Frederic So: The Architect of Asia’s Food Ingredient Revolution

Frederic So as Group CEO of Savoures Group Sdn Bhd & Founder of Oriental Reliance Ingredient (M) Sdn Bhd

From a humble roadside stall to the helm of Asia’s innovation table, Frederic So Kee Kok’s story isn’t the one born in an ivory tower, but it’s a journey carved out in trenches. As the founder of Oriental Reliance Ingredient (M) Sdn Bhd and the Group CEO of Savourés Group Sdn Bhd, Frederic’s journey reflects a potent cocktail of vision, resilience, relentless hard work, and a dash of audacious belief that has transformed and elevated Asia’s food culture to a new height.

Where Grit Meets Gastronomy: The Making of a Food Visionary

As a young boy, Frederic’s childhood was spent helping his mother at a roadside food stall. Watching the flavours come to life in a boiling cauldron, he learned early on that food wasn’t just sustenance—it was a narrative woven in relentless passion and hard work. Carefully arranging condiments and interacting with customers taught him the rhythms of service, the intuition of flavour, and the ethics of hard-earned success. Those early visceral memories of the scent of spices mingling with raw fish seasoned his instinct, enriched his understanding of raw ingredients, and deepened his respect for culinary practices. 

Yet beyond the aromas and flavours, those early days planted in him something deeper: resilience. A quiet, stubborn strength that would become the backbone of his grit —first in small-scale food entrepreneurship, and later, in steering Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing integrated food ingredients platform.

Frederic’s journey isn’t just about scaling a business; it’s a masterclass in bridging worlds: East and West, tradition and innovation, micro-enterprise and global ambition. His climb from the ground up was not about escaping humble beginnings, but honouring them with every step forward.

The Spark: Structured Precision Meets Culinary Passion

Frederic’s early career began with a Japanese food ingredients company in Malaysia. There, he absorbed more than just technical know-how—he mastered the values of discipline, operational excellence, and the art of detail. “Those years shaped me. The Japanese system taught me to respect the process, not just the product,” he reflects.

But it was a subsequent decade-long engagement in France that added a critical dimension to his career: artistry and regional specialization. Working for a French multinational, he became the vital bridge, leading pivotal projects, which involved facilitating complex technology transfers from Europe to Asia. This process culminated in the establishment of the company’s first regional manufacturing site in Malaysia —a feat requiring both technical mastery and cross-cultural acumen. Later, tasked with replicating this success in Shanghai, he gained a rare insider experience of witnessing the dynamic evolution of Asia’s explosive food ingredients solutions. This unique dual exposure, where Japanese precision meets French culinary artistry and European technical standards, became the bedrock of Frederic’s transformative vision.

The Genesis of Oriental Reliance: Innovation from the Ground Up

In 2018, Frederic returned to Malaysia—not to replicate the West, but to reinvent the East. Returning to his homeland, Frederic didn’t just start a company; he identified white space. He launched Oriental Reliance Ingredient, a venture that swiftly carved its niche through pioneering innovations. He introduced non-bleeding natural colours, formulated without PGPR, and launched Pangasius Surimi Fish protein—the first of its kind to be exported commercially to Japan. These breakthroughs were not accidental; they were the embodiments of his profound technical expertise, an innate instinct for identifying and utilising untapped market opportunities, and an unwavering drive to lead food innovation. 

Frederic’s commitment extended beyond the product; he focused on building intellectual property, crafting customer-centric solutions, and ensuring technical precision—a meticulous approach that distinguished him in an industry often driven solely by volume. This dedication laid the groundwork for a transformation that was technically exact, regionally rooted, and globally ambitious.

Building an Integrated Powerhouse: The Savourés Group Story

The next chapter of Frederic’s entrepreneurial journey began with an invitation from Creador, a renowned private equity firm, to advise on Asia’s specialty food ingredient market. Impressed by his astute insights, Creador engaged Frederic as Group CEO of Savourés Group. Simultaneously, Oriental Reliance Ingredient (M) Sdn Bhd, his brainchild, was invited to co-invest, conceptualizing an innovative business model designed to elevate homegrown ingredient manufacturers onto the global stage.

In 2021/22, Savourés Group was founded with a clear and compelling mission: to become Asia’s leading One-Stop Specialty Food Ingredients (SFI) Platform, uniting expert food manufacturers and processors to deliver seamless, integrated ingredient solutions for the global food and beverage industry. True to its name, Savourés captures the very heart of what the Group stands for — the art and joy of not just creating great food but the heartwarming satisfaction of seeing others savour it.

At the helm is Frederic, a seasoned leader in the food ingredients space with decades of international experience driving innovation, transformation, and growth. His vision is to build a collaborative ecosystem that empowers SFI companies to scale, evolve, and lead — not only in Asia but on the global stage.

Under his leadership, Savourés is more than an investment platform; it is a true growth partner. The Group supports SFI companies at critical stages by investing in advanced manufacturing, R&D, and intellectual property development, while also accelerating innovation in product formulation, application, and process technology. By expanding marketing capabilities and optimising operational scalability, Savourés helps its partners unlock their full potential.

