Turning a challenge into business opportunity

Nibou Industries keen to stamp its mark in F&b sector

AS an optimist, Jowin Goh Sze Swen sees the positive side of things even in difficult times.

“With all the challenges, I see opportunities to a point, my staff calls me ‘Miss Optimist’,” she says.

“I believe people do wonders when they face a challenge. For my business, it is more likely to be the challenge of sustainable packaging and people’s continuous awareness of health since it’s food that people consume,” she tells Starbizweek.

At the same time, she says one has to be bold and take on whatever challenges that come along.

For example, Goh says, she picked up marketing exposure even though she does not have any such experience. By just observing how things were being done in the marketing environment, she has excelled in it.

Goh is the chief executive officer of Nibou Industries (M) Sdn Bhd and mainly manages the Nibou Food & Beverage (F&B) division. The founders of the company were her mother, the late Sally Goh Kim Kiok, who was the CEO then, and Chan Ah Bow, who is the current managing director and chairman.

Established in 2004 in Bandar Sungai Long, Kajang, Nibou Industries has grown from a rented shop lot in 2011 to a key player in automation and F&B. With a focus on excellence, the company innovates to deliver quality products across its diverse portfolios. Spanning two divisions and four locations, the company is a homegrown small and medium enterprise (SME) with a dedicated team of 20 employees.

Goh says she picked up the ropes of marketing from her mother who always emphasised the importance of being an active listener, having the right attitude and focusing on details.

She says at the age of nine Goh described herself as her mother’s unofficial “personal assistant” who used to always follow her in and out of meetings. That’s when she realised the importance of listening to employees, which is one of the successful traits of any business, she stresses.

“Attitude and matter pertaining to details related to work are also vital. Since I was young, my mother had put most of her effort into cultivating me to have the right attitude and focus on the details.

“At the same time, you also need to be able to maintain confidentiality, organise effectively, and above all, be willing to learn and adapt. It’s a lot to take on but thanks to my mother, I managed to adopt the right work attitude and ethics at a tender age,” she adds.

Her decision to work at Nibou Industries part-time while she attended high school was made with the expectation that she would be treated as a regular employee – with the same struggles and all.

To some, Goh says this may have been a deterrent, but for her, this was the best way to learn about every single aspect of the business.

“Rather than going into the must-do mode, I will always share my ideas with the team and observe their reaction. Refine and pitch again till I see confidence on their faces. Getting the team to be confident will always be one of my priorities.

“One bold move was the DRINME rebrand image for one of the company’s products. When the current packaging was out, the staff and consumers liked it and the product was well received. This is the result of the willingness to try something bold,” Goh explains.

DRINME is a jelly drink and one of the core products of the company. It has three flavours – lemonade, mango and mix berries. The sale of this product is also fairing well in the market with over two million units sold annually in the last few years.

Besides this product, it also manufactures ready-made pudding, pudding powder, cordial and flavoured honey.

In terms of expansion, Goh says it will focus on strengthening its core division and its presence in the local market, and scale up its overseas existing markets in the Philippines and Brunei.

She says moving forward, she aims to integrate all resources to maximise its synergy.

“Being wild enough, I am more prone towards a diversification strategy rather than a backward or forward integration strategy. For instance, Nibou could be a resource hub towards aiding startups or potentially venture into a snack-tech integration business,” Goh says.

As for the company’s long-term vision, Goh says Nibou Industries strives to build beyond.

“It means we intend to step into a different industry if there’s an opportunity. As such, we are already preparing our talents by cultivating a learning environment within ourselves.

“One of the ways is by attending different industry events and relevant conventions. Additionally, on the management level, besides studying our talent pool, we are also in the process of beefing up our human resource system.

“This will ensure Nibou Industries can attract the right talent and help the company grow further,” Goh emphasises.

“Attitude and matter pertaining to details related to work are also vital. Since I was young, my mother had put most of her effort into cultivating me to have the right attitude and focus on the details.” Jowin Goh Sze Swen