Thai ice cream founder selling business for over S$6 million to become a monk

The founder of Thai ice cream brand Hawell's has put his business up for sale for 165 million baht (S$6,309,710), as he prepares to enter monkhood.

Siripong Akkarasriyuk, chairman of Hawell's (Thailand) Co Ltd, announced the news in a Facebook post on Aug. 21.

He is searching for a successor to take over the brand, and is offering a 5 million baht (S$191,180) referral fee.

"My family and I have only two years left"

According to Bangkok Post, Siripong said the difficulty of expanding the business was only part of why he is selling.

He explained: "The most important reason is that my family and I have only two years left."

The two years is the timeframe he has set for renouncing worldly life.

In those two years, he wants to find land for a forest retreat where he can meditate, before ordaining as a monk and devoting entirely to spiritual solitude.

He plans to cut off contact with everyone, including his wife and daughter, with what he called "the ultimate goal of attaining enlightenment as an arahant.”

Arahant is the Sanskrit term meaning the "one who is deserving" in Buddhism.

Bangkok Post reported that he has been planning this stage of his life for over 15 years.

Why he is selling rather than staying on

Siripong spent the past two years trying to get mall space.

However, he kept being told there was none, even when units sat empty.

Standalone stores would require significant investment, and he ruled out franchising because it was too risky for the brand.

He has drawn up an expansion plan targeting annual sales of nearly 9 billion baht (S$344,166), but with only two years before he ordains, he figured the better move was to find someone with the passion and ability to see it through.

What the buyer gets

The successor stands to receive assets valued at 165 million baht (S$6,309,710).

These include a portion of land in Bang Bua Thong, Nonthaburi, an office building and a factory with machinery and licences, the Hawell's Ice Cream & Fast Food shop, and the Hawell's trademark.

Siripong said it also comes with "all the know-how accumulated over 37 years and all ice-cream recipes, both soft-serve and hard ice cream."

Whoever takes over inherits his project plan too. It targets annual sales of 8.8 billion baht (about S$337 million) from 300 soft-serve shops nationwide, 100 hard ice cream shops and 5,000 automatic cup dispensers, provided the funding is secured in the first two years.

"A part of my life and my family's life"

He said: "Hawell's is not just a business I built. It has been a part of my life and my family's life."

He thanked customers for their support.

He added: "Even if I choose to leave worldly life behind… I still want to see Hawell's move forward."

From 22 branches to one

Hawell's opened its first branch at Central Pinklao in December 1999 and grew to 22 outlets within three years.

Unfortunately, the bigger players started cutting exclusive-use deals with malls, locking direct competitors out.

Nearly every Hawell's branch closed as a result, with Central Pinklao the last to go in 2014.

The name returned in 2023 with a standalone outlet in Bang Bua Thong, which is still open and the only one left.