Thai Ice-Cream Brand Hawell’s Put up for Sale for 165 Million Baht

Hawell’s founder Siripong Akkarasriyuk has put the Thai ice-cream chain up for sale for 165 million baht as he prepares to enter the Buddhist monkhood.

The package covers seven rai of land, a production factory in Nonthaburi, recipes developed across 37 years, and the brand’s sole operating standalone outlet.

What the 165 Million Baht Sale Includes

Siripong announced the sale on Friday, offering a 5 million baht referral fee to anyone who secures a buyer. The assets bundled into the 165 million baht price tag include the Hawell’s trademark, operating licences, an office building, plant machinery, and proprietary formulas for both hard-scoop and soft-serve ice cream.

The sale also comes with an expansion blueprint targeting 8.8 billion baht in annual revenue. That model requires rollouts across 300 soft-serve shops, 100 hard ice-cream stores, and 5,000 automated cup-dispensing machines nationwide, provided the incoming buyer secures capital within two years.

From 22 Mall Stores to One Standalone Unit

Founded in 1999, the brand opened its first branch at Central Pinklao and expanded to 22 mall locations within three years by positioning itself as an affordable, quality domestic alternative. Growth stalled when competing international and corporate-backed chains secured exclusive lease clauses with shopping centre operators, barring direct rivals from mall premises. The closures culminated in the shutdown of the original Central Pinklao branch in 2014.

Retail landlords in Bangkok have long favoured well-funded conglomerate brands with exclusive tenancy covenants, squeezing independent operators out of prime foot-traffic corridors. Hawell’s pivot away from department stores toward standalone sites and automated vending mirrors broader efforts by local food operators across Southeast Asia to bypass mall lease restrictions and high occupancy costs.

After opening a standalone restaurant in Bang Bua Thong in 2023, Siripong attempted to renegotiate entry into shopping complexes over the past two years without success. Having authored a book on Buddhist philosophy in 2016, he has committed to entering full monastic ordination within two years, making a complete transfer of the business his final operational deadline.