Apart from serving delicious food, Reo’s Deli also accords importance to environmental and sustainabilityissues. The brand believes that small changes it has made will finally create a better world. Mr. Chana Vasuvat, Chief Executive Officer of Value Sourcing Company Limited that has manufactured and distributed ready-to-eat items under Reo’s Deli brand, gave the following interview to share the story behind Redi Pak and reveal how his mindset led to the development of better packaging for everyone’s delicious happiness.

Yummy, Affordable & Readily Available 
“We are happy when we give happiness to others. Our origin started from our delicious food, which was very affordable and well-loved by customers. We then decided to develop ready-to-eat Italian fares. Our highlights are Baked Spinach with Cheese and Baked Macaroni with Cheese. They are now sold at 7-ELEVEN outlets at just THB 37. After our business started doing well, we had the idea that the bigger our sales, the better quality we should deliver,” Mr. Chana said.
This executive recounted that his company’s focus on distribution via 7-ELEVEN outlets marked a turning point. As such distribution covers the whole Thailand, his company needed to seriously think about transportation and shelf life of its products.
“We have always risen up to our challenges. Whenever we come across a problem, we strive to develop a solution. So, when our distribution via 7-ELEVEN outlets came with a challenge, we created the innovative No-Bake Process. Because our original aluminum foil trays were often dented during transportation, we developed the aforementioned process so that we could use plastic trays instead. After we tackled this challenge, our business has been growing significantly. We also consulted a food institute and through stricter sanitization and hygiene practices, our products’ shelf life extends to 10 days,” he continued.

Sacrifice…to Protect the Earth
“Green trends have already caught on for a long while. But because of COVID-19 outbreak, the use of disposable plastic packaging has risen considerably. Noticing the sharp rise in demand, we held a meeting with our shareholders to discuss the issue. If we opted for eco-friendly packaging, we would have to tackle several challenges.
Then, I asked our shareholders, ‘Do we want to do this?’. The answer was ‘Yes’. We agreed to shoulder bigger cost to give better things,” Mr. Chana said.
“As our company has earned enough income, we review our objectives. Apart from doing business for our own sake, we need to do something for others too. We visualize where we want our company to be in the next 10 years. We do something great with small steps today. We handle difficult issues at the time they are still relatively easy.
“The biggest challenge, in fact, is our own mindset. Once we are determined to do something, we will finally find the way. If we care about people’s well-being, we need to pay attention to the environment. Environmental issues may sound distant. But they are so relevant to our lives. If we don’t do it now, then when? As we are committed to environmental causes, we have decided to explore solutions,” he added.

“My approach is ‘Begin with the end’. When we aim to achieve something, we will finally find the way to do it. So, when we set our sight on improving our packaging to solve old problems, our development efforts led to the launch of Redi Pak. Our new packaging costs us 22.7 percent more than plastic trays.

But as we are determined to embrace eco-friendly packages, we are proud of launching Redi Pak. About 90 percent of its content comes from natural materials. We believe such small things can contribute to big goals. In our view, Reo’s Deli is a small but beautiful company,” Mr. Chana said.

Partner with Shared Goals
Reo’s Deli and Fest by SCGP have successfully overcome all obstacles together because both have pursued environmental care and sustainability. Because they are committed to their goals, their efforts ensure packaging offers functionality, convenience, and sustainability all at the same time. 
Via the partnership, Reo’s Deli realizes that Fest by SCGP team is highly professional and firmly committed to developing innovations. The development, made through a systematic approach, has already led to the launch of Redi Pak. This innovative packaging is eco-friendly. Designed for frozen yet ready-to-eat food, Redi Pak is microwavable. When heated, it becomes drier and stronger too. Stylish in design, it is also convenient to hold. Customers’ hands won’t feel the heat even when removing this tray from microwave. Redi Pak is also really safe. After usage, Redi Pak naturally decomposes within 60 days because it is made of natural materials. Film on this packaging can also be removed for easy recycling.

“Our plan for the next one or two year(s) is to expand our appetizer menu. We want to have five items on the list. Aside, we plan to launch a new brand for B2B market. Our Food Service business should be able to take care of hotels, restaurants, and bakery shops too based on our positioning as a central kitchen. Moreover, we set our sight on developing a brand for spinach farming. We will encourage farmers to grow more spinach in Thailand under our ‘Veggie for Happiness’ brand. We expect this brand to curb spinach import and promote income generation in Thailand. At present, we are working on a project with Kasetsart University’s Kamphaeng Saen Campus. Under the project, experimental spinach farm is ongoing alongside seed development. This project has been going on for more than four years already. We will launch the brand only after we have achieved concrete positive results,” Mr. Chana revealed.
Although plastic remains crucial to food preservation, Reo’s Deli has minimized the use of this material out of its determination to serve as a cogwheel in better environmental care and to push the world faster towards a new, eco-friendlier norm.

“The mass production of Redi Pak is possible through our partnership with Fest by SCGP. Together, we have developed a frozen-food tray that responds best to end users’ needs and
environmental concerns. We are truly ready to be the organization that gives happiness and shares a good mindset with our customers and the world,” Mr. Chana concluded.