Waznah, Wafiy, Izzat and Khaliq, bonded over their love for a good and frothy cup of Teh Tarik that would ultimately launch their journey as co-founders of NyampaTea.
The homegrown business began in 2023 with a simple idea to deliver consistent and quality grab-and-go teh tarik beverages after the four friends spotted a gap in the market.
Seeing the potential business opportunity, the husband-wife co-founders Abdul Wafiy Haji Adanan, Siti Waznah Bazilah Haji Md Daud and their friends, Mohammad Izzat Afifi Hassan and Abdul Khaliq Arifin began their meticulous research and development.
“Before doing Nyampatea, all of us were business enthusiasts who wanted to open up a proper business. Due to other commitments, it took us months of discussions and exploring possibilities before we finally decided to open up a food & and beverage business,” Waznah shared.
From the idea stage to full production, Waznah said that they spent several months perfecting the formula, going through different tea profiles and ingredients to create their signature Teh Tarik.
Waznah explained that the founders chose to name their drink “NyampaTea” because it was a creative combination of the Bruneian word “sampati” or “menyampati” with tea.
It was only in March last year that the start-up introduced its first series of ready-to-drink Teh Tarik beverages to the public at the Ramadhan pop-up stall at Lapau.
“Currently, we are serving Teh Tarik with a fusion blend of other fillings such as coffee, pearls, grass jelly and cheese,” Waznah shared.
In the months since its first launch, NyampaTea has already made quite a splash, garnering positive reviews from its customers.
“We have been receiving incredible feedback on our branding and products. The feedback really helped boost our belief in our brand and we will also continue to serve and introduce interesting product lines soon,” the youthpreneurs shared.
Although new to the food and beverage industry, the friends had always dreamt of starting a venture of their own and with the start of NyampaTea, they have grown with the business over the months, learning and trying out new things along the way.
“One of our most valuable lessons is probably proper planning. Especially in the costing versus quality area. Because quality comes with a cost. And we never wanted to jeopardize quality. But it’s at the detriment of our revenue or profit.,” Waznah shared.
“With that, we are slowly learning to build supplier relationships, and plan better for lead time for packaging supplies and utilize on credit purchases,” she added.
Waznah highlighted that the budding entrepreneurs also attended several pop-up events and workshops to further expand their business branding.
“Another valuable lesson is the importance of seizing any opportunity out there. Especially for young businesses like ours, we had the opportunity to join workshops, events, and pop-ups such as DARe Bootcamp and Consumer Fair will help in brand awareness during the introductory phase.,” she said.
According to the 28-year-old, social media has also played a big part in NyampaTea’s business journey.
“We have approached influencers such as Brunei Food Diary; it has helped boost our sales and increase followers’ count. Other than that, digital advertising such as sponsor ads have also helped with customer engagement and expand our customer reach,” she highlighted.
Waznah further noted that their success did not come easy and that the lack of production space and manpower was very challenging for the co-founders.
“During the first few months of opening, it was the most challenging and difficult period of our establishment, primarily due to the lack of space and manpower to execute critical operations and logistics.,” she further explained.
“Eventually, we managed to slowly improve our ways of working (more efficiently) and started delegating the operational task within the team,” she added.
Despite the ups and downs that launching a business can bring, the four friends shared that they have been on the same page throughout their business journey.
It takes teamwork and passion to overcome the challenges, she shared.
The homegrown business took a big step by opening its first branch and kiosk at The Mall Gadong on the third floor and further expanded its location.
By August 2023, the friends officially opened its doors to customers at the Yayasan Food Street,
“We closed down our Mentiri branch as we now are planning to relocate to a more suitable location,” Waznah explained.
When asked why they chose each location, she said, “We chose these current locations because of its busy, crowded nature and its potential to reach out to new customers.”
As the business grows, the future looks bright for Waznah, Wafiy, Izzat and Khaliq are looking to the future, and how to expand their brand presence and menu beyond Teh Tarik.
“Our next big step is to introduce food in our menu as Teh Tarik is best served with food,” she shared
“We may look like a Teh Tarik brand, but we also aim to be like those fast-food chains but with a ” teh tarik and nasi bungkus” concept,” she expanded.
Further down the road, the four friends are also planning to open at least two dine-able locations where they could serve not only their signature Teh Tarik series and but also introduce food to their menu for everyone to enjoy
When launching a business, the four youthpreneurs advise budding entrepreneurs to find out what they love and are passionate about and not be afraid to take on challenges.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
