Young Entrepreneurs Taste Success In Their Sandwich Venture

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – Where there’s a will, there’s a way. The success enjoyed by close friends cum business partners Fatin Nurjihan Burhanuddin and Fatin Wahidah Safiai is a worthy testament to the truth of this adage.

The owners of Banat Sandwich Enterprise, which they established in 2017 with a capital of only RM1,000, are now going places and raking in sales of not less than RM10,000 every month.

The girls, who are in their late-20s and reside in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, first made their mark in business back in 2016 when they were in the third year of their studies at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in Nilai and decided to make and sell sandwiches to their fellow university mates to earn some “pocket money”.

They started with egg and sardine sandwiches which they sold at an affordable price of RM1 each. Soon their tasty sandwiches became a big hit, enabling them to make a profit of about RM400 a month.    

Interestingly, Fatin Nurjihan and Fatin Wahidah – who were studying at USIM’s Faculty of Quranic and Sunnah Studies – applied Islamic principles in their fledgling business by hiring fellow students who wanted to earn some extra money as part-time workers, and sharing their profits with them.  

Today, Banat Sandwich Enterprise is well-known on social media with most of its customers based in Nilai and Seremban, as well as Bangi and Shah Alam in Selangor.

Spurred by their success, the two young entrepreneurs – who are currently operating on the online food delivery model – have set their sights on opening a premium sandwich café in Bandar Baru Nilai in the near future.

 

Recalling the inception of their sandwich business, Fatin Nurjihan said she and Fatin Wahidah hit on the idea of selling sandwiches on their campus after realising they were popular with most students who just wanted to grab a bite whilst going about their daily busy schedule.

“It so happened that at that time the USIM Students Association supported the efforts of undergrads who wished to start a business to earn an income. At our faculty, for example, the rental was only RM8 a month for a special space to do business… we certainly didn’t want to waste that opportunity,” she told Bernama.  

She said she and her “business partner” Fatin Wahidah would wake up at 4 am to prepare the sandwiches so that they were ready for sale well before classes began.

“It was not easy as we were still studying but we persevered,” she added.

After completing their studies in 2017, the two friends decided to go full-time into the business by setting up Banat Sandwich Enterprise, using the money they had earned while on campus as their initial capital.

They are now renting two houses in Nilai where the sandwiches are prepared daily with the help of four workers. They also have seven part-time riders, all USIM students, to deliver the sandwiches to their customers.

Commenting on the name of their company. Fatin Nurjihan said ‘banat’ is the Arabic word for daughter.

“We chose the word ‘banat’ to highlight the entrepreneurial spirit of women who wish to make a mark in the food industry which is dominated by men,” she explained.

 

Banat Sandwich Enterprise currently offers a range of sandwiches, the most popular ones being Chicken BBQ, Tunalicious, Hot Mackerel, Eggcellent and Chicken Slice. The sandwiches are packed in large boxes (each containing 24 sandwiches with different fillings and priced at between RM43 and RM75) and small boxes (each with four different sandwiches and priced at between RM8 and RM14).

Fatin Wahidah, meanwhile, said they are able to sell up to 1,000 boxes a month and during festive periods such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, sales could escalate to 100 boxes a day.

She said the raw ingredients used for making the sandwiches are of premium grade and that the sauces for marinating the chicken and meat fillings are made from scratch based on recipes they both created.

“We use imported premium meat which we buy from a wholesaler we have known for some time as we are very particular about the quality of the meat we use. To ensure the quality of our products, we have in place standard operating procedures involving the selection of raw materials and the making of the sandwiches,” she added.

Meanwhile, USIM Faculty of Economics and Mualamat senior lecturer Dr Muhammad Iqmal Hisham Kamaruddin said undergraduates who are given the opportunity to try their hand at business will not only be able to hone their soft skills but also be exposed to the current state of society as well as the industry.

The experience will help them to be better prepared to enter the job sphere after they graduate, he added.     

He praised various initiatives taken by the government to encourage more students to be involved in business, one of them being the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (CCM) Prihatin business registration scheme (SPPP) that exempts B40 youths, undergraduates and single mothers from paying the registration fee when registering their businesses.

“SPPP also provides other benefits pertaining to the rental of business premises and building a business portfolio. Under the scheme, undergrads are also encouraged to continue operating their businesses even after they have graduated,” he said.

CCM is reported to have approved 2,148 business registration applications since SPPP was introduced in December 2020. It expects 30,000 entrepreneurs to benefit from the scheme this year.

Muhammad Iqmal Hisham opined that students who run their own businesses on their campus are likely to be of service to their fellow students in line with the Malaysian Family Aspirations (Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia or AKM) that highlight the elements of inclusion, togetherness and gratitude.

“Students who have their own ventures on the campus often sell goods and services at affordable rates to other students. They will also usually pay their fellow students to help them run their businesses. Such businesses, therefore, are beneficial to everyone, more so because they are run in line with the three key elements the government wishes to espouse through AKM,” he added.

As part of efforts to enhance public awareness of AKM, the government has implemented the AKM Tour programme as a continuation of the 100-day Malaysian Family Aspirations programme.

Ipoh was the venue for the AKM Tour programme earlier this month. The next edition of the tour will take place in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, from July 14 to 16.

 

Translated by Rema Nambiar

BERNAMA