October 2012

Java Bite Sweet Dried Fruit – A Sweet Treat!

Indonesia, Staff Story l
Image: Java Bite Sweet Dried Fruit – A Sweet Treat!

REI Indonesia Staff Member Brings PT. SunRei Food Products to U.S. Store

In 2009, Chuck Nicholson introduced PT. SunRei Food Products’ dried mangos to a U.S. grocery store. It was the first time the product had been sold commercially in the United States. A few years earlier, when Chuck first started talking to rural families in Tiron, Indonesia about drying mangos, their eyes narrowed at the idea. They had many questions including, “Why would anyone want to dry a mango?” and were puzzled by the dehydrating machines they had never before seen. Chuck was working with people with a 5th grade education, who had never ventured far from their village, and they questioned the notion of exporting dried mangos.