Growing up, Nur Azimah Haji Mohd Efenddy is used to seeing her parents running their own business. Their patience and drive throughout the years have influenced her to take on the same path.
The 29-year-old started her business journey several years after graduating from college as she wanted to gather some experiences before her ‘Casual Coffee’ business debut.
During her gap years, she learned to be a barista, kitchen helper and did some customer service and office work. Not only she picked up some skills, but Nur Azimah also gained the confidence to handle things on her own.
Although there is still room for improvement, the youthpreneur has a clearer vision of what she wants to do now than she was a few years ago.
Her dream as a business owner and the birth of her brainchild Casual Coffee came to fruition if not from the support of her parents and family.
She started off small, serving coffee from home. Nur Azimah bought her own coffee machine and brewed coffees for her family and friends as trials which eventually turned into a money-making project.
“That’s when I started the idea of posting Casual Coffee on Instagram @casualcoffee.bn. To pursue my dream, I started coffee hopping with my friends and partners Bazz and Joshua from RC Maju,” she added.
Casual Coffee kicked off as an online business in December 2021 and since August 2022, it has been operating from its physical place at Aman Hills. What makes the café unique is that it is sharing a space with an autodetailing shop, RC Maju Auto Detailing Centre.
Nur Azimah sees her business as an avenue for people to come together and have conversations either over a cup of coffee or non-coffee drinks.
Casual Coffee gets its supplies of beans from local roaster KAPRA and locally grown Rosella tea base from Mori Farm.
The humble cafe sells various types of both caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages such as Mocha Latte, Hazelnut Latte, Matcha, Salted Caramel Latte, Iced Peach Tea and Iced Americano, among others with price ranges between $3 and $7.
They also have desserts sourced from several home-based businesses and bakeries whose menus will vary from time to time.
“By doing this, it is a way for us to share the space with others by selling their products and supporting each other’s business,” said the 29-year-old.
Nur Azimah further said that the café currently sells items which ingredients are easily available in Brunei and for them, it means better control of quality, and logistics as well as supporting other local entrepreneurs.
The cafe’s team is keen to put a smile on their customers’ faces with their positive words and quotes written on the takeaway cups.
“It makes us happy to see our customers posting it up on Instagram, knowing that it made their day and sharing some good reminders,” said the business owner.
Other than selling from their physical shop, they also occasionally do pop-ups and collaborate with other businesses.
As the business is still new, they are also looking forward to what the future holds for Casual Coffee. They hope to cater private events and look to serve light foods such as sandwiches, pastries, breakfast and hi-tea.
Taking one step at a time, Casual Coffee is hoping to build its brand and be one of the popular go-to coffee shops in the country.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
