Source from (The Star Online): http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/SME/2013/07/22/The-taste-of-Raya-in-the-air-Ramadan-is-a-bumper-month-for-makers-of-traditional-treats.aspx
Published: July 22, 2013
Noraini believes in being hands-on in her business.
Noraini Ahmad, 57, started making traditional kuih-muih in her little kitchen in Desa Jaya, Kepong soon after she resigned from her job as an accounts clerk with British American Insurance.
“The decision to resign came about after I had my third child and since I was already into a multi-level marketing business and making a reasonable income from it, I thought why not,” said Noraini, adding that she had keen business acumen since she was in primary school.
“My father was very conservative and protective of me as I was the only girl in the family.
“While my brothers were sent abroad to further their education, my father was just content with me finishing my Malaysian Certificate of Education,” said Noraini, who started selling kuih lapis, bingka ubi, kuih koci and kuih talam at her husband’s workplace before she met a chef from the PJ Hilton.
“The chef liked my kuih so much that he offered a contract to buy kuih from me.
“I had to produce 200 pieces of five types of kuih on the first day,” said Noraini, who was overwhelmed with the order and decided to network the business and contract it out to other housewives.
Pouring it in: Fauziah of Kiosk Ole-Ole pouring gula Melaka into the dodol mix.
For Noraini, networking is crucial in order for her business to flourish.
“One must not think that they can do everything on their own, especially where business is concerned,” said the gutsy lady, who founded her company Noraini Enterprise at the age of 28.
As the volume grew bigger, from 4,000 pieces to 10,000 pieces of kuih a day, Noraini, who supplied the delicacies to 14 major hotels in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for 14 years said she became very tired after some time.
“It was difficult to cope with the growing volume and keeping good staff.
“Not only that, I saw myself neglecting my children at home,” said Noraini, who then decided that it was time for a change in her products, as kuih were perishable items.
Noraini wanted to supply Raya cookies instead.
Being well versed with Raya cookies and cakes because she used to give baking lessons to some older ladies in her teenage days, Noraini applied successfully to become the supplier of cookies for Jaya Jusco in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in the late 1980s.
“I applied similar business techniques that is networking for this as well.
“My first Raya, sales hit RM20,000,” said Noraini, who then supplied cookies to Uda Ocean and later Giant in USJ.
It was during this time when she changed her company name to Noraini Enterprise Sdn Bhd.
Currently, Noraini supplies Raya cookies to Giant, Uda Ocean, Pasaraya OTK, Tesco, Carrefour and Aeon Big, among others.
As business is about staying competitive and being innovative, Noraini’s sons took the lead in setting up a factory in Jalan Suria, Shah Alam and rebranding the company as Noraini Cookies Worldwide Sdn Bhd.
“Initially, we occupied one lot with floor space of 2,100sq ft, but realised that we needed more for storage and manufacturing. This eventually led to occupying another four lots and we incurred RM10,000 a month in rent,” said Noraini, adding that as business expanded, the desire to own a factory came to mind.
This materialised in 2008 when the company bought four lots for RM1.5mil, with floor space of 12,000sq ft in Jalan Marikh, Shah Alam.
An additional RM900,000 was pumped in for renovations just to expand another 4,000sq ft.
Currently nine years old, the company’s turnover hit RM2.3mil last year.
“The company has been experiencing a fall in revenue for the last few years and this was due to country’s economic crisis and the fact that we did not come up with new products to be competitive in the market,” she said, adding that the company is expecting a 20% growth this year, as new products have been introduced.
Last year’s Ramadan, the company produced 5.2 milliom cookies for both local and overseas market.
This year, Noraini’s production has topped 5.6 million cookies for Ramadan alone.
The company spent RM137,000 this year in research and development, which also included the purchase of new equipment and introducing new ranges of products like instant porridge, noodles and white coffee.
The company’s products are currently available in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Solomon Island, Maldives, China, Brunei, South Korea and Hong Kong, among others.
