British Dispensary Group is a Thai pharmaceutical and cosmetics group of companies, best known for its Snake Brand line of products. It was established as the British Dispensary in 1892 by Western doctors Peter Gowan and Thomas Heyward Hays, and was later acquired by Luan Vongvanij in 1928. The business has since grown under the ownership of the Vongvanij family, and the group now consists of the following companies: The British Dispensary Co., Ltd.; The British Dispensary (L.P.) Co., Ltd.; British Dispensary Consumer Public Co., Ltd.; British Dispensary Health Care Co., Ltd. and The British Dispensary (L.P.) Sai 5 Co., Ltd.

History

The British Dispensary was founded in 1892 by Scottish doctor Peter Gowan and American doctor Thomas Heyward Hays, both of whom had been in the service of the government of King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

(Rama V). The business was one among several modern pharmacies that emerged in the country toward the end of the nineteenth century, and was a well known establishment on the corner of

Charoen Krung Road Shophouses along Charoen Krung road with the Sathorn Unique Tower in the vicinity (2021) Charoen Krung Road (, ) is a major road in Bangkok and the first in Thailand to be built using modern construction methods. Built during 1862–1864 in the ...

and Surawong, in what was

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

's European district. After a few years Gowan passed the business onto Hays, and a second branch was opened in 1897 at

Si Kak Phraya Si Si Kak Phraya Si (, ) is an intersection in area of Wang Burapha Phirom sub-district, Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok. It is the intersection of Charoen Krung, Fueang Nakhon and Ban Mo roads. It is considered to be the second intersection of Cha ...

in what was then the inner city. Hays operated the business until 1906, when he transferred his interests to J. J. McBeth, who had joined the firm in 1898. In 1928, McBeth retired to his home country, and sold the business to Luan Vongvanij, a Chinese immigrant who had previously been an apprentice at the store. Since then, the business has been largely owned by the family, with Luan handing control to his sons Boonchit and Boonyong in 1963, and Boonyong to his son Anurut in 1993.

Products

The group produces personal care products as well as medications and supplements. It is best known for its Snake Brand Prickly Heat cooling powder, so-named after the company's trademark, which had long been known by Thais as ''tra ngu'' ( 'snake brand'). It also produces other personal care products under the Snake Brand, as well as St Luke's baby powder and Quina skin tonic. Its annual revenue was about 1.2 billion baht in 2009.

References

{{reflist Pharmaceutical companies of Thailand Personal care companies of Thailand Companies based in Bangkok 1892 establishments in Siam Siam companies established in 1892