Raya goodies revive biscuit maker KHM foodies
KUALA LUMPUR: Food production company proprietor Wan Khairul Hakimin Wan Muhammad’s decision to help market a peer’s products almost cost him his business in December last year.
Then, thanks to a chance meeting with Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Dr Ameer Ali Mydin in January, Wan Khairul Hakimin – whose company KHM Foodies Sdn Bhd specialises in making and marketing a variety of biscuits and cookies – managed to turn his business around within three months, lending credence to the proverb, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“Actually my business was doing well on its own but last October, I wanted to market biscuits made by another company.
“But what happened was that the quality of their products was not the same… the biscuits they supplied were found to be infested with weevils.
“They were not produced by my company but marketed under my brand name,” he told Bernama when met at his factory at Section 16, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.
He said about 1,000 jars of biscuits supplied by the company concerned were found to have been attacked by weevils, adding that the situation went out of control when some customers shared their bitter experiences on social media.
“As a result of their negative publicity, our sales plummeted. Our brand crumbled. Previously, we used to make sales of RM300,000 to RM500,000 a month. But after the incident, it was hard to make even RM50,000.
“The situation became really bad… our agents disappeared and our workforce of 61 dwindled to 16,” said the 41-year-old entrepreneur who hails from Mentakab, Pahang.
He suffered further losses after he was cheated by others in some matters relating to the purchase of raw materials and goods.
This impacted his operating costs, to the extent of him facing difficulty paying his workers their salaries last December.
Unexpected meeting
Like the proverbial phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” Wan Khairul Hakimin refused to admit defeat and strived to find a way to revive the business he had started in 2014.
In January, the father-of-one attended a business programme and that was where he bumped into the managing director of Mydin.
“Datuk (Ameer) actually wanted to meet some other people but, by chance, I was also sitting at the same table. When he found out my company produced biscuits and cookies, he told me to bring some samples to his office the next day which I did.
“I brought 13 samples with me. He tasted them and liked them.
“He chose eight types of biscuits and cookies and instructed me to supply 60,000 jars to be sold at various Mydin supermarkets,” he said, adding that his products, marketed under the brand name Syafinie, hit the shelves of 46 Mydin outlets in March.
Sold at an affordable RM12.90 per jar, the biscuits and cookies were snapped up by buyers ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. Among the goodies produced by KHM Foodies that are available at Mydin supermarkets are cornflakes biscuits, oreo biscuits, German cookies, London almond cookies, pineapple tarts, chocolate chip nestum biscuits and strawberry thumbprint biscuits.
Stronger than ever
KHM Foodies also produces biscuits and cookies that are sold through agents as well as directly from the factory but under another brand name, One Cookies.
To avoid competition, the products marketed through agents are different from the ones sold at the Mydin supermarkets.
Wan Khairul Hakimin said KHM Foodies is now able to sell 25,000 to 30,000 jars of biscuits and cookies a month through its agents and sales generated by the company.
“These sales don’t include (KHM Foodies’) products marketed by Mydin,” he said, adding that he now has his hands full fulfilling the demand for his products.
Recalling the early days after embarking on his business in 2014, he said the biscuits and cookies were then made at his mother and sibling’s homes in Mentakab and Semenyih, Selangor, respectively.
Two years later, he opened his factory in Bandar Baru Bangi to scale up production following overwhelming market response and agents’ feedback.
Wan Khairul Hakimin now operates his factory with the help of his 16 full-time workers and 124 part-time employees, mostly school-leavers who completed their SPM recently. He also has 21,000 agents nationwide with some of them being single mothers.
“Their (agents) loyalty and enthusiasm have enabled me to achieve the success I’m enjoying now,” he added.