Starting in 2004 as an intern at a sourcing agency in Hong Kong, Ben Heller has grown a career weaving through global sourcing, supply chain logistics and government services. A far cry from the career he studied for in the film and TV production, he found his passion in making connections between businesses and always striving to find the most efficient and cost-effective way to connect business on a global scale.
A work opportunity brought him to Asia and what he found in Thailand was a land of possibility. Anyone who has travelled to Thailand and walked through the markets sees an amazing spectrum of handmade products of all kinds.
Now Ben seeks to find the best of those to sell on the global marketplace, giving opportunities to the craftspeople who make them to grow their businesses and support their communities.
What is Exquisite Thailand all about?
Exquisite Thailand exists because my partners and I see an opportunity in selling Thai products. Mainstream retailers regularly overlook what Thailand has to offer, primarily because of scale. Aside from rice and seafood, Thailand simply doesn’t produce many products on a commercially viable scale necessary for large retailers. Along with that is cost. Products from Thailand along with being higher quality, do cost more than those sourced from China.
My background is in Supply Chain, logistics and government relations. It was a natural pivot for me to use the skills I’ve learned, combine them with all my connections in Thailand to source the best of what the country has to offer. The mission of our company is to provide opportunities to small businesses in Thailand to use our platform and connections to sell their products in the global marketplace. We want to help develop small businesses, especially in rural and remote areas of Thailand. We feel strongly it is the best way to sustainably help the Thai people living in these regions to grow their wealth and develop their communities. They have a lot of skill and talent to show the world. We want to give them the opportunity.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company.
I have a belief that opportunity should never be wasted. My education was in Film and TV production. However, it didn’t take very long to became disillusioned with that industry. I needed a course correction. A family friend knew I spent summers while in university interning in the transportation department of a large retailer, and suggested I intern at his company in Hong Kong. Quite the opportunity for adventure. It was a tough year, but I learned so much. A top-down education in the world of global sourcing. Right from the factory floor in China to the ports to the merchandising offices in Hong Kong. Not many people get to understand the supply chain on this level. I see it as a giant puzzle that need to be pieced together efficiently, effectively, and I hope ethically. From there I was given another opportunity with a different company to develop and manage a social accountability auditing department for a Hong Kong based company. The auditing was primarily in China, but this is when I was introduced to, and started visiting Thailand.
After a few years of living the Expat life, I decided to return to Canada and start putting down roots. I worked in the logistics and supply chain department for a large global shipping company. After working that side of the supply chain and sourcing industries for years, I was given the opportunity to run the Thai Consulate in Toronto.
I was Honorary Vice-Consul for 12 years. During that time, in the back of my head there was always a plan to source and sell products from Thailand. Once the pandemic hit, and the Thai Ministry decided to close the Consulate, this was now my time to fully dive into this new opportunity.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
This is still early days for Exquisite Thailand, growth is certainly a challenge. Job #1 is getting the right products from the right suppliers. Beyond product, we’re developing a unique marketing plan that integrates promotional content from the rural and remote areas of Thailand our products are sourced from. In the end, we aren’t just selling a piece of jewelry, we see it as selling a little piece of Thailand.
There’s a story behind each piece. It’s more than the silver or cotton it’s made of, there’s real people making these products, and our plan bridges the gap from producer to consumer as much as possible. That is our ethos, our story. Our products aren’t made by the thousands in a nameless factory. It’s all made with love and care.
Ultimately, we are aiming to grow into a wholesaler for all varieties of Thai products that meet our ethos. We want to give access to small retailers the best high-quality and high-value products that Thailand has to offer.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We see our company as different right from the get-go. We have the will, ability, and patience to ethically source all our products from a place not many retailers are interested in sourcing from. Our ‘real people making real products’ philosophy is vastly different from the mass production requirements of most other retailers. We don’t shy away from a product solely based on a price point. We bring better products, ethically sourced that have a high-value quotient rather than the lowest price possible. I’ve seen firsthand the back end of countless supply chains where price is the first and only concern. I don’t want to play that game. I’ll leave that to Wal-Mart.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Our marketing strategy is to promote the “Story” behind our products. We want customers to know where the product comes from, and that there are real people making real products. We are still quite new at this, and our strategy is ever-evolving, but we are including more multimedia relating to our message to drive engagement.
Being a web-based business, we’ve found the best way to create engagement with potential customers, is for them to see the product. We’ve had good results with social media marketing through Facebook and Instagram. They’ve streamlined their processes enough for small business owners like me to utilize their platform efficiently and effectively.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Sourcing from Thailand is difficult at the best of times. Laying the groundwork for this business during the pandemic almost stopped us before we started. Combined that with our ethical and transparency requirements for our partners, we almost gave up more than once. Thankfully I have an amazing and dedicated team that believes in our vision. We now have some momentum, some traction on the ground and the roadblocks are clearing for us. Our patience and dedication is reaping rewards.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
Right now I’m deep into learning how to market our products. I’ve always been an operations guy. I’m a bit of a fish out of water in this domain, I’m not even a big social media user. It’s a steep learning curve, a whole new language of sorts. My wife spent a decade in the advertising industry, so at least I can leverage her knowledge to some extent. It really does take a village. The importance of marketing for a web-based business cannot be overstated. Finding your niche and learning how to promote into it is everything. And I’ve had to learn this from square one. It has been a challenge.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
I’m a task-oriented personality. For me, I maximize my productivity by taking the time and break any project into down into individual tasks. I take a lot of notes and make progress charts and I keep those right in front of me.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
There are definitely days I question things. But I know our vision and business model has unlimited potential. But I’m lucky enough to have a team behind me willing to push through any obstacles, and I’m privileged enough to have the resources to make it all possible.
What is your favorite quote?
“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
– Hunter S. Thompson
It’s tattooed on my arm. Reminds me to loosen up, go with the flow and trust in myself to have what it takes to get to my destination, whatever it may be.
What is your definition of success?
Simply put, a sustainable, ethical business I can be proud of that provides for my family. I’m not looking to turn this into a billion-dollar mega enterprise. I’m just looking to make the world a little better by offering opportunities in Thailand and make a decent living doing that. I want my business to be synergistic, benefitting others as well as myself.
How do you personally overcome fear?
Most of my fears are irrational. I mean, beyond scorpions and sea snakes, my only real fear is failure. I’m not a huge risk-taker when money is involved. You won’t find me in a casino. To overcome the fear of failure and financial loss, all risk must be calculated, once it’s made clear to me risk is minimized, nothing stops me. As long as I can survive, its full steam ahead. No fear.
How can readers get in touch with you?
Email is always to best way to reach me. I’m at Ben @ exquisitethailand.com if you’d like to get in touch. We’re also on Instagram and Facebook and I make a point of pride to reply to serious inquiries as quickly as possible.
