How are the local food businesses community affected by COVID19 situation in Malaysia?
2020 hits the world unexpectedly, no one was expecting or was prepared for the world to evolve more towards virtually so rapidly. Within a year, most physical activities and business transactions are closed and we are still expecting it to stay that way for a while longer. One of the most affected communities in Malaysia is the SMEs community. SME’s are also better known as small-medium sized enterprises or businesses. Specifically in Malaysia we have seen a lot of SMEs with various sectors such as services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and mining and quarrying. I will talk specifically about the food local business community in Malaysia. I think they are one of the communities that has been affected the most as SMEs because they usually require physical restaurants to operate and generate a source of income.
https://www.smecorp.gov.my/index.php/en/policies/2020-02-11-08-01-24/sme-statistics
The reason behind this is because Malaysia was not prepared for the world to come to a halt regarding this aspect. More often than not local food businesses have always done it traditionally which is by selling their goods physically. Traditionally it serves the purpose of their businesses but ever since the pandemic COVID-19 hit Malaysia; the government has been enforcing MCO which is forcing the business community to embrace a new norm and to rapidly adapt to new ways of doing business. MCO didn’t allow for local food businesses to operate as it usually would have dine-in restaurants, instead the government only allowed for these businesses to either do a takeaway or delivery. Even though food delivery services were already being widely used across the country, they still didn’t really reach the niche market of local food businesses. Most of the food delivery only partnered with the big giants such as McDonalds, KFC etc.
Especially for local food businesses, they have to find new ways to advertise and to deliver the foods to their customers since people were not allowed to dine in physically anymore. When this happened initially, most of these local food businesses had a hard time coping with the new norm because that usually requires the extra budget that they might not have. So, how do they adapt with the new norm? Some changes can be seen in these types of local food businesses is that some of them had to lay off extra workers such as waiters etc. when everything is online, it eliminates the need for a waiter to pick up their orders at the table. One of the ways they’re still surviving is by partnering with foodpanda delivery services. By doing this, it increases the longevity and the increase the chances of local food businesses to still operate. Some local food businesses even opt for a takeaway service which is something considered as unusual pre-covid as not a lot of local food businesses offer this service. However, post covid seems to prove that this is indeed the new norm. Local food businesses are now offering more takeaway and drive through so that they can abide by the MCO and practise social distancing amongst people.
Some other most notable changes on these local food businesses are that they are more socially engaged with the public. The reason for this is because some local food businesses before only relied on mouth to mouth advertising which can be effective but the awareness is limited to only the people that know of the place. For example, a local food businesses that is operating in Bangi is only limited to certain sections in Bangi, it doesn’t cover the whole of Bangi and the outside of Bangi. What do they do to overcome this? They have to be more socially active in social media, this can be seen that they are more active in advertising their foods online on Instagram and Facebook. It is without a doubt that social media truly plays a major role in advertising especially if you recently start a business of any kind. Having social media helps you spread awareness of your local food business which in turn attracts more customers. Every little insight of Instagram and Facebook could make your business viral anytime.
I have had first hand experience with a local food business that was affected by COVID19. They were initially a traditional based restaurant without any presence on social media. The local food business name is 'Baiti Foods'; their specialty is their nasi lemak that the recipe has been passed down to generations since more than a decade ago. I was an intern at a company name Pocket Pixel which specializes in the digitalisation of businesses. So, Baiti Foods came and made a deal with us. They needed to rebrand their local food business that only had a physical restaurant before to transition into a digital era that is purely online based and the order is being taken by Yezza.io. From the human energy of taking orders to completely relying on your mobile phone to take orders, that is a pretty big change as a local food business. Baiti Foods also adapt with the COVID19 situation by having their own delivery logistics. They used to operate everyday but now they only operate for when they have orders coming in, instead of a physical restaurant for dine in; they operate at a home based since all of the foods would be delivered through food delivery.
https://www.instagram.com/baitifoods/
Besides that, during my time at my company. We build a community titled WorkWork, it acts as a platform that we help to promote local food businesses from all around Malaysia. The initiative and purpose of the platform is to spread awareness of these already existing local food businesses. By doing so, people can opt more for local food businesses to help them go through these tough times. Not only that, we are also expanding the potential in these local food businesses to further thrive. Gradually, as more SMEs go digital to fulfill the requirements of the RMCO, they will grow more comfortable with online platforms. Thus, adapting better with COVID19 situation.
Some of the other aspects that these local food businesses had to adapt with the new changes is that they are required to practise more social distancing. Without the presence of dine in this is much easier to practise, however they still have to work according to the SOP that has been set by the government. These SOP functions as a procedure that these local food businesses have to follow in their daily business operations. For example, in a kitchen area chefs and cooks still have to maintain a 1 meter apart from each other and still try to minimise contact to reduce the risk of contamination. Some other changes can be seen with the more frequent usage of digital advertising through social media. This would attract people around the area and even outside of the business area to try it out. The more presence a local food business have in social media, the higher chances for it to thrive especially since nowadays where people often opt for food delivery instead of going out.
In conclusion, local food businesses weren't just affected financially but also mentally and physically. They have to adapt with the new norm that previously was unfamiliar with. Moving towards the digital era so rapidly because they had to, to survive. From a local restaurant to having an online only based food business. Re-learning how to advertise digitally, handing out the foods mostly through deliveries, online menus that is available for everyone to see, not just their customers. Checking online menu is basically the new norm of people coming in to your restaurant to order something.
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