen.

Marlene would be the cashier lol.

And what colour underwear does Marlene have?

For a business like this to succeed you would need to build up a client base of restaurants and / or hotels, and not be relying on the local expat market. Of course, this market will expect wholesale prices, reliable service and quality, and would take some time to build up.
Good luck!

[barrys]

Everybody seems to be making the success or failure of this business dependent on the local expat casual shopping population.

Let's not forget there are also hundreds of hotels/guesthouses here that cater for the tourists (Thai and foreign) as well as a large number of up-market restaurants who need to source good quality products for their businesses.

I'm sure this is an avenue that could be exploited by a savvy entrepreneur providing good prompt service and economical top quality produce.


Sorry Nereus, our posts crossed!!!