Going eco with packaging
Food a box offers customised packaging products which are eco-friendly. Its entrepreneur talks to Oon Yeoh about his journey
WHEN Dick Lim first entered university, he wasn’t particularly environmentally conscious but his experiences as an undergraduate helped shape his thinking, leading him to start an eco-friendly business while still a student.
Today, Food a box is a leading ecofriendly food packaging provider, offering customised food boxes but also cups, cutlery and many other eco-friendly food ware.
HOW DID FOOD A BOX COME ABOUT?
I was studying entrepreneurship at Universiti Utara Malaysia when I noticed that a lot of food vendors were using styrofoam as food packaging. Together with some friends, we came up with an idea to try to convince these vendors to adopt paper packaging, which was more environmentally-friendly.
The problem of course is that paper packaging is more expensive than styrofoam. So we had to come up with a way to make it cheaper. What we did was to get companies to place advertisements on the packaging. This helped to defray the cost of the paper packaging.
WAS IT EASY TO CONVINCE THE VENDORS TO MAKE THE SWITCH?
It wasn’t easy but we did have some success. Being able to defray the cost of the paper material was crucial.
If not for that, I don’t think any of them would have made the change because their concern was cost.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO DO THIS?
As a university student, I was exposed to socially-conscious projects. I took part in a lot of these projects and through these activities I became more aware of the importance of sustainability.
I was also an entrepreneurship student so my interest was to do business. This got me thinking about how I could kill two birds with one stone — to do some social good but through a commercial approach.
DID YOU MAKE YOUR OWN PRODUCTS?
During my university days, no. We were just traders. We bought the packaging products from various manufacturers.
WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
We just opened our own manufacturing facility this year so we’re able to make our own packaging products now.
IS THERE AN ADVANTAGE TO MAKING YOUR OWN PRODUCTS?
When we make our own packaging, we can ensure that the raw materials are sourced in a sustainable way.
When we were traders, simply buying products from other people, we had no control over that. Sometimes their sources of raw materials may not be that eco-friendly even though the end-product was meant to be so.
YOU ALSO OFFER ECO-FRIENDLY FOOD WARE LIKE CUPS, BOWLS, CUTLERY AND SO ON. DO YOU MAKE THESE YOURSELF?
No, not for the food ware. We focus on packaging products which we make ourselves. But the other stuff we source from other manufacturers.
WHY DO YOU DO SO?
There’s a huge demand for such things. Our customers, who buy the food packaging products from us, often ask if we can also supply all those other things. So we started sourcing for such products to help customers.
ANY PLANS TO MAKE THESE PRODUCTS YOURSELF IN THE LONG RUN?
That’s not in the pipeline. Rather than diversifying in different directions, we want to specialise in food packaging.
One thing we can do that a lot of others cannot is customised packaging products. Different food companies have different needs. They don’t want a generic product. They want something customised to fit their needs.
ISN’T THERE ANY DESIRE TO BECOME A ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR ALL THINGS ECO-FRIENDLY?
you have to become a trader as it’s impossible to make all those things yourself.
You end up dealing with huge inventory of products from various manufacturers. This isn’t what we want to do.
We provide some of the food ware stuff simply because our customers ask for it but it’s not something we want to go into in a big way.
WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?
The main target naturally is the F&B industry but we’re also doing business with the airlines, the banking industry and even the funeral services industry. More companies are embracing sustainability these days.
DOES THE INCREASED AWARENESS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER?
It’s still not easy to convince companies to switch to a sustainable alternative because the cost will always be higher than the conventional option. But it is of course much easier now compared to when we started in 2015.
Back then plastic and styrofoam were everywhere. Today, more companies are sensitive to the expectations of today’s generation with regard to sustainability and the environment. This is especially true for bigger companies.
HOW MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE IS AN ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT COMPARED TO A CONVENTIONAL ONE?
Let’s take the typical plastic container for chicken rice. That costs 10 sen. Our whitecoloured paper packaging costs 30 sen.
For hawkers and small vendors, such a difference is significant and they’re less inclined to adopt this for obvious reasons. Bigger companies which can afford this will be more likely to consider it.
YOU OFFER A LOT OF ECO-FRIENDLY FOOD WARE BUT NOT PAPER STRAWS. WHY NOT?
We considered it and even thought about bringing in machines that make paper straws. But after doing some market research, we realised it’s not really viable due to costs. A paper straw is five to six times as expensive as plastic straws.
So many companies which want to be eco-friendly will rather not provide customers with plastic straws than to replace them with paper straws. Customers who are environmentally-conscious usually don’t have any objections to that.
WHAT ARE YOUR PRINCIPAL ROLES AS CEO?
When we started, of course you have to do everything. But over time, the role evolves. Today, I focus on setting the strategic direction of the company, corporate culture and the values that we hold.
DO YOU HAVE ANY LOCAL COMPETITORS?
Of course there are other manufacturers that make eco-friendly packaging. But we’re the only one that can make customised packaging. It requires special machines to do that.
WHAT’S THE MINIMUM ORDER FOR CUSTOMISED PRODUCTS? ARE ALL YOUR RAW MATERIALS SUSTAINABLY-SOURCED?
Yes, we get our raw materials from Finland which is very strict about how it manages forestation.
We also use eco-friendly coating on the paper. Instead of a plastic-based coating we have a plant-based coating. Being truly eco-friendly isn’t just about producing an end-product that’s eco-friendly; the raw materials must be so too.
DO YOU DO ANYTHING SPECIAL TO LEAD A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLYFRIENDLY LIFESTYLE?
I try my best to be environmentally-friendly but I’m not extreme about it. I do the usual things like bring my own bags when I do grocery shopping.
I have plenty of those in my car so I don’t ever have to use plastic. I also don’t take straws when I order my drinks.