Top-Wasupol Tangsombatvisit, executive director and general manager of domestic marketing and sales at Yan Wo Yoon Corporation Group, is the third-generation heir of Dek Somboon. He is a young entrepreneur who has built a recognizable image among new generations and social media users by sharing stories of his family business through short clips on social media.
On August 21, 2026, at the launch event for the Thaimart Seller App held at Sphere Hall, 5th floor, M Sphere Shopping Mall, he recounted returning to the family business after living and earning well in the United States, identifying himself as the third generation of the Dek Somboon soy sauce factory.
His ancestors were carpenters from China who came to Thailand by boat; his grandfather pioneered soy sauce production, and his father expanded exports abroad. Now, in his generation, he has modernized soy sauce to reach younger consumers by creating soy sauce pellets, using social media, and selling online, as the business marks 80 years of operation.
Dek Somboon's origin was not from a business plan on paper but from the love and observations of the grandfather, who saw the great-grandmother adding soy sauce to porridge to nourish the children, inspiring the logo of a chubby child holding a soy sauce bottle in 1947—a consumer product full of meaning symbolizing good nutrition and well-being.
From the first generation that laid the foundation, to the second generation expanding exports, and now to Top-Wasupol in an era demanding business resilience, there are concerns about the 'third-generation curse'—where the first generation builds, the second expands, and the third causes failure—often due to generational gaps and attachment to past successes. However, Top’s case shows that being an heir is not a 'shortcut' but a rigorous test requiring building trust from scratch.
In transforming a long-established organization, what matters more than technology is building internal trust.
Top began by foregoing a golden opportunity with a global company like Salesforce in San Francisco to face challenges in the family business.
His first lesson was negotiating business terms with family, where his father offered a monthly salary of only 25,000–30,000 baht, prompting Top to use overseas salary slips to negotiate.
Choosing to set aside heir ego, Top opted to build his authority through disciplined, hands-on work.
He started by labeling bottles on the production line to understand small processes, served as a quality checker in the warehouse, drove delivery vehicles, and collected payments directly from stores to experience partner pain points firsthand. Working from 7 a.m. to after 9 p.m. daily, he not only learned the work but demonstrated commitment to senior staff.
The most important outcome was shifting the communication culture toward professionalism. Top chose not to call his father 'Dad' or 'Pa' in meetings but by his full name to clearly separate business from family matters—an approach he sees as central to modern family business management.
Top explained that after some time in the family business, he considered online sales and recognized the FMCG challenge of 'heavy weight but low price'—a 500-gram bottle of soy sauce costs only 50 baht.
With e-commerce, shipping costs erode profits, leaving almost no margin. Top therefore used innovation by creating 'soy sauce pellets' that remove excess water from the product, greatly reducing logistics costs and offering convenience for customers.
He said online sales grew exponentially by 100%–300% annually, from tens of thousands to nearly 10 million baht monthly. Initially, he personally registered and input data on platforms to deeply understand their workings before delegating to his team.
He described this as the 'spirit of learning' essential for managing modern businesses.
To connect an 80-year-old brand with new generations, the strategy was 'Branding as a Person'—giving the brand a living identity. With zero advertising budget, Top identified that sweet soy sauce tastes like 'salted caramel' and transformed the sweet flavor into an ice cream shape, creating a social challenge with real presenters (such as Nong Thee, Nong Peer, and Peepee Krit) to build a playful, approachable image.
The campaign went viral with 7–8 million views, shifting the product image from a savory condiment to a premium dessert, selling over 400,000–500,000 cups.
Separately, Top developed his personal brand as the face of the company, bridging trust with Gen Z consumers. Though previously protective of his privacy, he viewed this not as ego but as building for the organization.
Beyond branding, having a marketplace platform is critical. He noted that Thai e-commerce is increasingly invaded by foreign capital using AI to create product names, imitate Thai brands, and monopolize top creators.
More severe is the pricing structure pressure from foreign platforms through high gross profit (GP) fees, including back margin (7–10%) and front margin (over 20%), significantly squeezing producers and forcing them to raise consumer prices.
Thus, the emergence of the ThaiMart platform addresses Thai producers’ needs by guaranteeing authentic products and not charging seller GP fees, which positively impacts pricing structures passed to buyers.
With future marketing trends becoming more niche, producers and sellers must offer products targeting specific consumer groups. Therefore, Dek Somboon's strategy is to be not a big fish but many small agile ones, reducing scale and increasing organizational flexibility for quick movement.
Additionally, there is pride that Dek Somboon, under Yan Wo Yoon Corporation Group, is 100% Thai-owned and part of every meal and happiness. Top likened the government's promotion of soft power in various forms to Thai food culture, which can carry Thailand’s flavors globally as 'Sauce Power' within soft power.
“We have long awaited a Thai-owned application that helps Thai people build an economic ecosystem together. Secondly, it offers opportunities for many brands to grow and fight against counterfeits with a platform that verifies buyers. The arrival of ThaiMart will provide another significant channel beyond pricing,” Top-Wasupol concluded.
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