Frederic’s expertise and sharp industry foresight shape Savourés’ strategic direction. With an intimate understanding of current market needs and emerging trends, he is building a high-performance team of food scientists and food-tech specialists dedicated to developing high-functioning ingredients — from premium coatings and seasonings to sauces and customised flavour systems. This robust bench strength ensures that innovation, consistency, and taste remain at the forefront of everything Savourés delivers.

Today, Savourés serves a diverse clientele across the entire food ecosystem — from large-scale manufacturers and quick-service restaurants to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. With an unwavering focus on science, technology, and flavour innovation, Savourés is setting new benchmarks in the SFI space — helping partners craft food experiences that are not only delicious but truly memorable.

Not Just Ingredients—Total Transformation

What sets Savourés apart is its ability to translate this structure into value. In just three years, the Group brought together Orion Food Industries (coatings & batters), SC Food Industries (ambient sauces), CA Flavor (heat-stable flavours), Mark’s Food Solutions (frozen and ready-to-cook), and OFV, creating a vertically integrated powerhouse.

Frederic’s strategy wasn’t just acquisition—it was alchemy. Each entity retained its soul while contributing to a larger, more agile, and innovation-driven collective. “We’re not merging companies,” Frederic often says, “we’re merging capabilities.”

A prime example? When a major QSR chain needed to replicate a single fried chicken experience across multiple ASEAN markets, Savourés didn’t just supply spice blends—it re-engineered the entire solution. Orion Food Industries developed the coating, CA Flavor tailored the spice blend, SC Food supplied ambient-stable sauces, and the entire kitchen SOP was re-engineered for operational precision, including integration of frozen components. The result was a whopping 30% faster market launch and a 20% operational efficiency boost. That’s not a service—it’s a testament to the Group’s end-to-end mastery of culinary science.

This “kitchen-to-industry” philosophy is at the core of Frederic’s innovation model. Heritage recipes aren’t lost in translation—they’re scaled with integrity. Gluten-free, aluminium-free, oil-reducing systems—these aren’t just trends for Savourés. They are the outcomes of an R&D mindset that seeks not just to catch up with the world, but to shape where it’s going.

In an industry constantly grappling with the dual demands of authenticity and adaptability, Savourés has found its equilibrium. Frederic articulates their unique approach as the “engineering of authenticity”—preserving the emotion and flavour of heritage dishes while adapting them for industry excellence. “We’re not just supplying ingredients. We’re engineering authenticity at scale,” Frederic states. 

Leadership with a Human Core: “No One Gets Left Behind”

The proof is in the performance. In just three years, Savourés achieved a staggering fivefold growth in PATMI and EBITDA. But, despite all its technical prowess, Savoures’ philosophy is anchored in a deeply human culture.

At the core of Frederic’s leadership is the philosophy of “self-appreciation management,” a people-first approach ensuring every employee, from junior staff to senior leaders, recognizes their intrinsic potential. His favorite maxim, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great,” distils a lifetime of hard-earned wisdom. This conviction, more than an ethos, has inspired the values of growth, inclusion, and perseverance and enabled Savourés to scale rapidly while maintaining a cohesive, high-performing team across diverse cultures.

Redefining Innovation for the Decade Ahead

Looking ahead, Frederic envisions Savourés as more than a market leader. He sees it as a movement—anchored in ethics, powered by science, and scaled through synergy. As a leader, he dreams of a future where sustainability, agility, and impact converge.

A cornerstone of this vision, a dedicated Technical Innovation and Research Centre, uniting R&D and I&R teams, is in the pipeline to accelerate both unique breakthroughs and current offerings. A Financial Shared Services Centre is also underway to streamline and future-proof operations across the platform’s expanding regional footprint.

But Frederic’s most compelling ambition lies in unifying ESG with innovation into his business models — not as a compliance tool, but as a growth driver. From ethical sourcing and waste minimisation to energy-efficient production systems, sustainability is not an afterthought—it’s a directive. “It’s not just about efficiency or scale,” he says. “It’s about combining food science with culinary art to create ingredient solutions that are meaningful, sustainable, and globally relevant.”

A Fast-Growing Force, Recognised and Ready

This remarkable trajectory has never gone unnoticed. In 2025, Savourés Group was recognised in the Fast Enterprise category at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards under the Industrial and Commercial Product Industry segment — a testament to its clear vision and trailblazing model for Asia’s food ingredient landscape. Yet for Frederic, every accolade is mellowed by his humility. “Awards are validation. But our true reward is when clients trust us to solve problems they couldn’t solve before,” he notes.

The Legacy in Motion

Frederic So Kee Kok has come a long way from that roadside stall. But the humility, hunger, and humanity he cultivated became the compass for every aspiration and decision that followed. 

In a world where the food industry is racing to balance heritage with health, authenticity with agility, and science with soul—Savourés stands out not merely as a company but as a movement. And at its heart is a man who believes in people as much as he believes in progress.

“We’re not building an empire,” Frederic exclaims, “We’re building an ecosystem—one that feeds not just markets, but futures.”