The company has plans to penetrate the United States and Japan.
Meanwhile, apart from the above, Noraini’s also produces premixed items like instant Laksa Penang, Kari Ikan, Tom Yam and Sambal.
Being a small and medium enterprise, the company faces various challenges in the course of its operations.
“It is easier to penetrate the overseas market as they are receptive towards Malaysian products, but it is tough to compete with other reputable local manufacturers like Julie’s and Munchy’s,” said Noraini, adding that manpower is also one of its main challenges.
Where manufacturing Raya cookies is concerned, the company is also looking at investing in new machinery for mass production and innovating new packaging for products.
Noraini’s is well-known for its signature jam tarts, which have been in the market for the last 20 years.
The company is also popular for its Double Chocolate Chip Stripe, Chocolate Nestum, Ghee Biscuits, Rainbow Sugee, London Almond and Almond Fruity cookies, apart from its more common GoodKiss and Butter Cookies.
The company has three retail outlets in Kajang, Old Klang Road and Johor.
Noraini’s Cookies Worldwide Sdn Bhd is located at No. 21, Jalan Marikh U5/174, Bandar Pinggiran Subang, 40150 Shah Alam.
Gooey goodness
Originating from Malacca, dodol, a popular Malay traditional dessert available during Ramadan and Hari Raya, has evolved over time and is now sold at local stores and hypermarkets.
Halim Samsuddin, 34, who founded Fauziah Karim Sdn Bhd in 1991 ventured into the dodol business as he realised the delicacy’s uniqueness and wanted to commercialise it.
“My mother, who is now in her late 50s made dodol for Ramadan and Hari Raya and at times she would also take orders from friends and relatives to cater for weddings and other events,” said the Kuala Lumpur-born Halim, who was raised in Malacca.
“This delicacy has been since the Malacca’s sultanate era.
“From then on, the delicacy could only be found in villages, which explains why it is special,” Halim said, adding that the main ingredients required to make dodol include gula melaka, glutinous rice flour and fresh coconut milk.
Halim explained that another reason why the dodol is unique is because it takes seven hours to produce it when hand-made.
Over time, it has become so popular that people demand dodol for various occasions, giving rise to the need to produce it on a daily basis.
Occupying a floor space of 6,000sqft, Halim’s dodol factory is located in Jambatan Duyung Melaka and has existed for the last 10 years.
Halim dumped in RM300,000 to set up his little factory.
The company produces two tonnes of dodol every month, but during Ramadan, production hits three tonnes.
The company’s turnover for 2012 was RM625,000 and this year it is targeting RM700,000.
“Production has increased this Ramadan as more companies want dodol for their hampers and giveaways,” said Halim, adding that this has become a trend in the last few years.
In terms of pricing, Halim said without packaging, dodol would cost RM25 per kilogramme.
“Pricing is affected when there is an increase in price of the main ingredients,” he said, adding that the company now supplies the delicacy to Giant, Tesco, Aeon and Mydin, among others with an average cost of RM5 to RM6 for a 200g packet.
The company currently has six retail outlets known as Kiosk Ole-Ole Fauziah Karim in Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, and also exports dodol to Singapore and Brunei.
“People generally like the dodol that we produce because it is not too sweet and it is fresh,” said Halim, adding that the company strives to maintain product quality through the iuse of strict procedures.
On whether there is any difference in taste when it is produced using equipment in the factory, Halim explained that the recipe for dodol is standard and every batch uses the same amount of ingredients, which is part of the company’s standard practice.
In terms of R&D, Halim said the amount needed is minimal.
Staffing, on the other hand, has always been the main concern for the company.
“It is difficult to get manpower.
“The turnover is relatively high because not many want to work in the production line.
“People keep on changing jobs because they do not have the right attitude and are not committed at work,” said the young entrepreneur, whose workers are mostly single mothers and the disabled.
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