KUANTAN – About eight years ago, this husband and wife only did business at food stalls and farmers’ market sites once a week to earn income to support their small family.
However, everything changed when Siti Sulekha Zakaria, 36, and her husband Rosmani Sapi, 42, were offered a business at the Serambi Teruntum Bazar Complex, highlighting the traditional products of the state of Pahang in addition to various other snacks including various chips, traditional cakes and beans.
The couple’s efforts to the three children turned out to be worth it when the business run through the company, Mim Rizqi Enterprise, received success, thus changing their lives.
“We started by selling baked tamago at the farmer’s market, at food stalls we also sold lekor crackers and around 2016, we were offered to do business at Serambi Teruntum by the Kuantan City Council.
“My husband and I just tried it because the location is the focus of tourists to get various food and craft products as handicrafts. Our attempt to change the fate of the family succeeded after doing business here,” he said when met Named at Serambi Teruntum Bazar Complex.
Commenting further, Siti Sulekha said that in order to further develop the business, she has also produced hampers containing food products synonymous with the Tok Gajah state for the past two years, which have been well received to the point of reaching a return of five figures a month.
He said, within a month, he received more than 80 orders for hampers from individuals, government and private agencies to be used as souvenirs which were sold at prices starting from RM50 to RM300.
“Usually when hampers often feature biscuits and fruit, but to find variety and for people who feel more special, we prepare hampers containing Pahang food products, among them sambal black, gula kabung, dodol gula kabung, tamban fish crackers, in addition to IKS products ( other small and medium industries) such as chips.
“To prepare the hamper depends on the customer’s request, if they have a lot of orders I have to take a long time to prepare and they can choose what products they want in the hamper.
“A lot of our income is contributed by the sale of hampers like this, especially in the run-up to Aidilfitri, I didn’t win hands to prepare it,” he said.
Likening his hamper business which highlights traditional Pahang food as a right step in venturing into the world of entrepreneurship, he is now able to be satisfied when he successfully opened another shop in Jaya Gading, earlier this year.
Siti Sulekha, who is from Selangor, also said that by using the Pahang product, she can also indirectly share her livelihood with other local entrepreneurs, including those from Jerantut, Lipis and Pekan who are her suppliers.
Choosing social media applications such as TikTok and Facebook as his marketing medium, he said the platform helped him a lot to promote his business because the average customer wants quality products in addition to neat and thorough hampers. – Named