By Aqilah Maisarah Madhi
Sugarandberries, owned by Ajibah Mohamad, 30, is a well-known dessert shop in Kuching that began by selling pavlova.
Ajibah started this business in 2014 as a side hustle while pursuing her accounting degree at UiTM.
After she completed her degree, she continued to run her business part-time while also working in an office.
She decided to step down from her office job in 2017 as she felt her dessert business has a lot of potential to grow and gain more market share as people began to utilise social media more in their daily lives at the time. She also said that she makes more money selling desserts.
Her inspiration for starting a dessert-based business comes from her personal passion and love for dessert.
Sugarandberries earned its name from the ingredients of pavlova, which are primarily sugar and berries.
Sugarandberries’ specialties include customised cakes and its best-selling pavlova. Aside from that, there are birthday cakes, wedding cakes, and seasonal desserts such as cookies for festive seasons such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, and Christmas.
Ajibah also revealed that she has a special product, which she is currently the only one selling — ‘cornflakes gula apong’.
“Our ‘cornflakes gula apong’ are receiving a favourable response from our customers, who compare them to Garrett Popcorn, a popular popcorn brand from Chicago, Illinois,” she said.
When asked about her business during COVID-19, she said that when the movement control order (MCO) was first implemented, all of her customers called her to cancel their orders.
“My business struggled for the first few months due to a lack of sales. However, luckily there is a moratorium that can help to reduce my commitments,” she said. Her business gradually recovered as the MCO began to relax.
When asked how she plans to keep her business relevant in a changing world, she said that she will always seek to meet her customers’ demands by keeping up with the continuously changing trends.
She also said that customers usually want trendy designs, therefore they will always need to level up their creative skills.
Ajibah tries to adapt to what her customers want and providing exceptional customer service is another approach to make her business relevant.
If she is unable to execute a design in particular cakes requested by a customer, she will try to negotiate a solution that is acceptable to both parties.
Besides ‘cornflakes gula apong’, she said ‘pandan gula apong’ and double chocolate cake are also popular.
Sugarandberries does not have a physical store at the moment, but it does have a production studio in Metrocity, Matang.
Ajibah said that she began her business at home and that after two years of working full-time as a businesswoman, she was able to open her production studio with one full-time employee and three part-time employees.
Sugarandberries has been actively promoting its business on social media, particularly Instagram.
“It is important since, nowadays, everyone has at least one social media account, and people have a strong preference for shopping online. They will use social media to look for items to purchase.”
Sugarandberries often participates in pop-up booth events. This Christmas and New Year, Ajibah and her team rented a booth at Aeon Mall Kuching till January 1.
She said that Sugarandberries has piqued the interest of many people, particularly the elderly, because the majority of them do not have access to a social media platform where they may scroll through various brands and shops. When they see something new and interesting in a mall, they may want to have a look and even buy something.
Sugarandberries also works with Affogato café. Ajibah said that they launch combo promos practically every week or every two weeks.
They create combo menus that are in stock, making it easy for customers since they are not pre-ordered.
Ajibah also said that she is motivated to continue doing her business because of how far she has come since 2014.
Her family, especially her mother and husband, have been her rock when she has felt discouraged.
She also advises to keep thinking positively, to remain strong, and to keep going without looking back.
She also suggests that anyone interested in ordering a cake from Sugarandberries, especially a customised cake, do so at least 3-5 days in advance, depending on slot availability.
However, she advises ordering a wedding cake a few months in advance because there are many elements to prepare as they are a certain type of item that must be pre-ordered.
People can place their orders using WhatsApp and via Instagram.
• This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
