From making drinks and coming up with flavours, Dk Nazurah Pg Abdul Malik, founder and Dk Naji’hah Pg Abdul Malik decided to concoct a business together to share their passion with others.
Founded in 2022, the two sisters came up with Bruvages when one of them was working as a graphic designer at a private company and had to edit an iced coffee poster design, Being a non-coffee drinker, she was curious about what it tastes like.
Ever since then, Dk Nazurah has experimented with homemade coffee, tasting different brands of coffee and coffee beans and developed a passion for it.
The 24-year-old would spend most of her time almost every day making coffee and had their close friends and family try out the drinks.
With her own knowledge and skills, Nazurah was encouraged by her sister Dk Naji’hah to start a business with her passion for coffee and making drinks.
The business idea began brewing in December 2021, including finalising the right ingredients for drinks and the design of the bottles, packaging, stickers and more.
Operations of the business began in May 2022 and they have since received good feedback from new and returning customers.
“We created this business because my sister wanted people to know why she loved the drinks she made. The name itself is actually brew-vages- a combination of brewing and beverages,” said Dk Naji’hah.
According to the Nazurah, she named it so that people would know that this business does not only offer coffee but other beverages as well and the ‘Bru’ in Bruvages also indicates the origin country of this business, Brunei.
The home business currently has three series of drinks: the Coffee Series, Fruity Series and Tea Series.
The Coffee Series offers Signature Coffee Latte, a taste of roasted coffee beans balanced with delicate sweetness and cream, frothed milk; Mocha Latte, a rich creamy taste with a hint of cocoa; and Sea Salt Cold Brew, a smooth and delicate cold brew topped with sea salt cream.
As for the Fruity Series, they offer the Strawberry Mint Fusion, a sparkling fresh strawberry drink with a hint of mint; Rose Limonade, an original thirst quencher; Sakura Grape, a sparkling rosy yoghurt drink complimenting their sweet homemade blackcurrant jam; and Watermelon Fusion, a sparkling fresh watermelon juice infused in lemon water.
The Tea Series currently only offers one flavour which is the Vanilla Mint Tea, a sweet vanilla-infused tea with a dash of mint.
Other than the drinks already listed, they also have a Non-Coffee Series for all the matcha lovers, the Iced Shaken Matcha, a mellow nutty matcha drink.
“We prefer our customers to try at least one of our products and the feedback we get is always overwhelming! Other small businesses have said that our nature of business is also unique and we are beyond grateful and proud that they can see that,” said the 27-year-old.
The price ranges for their beverages are from $3 to 45 maximum as the two youthpreneurs believe that affordability works with high quality for a great experience.
Bruvages at the moment is only selling online on Instagram @bruvages.
The two entrepreneurs also intentionally released their first combo with Jiaguarr, a gaming content creator on Tiktok, so that they could reach more also to the gaming community in Brunei.
“Not long after the first combo promotion, we gained loyal customers who ordered in packs of 20 almost every week. Among them are from Progresif, Baiduri and customers who ordered for their family and friends,” said the entrepreneur.
Like any other business, the sisters learnt the hard side of owning a business and that is to satisfy everyone’s taste of quality.
Not everyone likes strong coffee, or carbonated drinks but the duo tried to stay true to themselves and believe that their beverages and services are of the best quality and experience for their customers.
Receiving good responses from the market, the entrepreneurs are discussing opening up a small space for their customers to chill while getting their Bruvages cravings fixed.
Other than that, they will also be coming up with new products including a hi-tea combo and other munchies homemade by the founders.
Stay tuned with the siblings by giving them a follow on Instagram @bruvages because they will be releasing new beverages very soon.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
