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At the mention of “Hale’s Blue Boy”, the great taste of syrup pops up in the mind of many. Although there are several syrup brands in the Thai market, Hale’s Blue Boy has won the hearts of all generations with its distinctive delicious taste and fragrance. Its slogan “Sweet Delight” is well remembered among Thais for more than 60 years now. Mr. Damrong Pattanaanek, general manager of Hales Trading (Thailand) Company Boy is quality”.   Sweet Quality Founded by four brothers more than six decades ago, Hale’s Blue Boy entered the market to deliver alternative drinks. Back then, the Thai market was mainly dominated by carbonated beverages but this brand by Mr. Damrong’s father and uncles offered syrup drink in two flavors – Sala and Cream Soda. The brand has moved its manufacturing base to the Bangchan Industrial Estate in Bangkok’s Min Buri district since 1978.   “Today, we have syrup in nine flavors. At the heart of our brand are quality and deliciousness. We keep them intact no matter what,” Mr. Damrong quips.   According to this executive, his firm has accorded importance to safety and hygiene throughout manufacturing process. Ingredients are well-selected. Every factory under the firm is certified based on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. Its products and used water are also submitted to the Department of Medical Sciences for tests on a regular basis to prevent contamination. Although Hale’s Blue Boy sales dropped in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak last year, product quality has been strictly upheld.   “We minimize adverse impacts by improving manufacturing efficiency and reskilling our staff,” Mr. Damrong explains.   Happiness Delivered Through Packaging Bottles and labels of Hale’s Blue Boy syrup may hardly change over time. But its packaging has been upgraded all the time based on “Sweet Delight” concept. Beautiful graphics on corrugated- paper packaging feature happy parties among friends/family members. “SCGP has designed these boxes for us, changing graphics over time to deliver messages that we would like to communicate with consumers in each era,” Mr. Damrong points out,   “We have now created gift sets too with bright graphics on the packages, which are made of recycled materials. Responding to our needs, SCGP designs are just perfect”.   In his view, packaging plays a very important role in marketing because it can encourage or expedite purchase decisions on top of adding value to products. “Packages are designed not just to contain our products. They present our image too,” Mr. Damrong adds.   Sincere Partner Hale’s Trading (Thailand) has considered SCGP its partner for caringly providing packaging for each of its syrup bottles. Featuring quality prints and design, the well-designed package efficiently protects its content. “SCGP is highly reliable. Its boxes work well even though each one has to carry the weight of 24 kilos. Made of corrugated paper, it can also support stacking up over a long time,” Mr. Damrong explains.   He adds that, “We are also impressed with SCGP’s corporate culture. Its team works closely with customers and prove very trusting. Sincere counseling and services make us stay with SCGP. We feel like SCGP is a friend and a partner”.   Mr. Damrong continues that he also trusts SCGP because it has a research and product development units plus a big pool of talents. “We are confident that SCGP will continue producing innovations and solutions for our business,” he concludes.   https://youtu.be/5kVuE7x5TtA

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Inspired by Hong Kong’s Chinese steamed buns with lava-fillings, Mr. Parin Suksmith founded Phoenix Lava in Thailand. His vision is to serve Phoenix Lava buns to not just consumers across Thailand but also overseas, through franchising.   What is Phoenix Lava? Mr. Parin reveals that while working in Japan, he and his younger brother spent their free time developing bun recipes and studying the Thai market. Their study shows people usually buy buns to give to others or prepare as snacks for events. After exploring more than 300 bun shops in Bangkok, the two siblings have concluded that they will position their brand as “Bun of Giving.” Phoenix is chosen as the brand name because it represents changes and new things. “I am lucky to have a brother and a team who know well about food science,” Mr. Parin says. His brand now offers buns with a great variety of fillings and plus dim sum. “We have now developed our products to ensure they are ready for microwaving too,” he added. There are now 10 Phoenix Lava branches in Thailand. Three of them belong to franchisees. Overseas, there are 2 branches in Macao.   Attention to Packaging Phoenix Lava carefully selects ingredients to create the best taste, and pays serious attention to packaging design with aim to promote brand identity and recognition. The brand uses yellow 37.5-cm-long boxes that fit well into a fridge. Every pack of steamed buns has a label showing its fillings as well. Caring about its customers, the brand also seeks to ensure that its products taste nice even through delivery services.   COVID-19 Pushes up Sales During COVID-19 crisis, four branches of Phoenix Lava were closed because they were located inside department stores that had to shut down during lockdowns. To deal with impacts, the brand was quick to set up new branches and implement stringent cost control. The locations for the new branches are chosen from areas where the brand had never had an outlet before. The strategy is to rent shop houses, which can serve as Cloud Kitchen and accommodate delivery orders. Although these places may not be in the busiest corners of the town, their rent is cheaper. They can attract local customers and support deliveries, which now account for 45 percent of the brand’s total sales. As for its 2020 goals, Phoenix Lava plans to ensure that through branch-network expansion. Next year, the brand will sell its franchises to operators in provinces such as Chon Buri, Rayong, and Chanthaburi.   EzySteam™: Caring Solution to Pain Point Mr. Parin says he started working with SCG Packaging because of shared commitment to develop innovative solutions that address customers’ pain points. The first task for the collaboration is to develop microwavable bun bags that can keep the good taste, as microwaving is much more convenient and faster than steaming. “It takes about six months to develop EzySteam™. The current EzySteam™ bags are our third version. I have much admiration for SCG Packaging’s work. It works hard and constantly checks feedback,” he says. Phoenix Lava has also used Dezpax, which offers custom-made packaging at reasonable prices. Packaging for most of Phoenix Lava’s new products come from Dezpax.   Generating Revenue from Existing Resources “SMEs should generate income from existing resources such as assets or abilities. Experiment new things but do not increase cost,” Mr. Parin advises. “I must say that persons who successfully got out a crisis have potential to fly high. So, SMEs should quickly adjust themselves to the New Normal. You all have my moral support,” he concludes.

