BLACKPINK‘s Lisa is considered a treasure of Thailand, the country she hails from. Though she has been based in South Korea ever since she was a trainee at YG Entertainment, she still visits and mentions her nation often.
Check out several times when she made fellow Thais proud by promoting their local products below.
1. Meatballs from Buriram
First up, Lisa put Buriram on international headlines when she promoted their local delicacy: meatballs. She mentioned this in an interview with Woody Show.
Woody: I heard from someone that you miss eating yuen kin meatballs.
Lisa: They’re really popular. People buy and eat them right away at Buriram train station.
While Thai meatballs can be found all over the country, Lisa singled out Buriram because of their unique sauce.
The highlight is the sauce only found in Buriram. That place is so good. You can’t find it anywhere else.
— Lisa
Bangkok Post revealed that her passing mention of this food increased their sales exponentially. Some vendors reported their earnings going from a few hundred bhat a day to over ฿10,000 THB (around $300 USD).
2. Traditional Headgear
Lisa also made headlines when she wore traditional Thai clothing in her debut solo “LALISA.” It was her idea to include this reference to her culture in the music video.
Traders from Bangkok told Reuters that they noticed a surge in sales of traditional outfits and accessories thanks to Lisa.
A lot of people have been ordering from us via our online shop, while here at the shop, we’ve had a constant flow of customers coming up to us, showing interest every day, the whole day, asking what kind of headgear we have, what style, what color.
— Samorn Suthiwong
3. Thai Sarong
Lisa proved more than once that she’s an influential fashion icon. After posting her pictures taken at Ayutthaya, one of the most relevant historical sites in Thailand, everyone wanted to cop her style.
Vendors noticed that Thai sarongs were once again becoming trendy.
The one who saw the biggest surge in customers was Suwimol Chaiwing, the owner of the shop where Lisa bought the sarong. There is now a waiting list of up to one month per customer.
When I sent it, I did not expect her [Lisa] to wear it. I tailor this as an additional sarong that they can choose to wear or not. I am thrilled that she chose to wear it and I want to thank Lisa because she is the representative of a new generation. She could inspire the younger generation to wear Thai clothes to the temple and make the younger generation realize the value of Thai fabrics.
— Suwimol Chaiwing
4. Nong Pho Milk
Lisa’s short TikTok video dancing with her friends while holding Nong Pho pasteurized milk was enough to make their sales rise three-fold.
The cooperative even released a statement promising that they will be sure to meet the increased demand for their product.
Orders for Nong Pho dairy products have increased three-fold. Still, we guarantee that we have enough products stocked for every order.
— Klahan Kaewjean, chairman of Nongpho Dairy Cooperative
5. Minced Shrimp Omelet
Finally, the most recent example of Lisa’s influence on the Thai market was when she cooked her favorite dish on Spotify’s video celebrating her billion streams for “MONEY.” She personally made khai jiao, a traditional minced shrimp omelet, and local vendors once again saw their customers multiply.
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One news outlet told the story of a vendor who needed to hire an extra hand overnight: “Omelet rice sold very well after Lisa showed off her skills cooking her favorite minced shrimp omelet. Many fans flocked to the stall.”
Read more about it below.
BLACKPINK’s Lisa Cooked Her Favorite Thai Dish, Local Vendors Immediately Notice Their Sales Soar
