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Lily Ong talks to six budding entrepreneurs of the food and beverage industry about what it takes to stir up a booming and successful business.
(L-R) Joshua Teoh, Cheah Chang Ming, Teoh Wee Kiat, Badrul Bahaman, Rich Tan, Afandi Oh
The Klang Valley is a thriving playground for the food and beverage (F&B) industry. Be it kiosks, cafés, canteens, food chain stores or even high-end restaurants, almost every neighbourhood has abundant dining establishment choices for the famished to refuel themselves regardless of the hour in the day. It is easy for aspiring entrepreneurs to think that the F&B scene is a lucrative business that requires minimum investment capital (thanks to a constant state of demand for food and drinks).
It is easy to think that as long as you have a spectacular chef cooking up a storm in the kitchen, you will do well. Truthfully, it takes a special kind of something to succeed in this fast-paced industry. An independent startup competing against multinational fast food chains or hotels will face an uphill battle because these entities have access to bountiful resources to push their outlets forward.
Think about it, a lot of patience and hard work are required to start up a F&B business and maintain it to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving clientele. The day-to-day responsibilities for a hands-on F&B entrepreneur encompass a wide range of tasks. Imagine the monumental effort it takes to motivate a brigade of employees every day to ensure your customers are constantly served with quality food and drinks that come out of your kitchen, topped with delivering impeccable service with a smile. There is also the need to monitor cost and review supplies and inventories, not to mention, the revision of your eatery’s menu from time to time so that everything is in tip-top condition. One might presume the idea of running an F&B empire is simply glamorous and effortless; but in actual truth,it is not.
In a bid to completely understand the inner workings of this field of business, we brought together a few of the city’s rising F&B entrepreneurs for this feature. The assembled individuals come from various backgrounds and age groups. Each restaurateur runs different categories of dining outlets. Their insights and experiences are invaluable to us as we try to find common links between them and what drives them to take the plunge into F&B.
A seasoned veteran in business amongst our gathered entrepreneurs is Rich Tan, founder of the successful PappaRich franchise which serves Malaysian cuisine in a comfortable environment. His drive to succeed in life is spurred on by the loss of his father at a young age. Despite his youthful appearance, Joshua Teoh from Malay-Indonesian cuisine specialty restaurant Dancing Fish, has been around the F&B block for over two decades. He rose through rank and file in several restaurants before striking it out on his own with the support of his mentor.
Also participating in this feature is Badrul Bahaman, one of the owners of Podgy & the Banker café in Sri Hartamas. Having experienced Melbourne’s lively coffee culture in the past as a student, starting up a café has always been a cherished ambition of Badrul’s.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Afandi Oh was set on starting his own business since young. He wasted no time in bidding for the rights to own the Kebab Turki Baba Rafi (KTBR) franchise in Malaysia after a year of research. Completing our eclectic ensemble are the minds behind the popular burger eatery MyBurgerLab – Chin Ren Yi, Teoh Wee Kiat and Cheah Chang Ming.
During our photo shoot, Wee Kiat and Chang Ming looked dapper in white shirts and slacks. Unfortunately, Ren Yi was unable to make it to the shoot. While our style crew fussed over their looks, the two young men busied themselves by talking shop or taking turns reading a copy of a business book that Chang Ming had brought along with him.
The photo shoot for this story was well underway when we discovered that most of our interviewees knew or have heard of one another. Badrul and Joshua, who were friends, immediately caught up on what’s new in their lives, as well as their mutual friends’, over coffee and snacks. Elsewhere, Afandi tentatively approached Rich Tan to request if they could take a photograph together for him to post in his Instagram account.
The warm spirit of comradeship shared between them all day long certainly made it easier for us at Malaysia Tatler to pick their brains on what it takes to thrive and survive in this business despite the odds.
To read the full story of our six tenacious F&B entrepreneurs, get a copy of Malaysia Tatler April 2013 issue, available on newsstands now or click here to purchase the digital version.
Photography: Kah Mun from Myth Studio; Art Direction: Allan Casal; Fashion styling: Azza Arif; Makeup: Chu Fan using Shiseido; Hair: Philex from Peekaboo Malaysia using Shiseido; Special Thanks: Intercontinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur
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Her 11 years at Malaysia Tatler has helped Lily level up from a shy introvert to a pseudo extrovert. She thinks the best thing about being the publication's Generation T and features editor is that she gets to meet inspiring individuals who represent #lifegoals to her. Lily's down time activities include geeking out on console games, devouring a good book (and some dark chocolates!) and singing karaoke. Indoor cycling is her new obsession at the moment. Follow her shenanigans on Instagram at @lilyongsl
