Seeing the potential of their side business making mocktails and Mexican cuisine, two friends decided to do the venture for a full time and started their own food and beverage brand, Moistjito.
Sheikh Muhammad Aiman Haji Sheikh Mohamad and Muhammad Nasrun Nizar Saifulbahri began the home-based business in 2017 whose initial plan was to raise funds for their expenses during their UBD Discovery Year.
For them, getting into the entrepreneurial scene at that time was a reasonable approach and so they took part in several pop-up markets which were quite well-known back then.
“We were heavily influenced by the scene, and I had been making mojitos for family events which became popular amongst the households which were shortlisted and became the first product we ever sold,” said Aiman.
Starting their journey as entrepreneurs, their first pop-up was during the annual Sahur Saturday during Ramadhan which was also participated by some of their university friends who had their own businesses.
What was thought of as something on the side in the beginning, the youthpreneurs knew that they are determined to continue with the business regardless of where their individual career would take them.
Moistjito specialises in mocktails and Mexican cuisine with the goal of one-day opening multi outlets in the country and having sustainability as part of their corporate identity.
“Fast forward to the present it became our full-time job as now we’ve come to fully realize how much potential the business actually has and we named the business after my co-founder’s nickname and also our signature product, mojito,” said the 25-year-old.
Aiman also shared that when they first started, their budget was around $30 and had no business background. But for him, with great determination and the know-how to creating opportunities, they believe anyone can set off on their entrepreneurial journey and become successful on their own terms.
Mojito is located in Mulaut, Ban 6, Jalan Limau Manis and is currently operating for dine-in, takeaway and they offer live catering and pop-up events and delivery service is available through GoMamam and HU Onestop.
“We started off with selling mocktails up until late 2018 when our friends proposed for us to start selling burritos. We then started selling it together and ever since then the mocktail and Mexican food became the perfect pairing for us,” said the youthpreneur.
On their menu, they have eight different mocktail options such as Mat Lotus, a taste of biscoff milkshake topped with butterscotch whipped cream; Mojito, a balance of lime, mint and soda; Fruit Punch, a sparkling mixture of moist fruit syrup with orange slice and mint.
More choices of mocktails include butterbeer, butterscotch rootbeer with magical whipped cream; Pina Colada, signature creamy blend of coconut and pineapple; IOS, apple, lime and mint in bubbles; Passionade, sweet and sour combination of passionfruit and line with fresh notes of mint and lastly, Kiwious, a premium fusion of fresh kiwi, pineapple, lemon and mint soda.
For their food menu, they have burritos and tacos with choices of beef or chicken and their best selling would be the chicken burrito and also mojito.
The shop menu for mocktails ranges from $5 to $5.50 whereas the food costs from $3 to $8 and there are also meal options.
The two entrepreneurs believe that their products are unique whereby only a handful of businesses in the country sell mocktails and specialises in Mexican food at the same time, a bonus for them.
Another key part of their ethos is their sustainability in the business by avoiding or minimising single-use plastics in their products.
For that green initiative, they would reward customers who return their mocktail jars at $0.50 per item, recycle their aluminum cans as well as outsource ingredients from local farmers whenever they can to reduce carbon footprint.
The shop is run by locals comprising of graduates and students with some 16 full-time and part-time staff.
Furthermore, the youthpreneurs are currently doing a few experiments on the side as they want to keep expanding Moistjito. Once they move to a bigger space and perfected the menu, they are hoping to officially release them.
“We also have our off-menu items: the birria burritos and tacos which are available for dine-in only. We have teased them via our Instagram story which had sparked interest amongst our viewers,” said the entrepreneur.
One of the main challenges that the two boys encounter in this business is the shortage of supplies, especially when their menu is high in demand.
It is very important to them from the start to source ingredients that are easily found in the local market and to have multiple suppliers that are reliable.
The two business owners did not initially imagine that they would become business owners, but they are grateful to have taken that leap of faith.
“There has never been a more dire time to start a business than now, especially with the rise of digitalisation and social media. These can be important tools of inspiration and innovation to help you start your business,” said the business owner.
They have come this far from their own hard work with the support of the people around them and it is crucial to be surrounded by people whom they trust to keep moving forward.
Head over to @moistjito on Instagram and TikTok to see the food and drink gallery that they offer or visit their shop to have a taste of their mocktails and burrito and tacos.
This article was first published on 02 April 2022 in our Weekly Epaper issue 187 |
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