The new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged every sector in society in recent months. Despite the severity of the situation, the business sector has refused to bow down. All enterprises have been trying to adjust themselves to COVID-19 impacts so as to keep their business going. At SCG Packaging Committee on COVID-19 situation has played a vital role in managing the crisis. Members of humankind have reckoned that COVID-19 is “the toughest crisis they have ever seen.”   Structure of the Committee on COVID-19 Situation             This committee is composed of representatives from all lines of SCG Packaging, including overseas-based units. These representatives have come together to formulate the best guideline and communicate it to staff in their teams, business partners, and customers for the goal of ensuring business continuity.             Mr. Twatchai Wongpaisarn serves as the chair of the Committee. According to him, SCG Packaging has set up Business Continuity Management (BCM) system since 2011 so as to boost preparedness to deal with possible crises such as natural disasters, terrorism, and disruptive political demonstration. In the past, crises affected just specific areas. But this time, COVID-19 outbreak has spread all over the world.             “Since the onset of the outbreak, our CEO has issued a clear direction that People Come First,” Mr. Twatchai reveals. “People” are Top Priority             Since 2011, BCM system has established the Business Management Team (BMT) and Local Management Teams (LMT) to make necessary preparations and conduct exercises every year.             “Because we have a clear-cut system in place, we only need to activate it during COVID-19 crisis,” Mr. Opart Rakkulchon says.             “When our assessment suggested our people at our business place in Jakarta had a high risk of contracting the disease, we recalled them to ensure their safety. And thanks to IT support, we can still keep our business running.” Rules of “4Cs”             “The first C is Care. We care for our employees, business partners, society, communities, customers, and stakeholders. The second C is Control. We prescribe clear measures to control the situation and manage risks. The third C is Contingency. It is about assessing the situation and planning to deal with what will be coming in advance in order for our businesses to go ahead. The last C is Communication. Leaders must act like ones especially in unusual situations. When you manage a crisis, you need the sense of urgency with care,” says Mr. Twatchai.             He explains that with clear directions, local leaders at over 40 work sites of SCG Packaging can apply the rules to their context with support from his work panel for business continuity. Great Factors             During such crisis, SCG Packaging has learnt that the following three factors are very important:             1. Fact and Data: Mr. Thanathorn Sitthipol reveals that an internal alert was issued ever since COVID-19 started spreading in Wuhan. When the outbreak in Wuhan widened, more meetings were held to assess the situation and roll out necessary measures such as screenings of people going into/out of the firm’s buildings, guidelines on how to transport persons suspected of having COVID-19, alternative shifts at offices for staff, and work systems over virtual private networks (VPNs). SCG Packaging ranks among the first companies to have implemented “Work from Home” mode.             2. System: Thanks to great infrastructure and solid IT support, SCG Packaging has successfully introduced work system over VPN during the crisis. Because there is a clear system of what to do, the firm can just activate the system to swing into action.             3. Collaboration: As all factories gave full cooperation, preparations for SCG Packaging to secure business continuity during the COVID-19 crisis took just one week. Mr. Thanachai Phuthanadee says that the quick preparations impressively underline SCG Packaging’s strengths.             Ms. Lamai Chintananusorn says leaders’ emphasis on BCM is also behind such impressive results. **Box** Mr. Twatchai Wongpaisarn Director – Sustainability Productivity & Innovation Management “It is important to set clear direction and walk the talk. This way, team members will get the message and move toward the same direction.” Mr. Opart Rakkulchon Corporate Human Resources Director “Before COVID-19, we used to believe that our people were well ready for any situation. But this pandemic has made us realize that there is still room for improvements. The good thing is that our people are now stronger, more flexible, and more prepared to deal with whatever will come.” Mr. Thanachai Phuthanadee Information Technology Manager “We need to look ahead and make preparations. If we are not prepared, we will be in trouble when a crisis strikes.” Mr. Thanathorn Sitthipol Assistant Manager – Emergency Response Management “We are fortunate to have had great teams. For example, our HR team takes good care of staff’s health. Our engineering team gives useful advice on ventilation system. Our R&D team advises on UV disinfection and has developed paper-based personal protective equipment for medical workers too. Together, we will go a long way.” Ms. Lamai Chintananusorn Assistant Manager – Business Continuity Management “We have strong leadership at local levels. Backed by our system, our local leaders can act fast. Some might think we were panicked. But in fact, we have handled BCM very professionally. You must lead in a crisis, not just react to it, to ensure business continuity.”