Healthy Food and Good Business: ISB Alumni Step-up

Health and wellness are important topics with our students at International School Bangkok (ISB), and developing skills and knowledge around entrepreneurship are too. So you can imagine how pleased we were to hear about some of our ISB alumni combining these areas to develop very successful businesses encouraging healthy eating.

These ISB alumni have come forward with healthy food concepts that have become very popular throughout Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand is known for a host of food options, from high-end dining to fast, inexpensive food. The country boasts many delicious flavors and local dishes and has long been influenced by international cuisines, too. The segment in the market for more affordable, healthy food is new but growing, and it’s great to see some of our Alumni leading the way in this space.

Acai Story

In 2017, Sarunporn (Ducky) Visutthithada (ISB Class of 2009) and two of her ISB classmates, Varit (Eddy) Bulakul (2008) and Noon Tanchookiat (2010), came up with the idea to deliver nutritious and delicious food items at an affordable price point based on a superfood that comes directly out of the Amazon rainforest, the acai. The acai berry is a reddish-purplish fruit that is extremely high in antioxidants. Establishing stores called Acai Story throughout Bangkok, Ducky and company prepare fresh bowls daily, using the best quality superfoods and fresh fruit to go hand in hand with the tasty acai base. The acai bowls are crafted with passion and care and are incredibly healthy and delicious. All of the ingredients, which include premium toppings such as imported fruits, home-crafted chocolate fudge/nut butter, and home-roasted granola, ensure that the food items sold by the Acai Story are of the highest quality.

Ducky, Eddy, and Noon have been friends throughout their days at ISB and university. They value their friendship, and their connection to ISB is very close to their hearts. They are constantly endeavoring to include their ISB friends as they develop their business model. At this point, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Acai Story is thriving with ten outlets throughout central Bangkok along with a presence on all of the local delivery platforms. Congratulations to these three ISB alumni for their success and their commitment to healthy and affordable food.

getfresh

ISB alumnus, Sid Sehgal (ISB Class of 2000), has a long history of involvement in the restaurant business, from his youth watching his grandfather run the Moghul Room in Bangkok and into the mid-2000s with a venture into the extremely popular Indian cuisine icon, Indus. An NYU graduate in Economics in 2004, Sid had always wanted to bring to his home city of Bangkok a restaurant chain that could offer healthy fare in a quick-service location. Teaming up with his longtime friend and classmate Anchit Sachdev (also ISB Class of 2000), the duo first had a string of bakeries in India and then opened up a franchise called Dressed in Bangkok. It was when they joined up with Stonelotus Ventures and adjusted their concept to highlight tasty and healthy food in a casual environment that the restaurant chain, now called “getfresh,” really took off.

getfresh officially opened in January of 2020 and now has thirteen restaurants in the Bangkok area. Getfresh caters to those serious about eating and living well while being committed to local sourcing, biodegradable or compostable packaging, and environmentally friendly waste management. The ISB friends work in harmony with each other as Sid focuses on food & beverage, marketing, ingredient sourcing, and business development. At the same time, Anchit takes care of operations, accounting, human resources, and purchasing. A concept, healthy fast food in Bangkok, which has been wildly successful due to the efforts of these two ISB alumni.

As always, ISB is extremely proud of all of its alumni. ISB endeavors to enrich communities through the intellectual, humanitarian, and creative thoughts of our learners. We are especially proud of these alumni whose creativity has brought values-based organizations committed to healthy eating and living to the local community in Bangkok.

Congratulations to Ducky, Eddy, Noon, Sid, and Anchit for their efforts!