Ricola: The journey of a Swiss icon to Thailand

Thanks to transport provider Dachser Schweiz, the world-famous original Swiss herbal sweets from Ricola are finding their way to customers in South East Asia.

In February 2023, the trading company, which also represents other premium brands such as Lindt, Kambly, Bio-Familia and Haribo in Thailand, joined forces with Dachser Schweiz at an event organised by the Swiss-Thai Chamber of Commerce at the Swiss Embassy in Bangkok. Ambassador Pedro Zwahlen was pleased to be able to welcome numerous interested parties to the event, which was entitled “The journey of a Swiss icon to Germany: Ricola makes its way to Thai supermarkets”.

Dachser and Ricola, both family companies, have been strategic partners for many years. The successful cooperation is based on a tailored logistics concept with standardised network solutions. Samuel Haller, Country Manager for the Air & Sea Logistics Division at Dachser Switzerland, explained to those taking part in the event how Dachser makes sure that deliveries to its overseas customers always go swimmingly. Dachser Switzerland organises the whole transport process for Ricola relative to the Thai market, from the manufacturer in Switzerland via the ports of Rotterdam and Laem Chabang to the Sino Pacific Trading warehouse in Bangkok. Savet Savetsomphob, Managing Director at Sino Pacific Trading, added a presentation on the complex distribution processes in Thailand to the end customers via a range of channels.

Holistic approach

“The challenge lies in continuously optimising the integrated logistics system to ensure reliable, fast yet economical delivery as developed by Dachser for Ricola,” explained Samual Haller. “We are in a grey area in terms of direct and indirect costs and exacting requirements from the manufacturer, the B2B and B2C distributors and Thai consumers. Uncompromising compliance with exacting quality and process reliability standards is just as important as genuine supply chain transparency and fast reaction times.”