Thanida during the ASEAN Thanida during the ASEAN SEDP 4.0 Regional Workshop’s fireside chat, “Celebrating the 3-Year Partnership between ASEAN Foundation and TikTok.
Having a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering and a ten-year-long prestigious career in the IT industry under her belt did not stop Thanida Phoonpirom (50) from retiring and dedicating herself to supporting Thai indigenous craft and weaving communities through digital outreach. As Folkcharm’s social media analyst and representative to the ASEAN SOAR (Support Our Artisans and Retailers) Together Programme, she now applies her digital and TikTok marketing skills to tell Folkcharm’s stories about Thai craftsmanship and ethical way of living through our clothing choices.
“I have always felt our brand has so much to offer,” she proudly says. Folkcharm is a sustainable Thai clothing brand promoting authentic craftsmanship from rural Thailand. Through slow fashion, they tell incredible stories rooted in their tradition, which demonstrates an ethical way of work and embraces circularity to care for the environment. However, Folkcharm’s journey in transitioning to e-commerce and the digital world was not easy. Phoonpirom’s marketing team lacked the digital skills instrumental to drive online sales. Hence, they applied for the ASEAN SOAR Together Programme, which brought about a significant change in their online business.
How ASEAN SOAR Together Supported Folkcharm’s Digital Sales Growth
At first, Folkcharm started humbly on TikTok. They had no idea how to navigate their way amid the TikTok trends and algorithms, nor did they have a clear direction in digital marketing. After joining ASEAN SOAR Together, they learned about the power of digital expertise, especially the creation of meaningful content that drives digital engagement.
As they started their journey with ASEAN SOAR Together’s Business Challenge, they managed to grow their account faster than ever. According to Phoonpirom, within two months of joining ASEAN SOAR’s Business Challenge, they saw a 107% increase in views and a 780% dramatic jump in engagement compared to their old TikTok account, which had merely four videos over the past two years. For Phoonpirom and the Folkcharm team, the achievement they reaped from the Business Challenge went beyond their expectations. Currently, they have attracted viewers from not only ASEAN countries, but also Western markets.
Phoonpirom shared Folkcharm’s meaningful journey with ASEAN SOAR Together at the ASEAN SEDP Regional Workshop 2025 in Bangkok. Over the past four months, the ASEAN SOAR Together programme has been supporting 50 MSMEs to upscale their business through intensive capacity-building training in digital marketing, e-commerce, merchandising, and sales strategies to grow sustainably in the digital world. The Business Challenge itself is one of the programmes in which selected MSMEs implement the lessons they learned from the training in real life business practice through digital marketing.
“(ASEAN) SOAR taught us digital growth is about posting smarter, not more.”
She emphasised the importance of quality over quantity of posting on social media–a strategy she learned from ASEAN SOAR Together’s training sessions. From the programme, Folkcharm learned to analyse data, plan content, and structure videos with strong hooks, attractive visuals, clear Call to Action, narration, music, and captions. Furthermore, they also obtained insider tips on optimal posting times, weekly uploads for visibility, and effective selling strategies online. As a result, their analytics significantly “soared”. They now use trend tools, data analytics, and AI to help track their growth.
“Ultimately, SOAR has helped Folkcharm to flourish into a strategy-driven business, especially in the e-commerce sphere. We are grateful for ASEAN SOAR Together’s support in helping us inspire people to embrace a kinder way of life, proving that purposeful and conscious choices exist.”
What’s next for Folkcharm and ASEAN SOAR Together?
Moving forward, Folkcharm is ready to take the challenge of conducting TikTok LIVE sessions, inspired by the fruitful results achieved by fellow MSMEs in ASEAN SOAR Together.
Inspiring stories like that of Folkcharm’s are what drives ASEAN SOAR Together to become committed to supporting more enterprises in ASEAN, especially that of youth and women, to thrive in the competitive digital landscape. In line with ASEAN 2045 Vision, ASEAN SOAR Together will become an avenue to cultivate a wide range of outstanding MSMEs, creating a resilient and sustainable economic community of ASEAN.