Praveen Kumar

When high-profile, celebrity chef Praveen Kumar wanted to launch his own range of restaurant-standard Indian meals, getting the packaging right was one of his top priorities. “There’s no point offering the best meals on the market if the packaging is sub-standard” explains Praveen. “Everything about my product is of the highest quality; the ingredients are all carefully sourced, whether from local suppliers or from my family spice farm in India. To then seal this fabulous food in a nasty plastic tray just like every other ready meal was not an option. I needed my packaging to be high-quality, different and, most importantly, sustainable, and that is where Bullseye came in.” Via a mutual contact at one of Bullseye’s British distributors, Tri-Star Packaging, the Bullseye team met with Praveen at his (frequently sold-out!) Indian Cook School at his home in Perth where Praveen wowed Bullseye with his vision and Bullseye wowed Praveen with their packaging. “What struck me first when I saw and handled the packaging was the quality. The trays are so robust and well-made. I remember when Peter & Alex first visited it was in the depths of a Scottish winter and the driveway of my house was frozen over. We sealed some of my meals in the packaging for testing and, whilst carrying a stack of them from the Cook School in my garden over to the house, my poor wife slipped and dropped them all. Fortunately, she was fine! But remarkably so were the meals; not a single tray broke, not a single seal split. An unintentional test with an amazing result!” The story of Praveen’s business is one of significant, and quick, growth. When he started out in January 2019 he was cooking, filling, sealing and shipping his meals from his Cook School. Just a few short months later, however, his business grew to such an extent that he secured his own central kitchen and packaging unit, and Bullseye was there to help him in the move. “When I first started, even though I was a small producer at that stage, Bullseye were so supportive in making this project work. They were always at the end of the phone if I needed help or advice and made several trips all the way to Perth just to check in with me and help out as I looked for new opportunities for growth and development. As my business grew that support was vital as I needed to switch from my manual sealing machine to a semi-automatic option to meet demand. Bullseye’s machinery is so easy to use, produces a superb seal on the trays and their continued support is second-to-none.”

For more information on Praveen Kumar talk to Bullseye Food Packaging