KUALA TERENGGANU: The economic downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic saw many businesses forced to close shop and lay off workers, but a woman entrepreneur in Terengganu took a bold step by opening another bakery branch.
Ziq Bakery & Cake Sdn Bhd managing director Suzana Salleh (pix) said she opened the latest branch in Gong Badak, Kuala Nerus in October last year and has managed to provide 16 job opportunities to local youths.
“Opening a new branch with a capital of RM500,000 is no piece of cake, but I am confident that the cake, bread and pastry industry will be able to flourish in the near future, moreover, the public’s needs for halal and thoyyiban (safe to consume) products are increasing.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the economy, but on the upside, it forced entrepreneurs to be more creative, daring to change business models to suit the current situation and willing to try new strategies to survive while maintaining the company’s employees,“ she said when met by Bernama here today.
As the first premium cafe bakery in Terengganu, the new branch provides a spacious dining and drinking area displaying a variety of cakes, breads and pastries of international taste, thanks to Suzana’s experience in attending courses organised by several chefs abroad including Russia, Japan, Korea, Italy, United States and United Kingdom.
Despite being severely affected by a drop in sales by more than 80 per cent during the recent implementation of Movement Control Orders (MCO) 1.0 and 2.0, Suzana said the company decided to diversify its products in various ways.
“We produce more affordable cake, bread and pastry products as well as provide home delivery services to facilitate customers and introduce employee rotation system to save company management costs.
“Social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are fully utilised to make live broadcasts of cake and bread making in order to increase customer confidence as well as advertise the advantages of our premises in terms of food hygiene and halal status from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia.
“Thankfully, once the government allowed interstate travel during RMCO last year, sales began to soar, allowing us to recover the losses suffered a few months before that,“ said Suzana who currently has 60 employees.
She hoped that the Covid-19 pandemic would stabilise so that Ziq Bakery & Cake’s plans could be carried out according to the targeted schedule, including nationwide promotions, organising various cake making courses for the poor and orphans as well as skills upgrading among the company’s staff.- Bernama
