Thai Express, a franchise chain of quick-service restaurants has been serving authentic Thai cuisine across Canada for almost two decades now. Established in 2004 in Montreal, it has a wide network of restaurants and has been mesmerizing customers with its vibrant authentic Thai food. Led by Vice President Dennis Ng, Thai Express is a perfect confluence of quality Thai cuisine with endearing customer service. With food meant to be shared over conversations, laughs, and celebrations, Thai Express, with over 300 individual dish options and 310 locations and growing worldwide stands as the topmost Canadian brand in its domain.
Becoming the face of Thai food
Being the first brand to market the Asian food franchise, Thai Express was launched to establish authentic Thai food as a key cuisine in North America. Soon after its launch, Thai Express took Canada by storm and since then, its popularity has only continued to grow. With its fast friendly service, freshness and delicious taste of the food, Canadians across all provinces have embraced the brand as the ambassador of Thai food and have made Pad Thai as common as poutine. Thai Express has made Thai food today an integral part of the Canadian food culture. “At Thai Express we specialize in traditional Thai recipes of fresh, vibrant food, but we have the vision to incorporate new-world creativity to keep you on your toes. It’s same-same but Different!” says Dennis.
Excellence is the priority
On a mission to bring quality Thai food to everyone. Thai Express has made extraordinary efforts to become and remain the best. With its extensive market research, Thai Express has created a menu that is a perfect fit for the North American market. With input from multiple platforms and a deep awareness of current food trends, it is constantly striving to provide best-in-class food. Despite the cut-throat competition in the quick service and casual dining Asian cuisine space, Thai Express is proud to be the only one that covers all provinces in stand-alone street locations, food courts, and non-traditional environments such as airports, universities, rest stops, and hospitals. To maintain its lead, Thai Express continues to be innovative with its menu additions and ingredients featuring appetizers, salads, soups, curries, and General Thai®. With authentic flavors, quality food, and relevant branding, one can certainly say that nobody knows Thai food like Thai Express.
Dennis Ng: Simplifying leadership
Having joined the Thai Express franchise in 2004, Dennis with his exemplary leadership skills has taken Thai Express to another level of success. His life is marked with high achievements and hard work which can be traced to his education history and work experience. His attention to detail and food focused environment have been the key reasons for the success of the brand. With a professional background in project management and financial management, Dennis not only led the brand to huge expansion across Canada but also won the organization some key accolades. Appointed as the Vice President of Thai Express in 2008, under his leadership, Thai Express franchise has been recognized as an exemplary brand winning numerous awards including 2020 & 2021 CBF (Canadian Business Franchise) Award for, “Best Asian Franchise”, 2018 ACI-NA Excellence in Airport Concessions Award, 2014 Induction into the CQF Hall of fame.
A culture that values people and nurtures nature
Work culture is a key prerequisite for long-term business success. Thai Express recognizes the value of positive work culture and takes every opportunity to express gratitude to its employees while also providing a healthy work environment that encourages them to accomplish better than before. As a good work culture determines the overall work experience, at Thai Express the work culture is deliberately kept open, transparent, and free from work politics. At Thai Express, every day is considered as an opportunity to shatter old limitations and create something new. At the heart of its culture is one of its core values called Thai Heart. When asked, Dennis mentions, “Thai Heart means we create experiences we love, consume and share. We honor our origins and maintain a Thai mindset in our actions. We grow to keep a THAI integrity at heart. This helps our team to always keep these goals top of mind and share our appreciation of our brand.”
With its focus on creating a positive impact on the world, Thai Express pays special attention towards compliance with every city bylaw to comply with either recyclable, compostable, or reusable packaging items to help decrease waste as a hard stance on environmental position. To give back, since 2019, they have eliminated the use of Styrofoam and have also partnered with One Tree Planted to help neutralize its yearly paper footprint by reforestation. Thai Express also contributes through various sponsorships to local communities with university charities and donations. Thai Express has and is willing to go above and beyond to make this world a better place.
Thai Express franchise: An investment worth making
Said to be one of the most effective modes of business, franchising has been in the market for a while now. Having led many aspiring entrepreneurs to the success they desired, today franchising is a business model everyone looks up to. Thai Express, through its franchise, offers a business opportunity that not only empowers budding entrepreneurs but also gives them a chance to experience financial freedom with absolute certainty and a definite plan.
As per market research, since 1999, the Asian cuisine market has grown by almost 500% and is estimated to grow even further. Market Analysis even confirms that Thai Express franchises have higher chances of success and have a positive image in all targeted markets. Due to positive feedback and a successful business model, its franchise is in high demand and is sought after.
As soon as one becomes a member of the Thai Express family, they undergo systematically planned initial training which gives them a brief idea of what Thai Express is about. With training facilities and access to the best resources, the franchise gets an idea of the greatness of the brand value and the culture at Thai Express. After the completion of the initial training, the franchise partner receives complete top-notch after-training support and professional guidance that not only helps them handle the challenges they might face but also achieve operational excellence after the franchise outlet is inaugurated.
“Thai Heart means we create experiences we love, consume and share. We honor our origins and maintain a Thai mindset in our actions. We grow to keep a THAI integrity at heart. This helps our team to always keep these goals top of mind and share our appreciation of our brand.”
The future looks optimistic
Amidst the pandemic, Thai Express always has prioritized its client’s health & safety. To ensure everyone remains safe, it has partnered with major third-party delivery platforms which are integrated to their POS to facilitate curb-side pick-up and delivery. Moreover, it has also increased its online visibility through boosted advertising & influencer campaigns on various social media platforms such as Instagram, Tik- Tok, and Facebook. Having successfully tackled every challenge the pandemic has thrown at it, Thai Express is optimistic about the future and is eagerly waiting to welcome its clients to the sights, sounds, and smells of its mesmerizing kitchen. Though many competitors tried to emulate its business model, they couldn’t replicate the business discipline, quality standards, and undying commitment to Thai cuisine. With the best food, solid training & support, and a team that is always there to guide, Thai Express is more than just a business opportunity.
