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Set to be largest Sabah snacks maker
Published on: Sunday, September 05, 2010
By: Mary Chin
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Today, enterprising Noreen, 48, is the sole proprietor of Heera Enterprise, named after her youngest child, 13, who is a Form One student of SM Lok Yuk, Likas. She employs 18 local workers, comprising 13 women and five men, from Kinarut and its surrounding areas.
Her factory is located at Lot 6, Kompleks Kilang SME Bank, Lok Kawi Industrial Estate in Kinarut.
Her main products are kuih cincin (ring cracker), kuih lidah (biscuit crisp in the shape of a tongue) and kerepek pisang (banana cracker, sweet and salty types). Lidah is a Malay word meaning 'tongue'.
Her latest creations are kuih cincin kayu manis (cinnamon-flavoured ring cracker) and kuih lidah labu (pumpkin-flavoured biscuit crisp in the shape of a tongue.
Cinnamon is obtained from Keningau.
Peculiar to Sabah, ring crackers are very popular here, given their crunchy texture and natural sweetness. Visitors from the Peninsula also shop for these snacks when they come to Sabah.
Asked on her success recipe, Noreen, who is the Factory Operations Director, said:
"Put it this way, there is no substitute for hard work. Sweat brings with it rewards if you persevere against the odds."
What makes her kuih cincin unique is that she uses natural sugar.
"It is extracted from the nipah palm found abundantly in Sabah.
I mix brown palm sugar with rice flour but no preservative or colouring is added."
From initially packing her snacks in plain plastic bags, Noreen, a mother of three, has diversified her packaging into using the paper box, canister (mainly for the KL market) and plastic bottle for export purposes.
Plastic bags are still in use, mainly for the local market.
Packaging for kuih lidah is of four sizes: aluminium foil packet (160gm); paper box (120gm) and plastic bag (120gm and 150gm).
Noreen's factory of the small and medium industry (SMI) category is the only one in Sabah producing a variety of traditional snacks at this level.
Production of the three types of local snacks is on the increase.
In fact, the company's total production registered an increase of 17 per cent last year.
Driven by demand, Noreen has widened her marketing network from the KK Central Market to supermarkets, retail outlets (including those in shopping complexes), a hotel and individual agents.
Some of the products are among the chosen items in gift hampers.
More significantly, Noreen has penetrated the international market, exporting her halal-certified snacks to Negara Brunei Darussalam.
Once or twice a month, a supplier will come and purchase about 300 packets of kuih lidah and 300 packets of kuih cincin.
Usually, loose ones are preferred as these can be packed accordingly, depending on demand from consumers in the Brunei market.
Interestingly, the kuih cincin and kerepek pisang packed in canisters are also available in Tesco Malaysia's stores in Kuala Lumpur.
The design for the canister was done by a Johor designer, according to Noreen.
"I owe it to Sirim for helping me with the paper box package designing for kuih cincin and kuih lidah.
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I was among the first batch of participants for Sirim's 'Groom Big' project for entrepreneurs."
Looking back, Noreen said she had learned about entrepreneurship while working for a Korean firm and a Chinese company in the early days.
She has proven that starting in the backyard can lead to bigger ventures, rather than starting big and then flop half-way.
The entrepreneur, who has Chinese blood from her paternal grandfather, grew up in Kalabakan, Tawau but moved to Beaufort with her husband.
In 2002, she started producing ring crackers on a small scale, catering for the Beaufort and Sipitang market.
"For a start, everything was done manually but we did not encounter any problems.
At one stage, we made as many as 1,000 packets of kuih lidah.
We also sent our products to the KK Central Market two to three times a week," she recalled.
Noreen's starting-point began with the State Agriculture Department's Kumpulan Petani Wanita Maju where she was a pioneer member.
"We were trained by the department in entrepreneurial activity.
All the free training and seminars benefited us immensely.
We learned about marketing strategies and other aspects of business.
Our goods were promoted in expos and exhibitions, which we participated under the auspices of the department," she pointed out.
At the end of 2006, Noreen relocated her business to the State capital, realising that KK has a bigger market, given its larger population.
With her personal savings of RM2,000.00, she set up base at the Lok Kawi Industrial Estate.
The following year (2007), she applied for an initial grant of RM5,000 from SME Corporation for business start-up, (20pc of which was contributed by the applicant herself).
Subsequently, she applied for another grant of RM100,000.00, this time from SME Bank, 10pc of which was contributed by her.
For the second grant from the bank, the amount was lower while the applicant had to dish out 30pc of the grant.
"With this grant, I went on to acquire a bar code for my products, took part in exhibitions to promote my wares and even purchased a computer set for running my business.
"I have also bought a photocopy machine and secured 5,000 eco-friendly bags for customers.
The bags were made locally," said Noreen, adding that she later took a loan from Mara.
By 2007, Heera Enterprise was in full operation. That year, she was among the first batch from Sabah to participate in the Satu Daerah Satu Industri Expo organised by the Federal Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MeCD) in Melaka.
"That was where we promoted Sabah's traditional snacks and made ourselves known," said the entrepreneur.
By Noreen's own admission, if not for government assistance, she would not be where she stands today.
She is also grateful to the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI), Department of Industrial Development & Research (DIDR) under the Ministry of Industrial Development (MID), Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI), Federal Development Department Sabah (JPPS) and Sabah's Agriculture Department.
"Like many others, Heera Enterprise is an anak angkat of MARDI. Today, we are using the moulder for kuih cincin, designed and made by the institute. What is good about this moulder is that it ensures a standard shape and size. It is consistent and won't go out of shape.
However, we have not discarded the traditional moulder," said the sole proprietor.
On the challenges, Noreen said one is the stiff competition from cottage industries producing the same snacks as these have lower production costs compared with those operating in a factory.
"Not only that, we must continue to improve the packaging of our products to attract existing and prospective buyers," she said matter-of-factly.
She avails herself of the opportunity to participate in food expos in Indonesia and Negara Brunei Darussalam such as the International Halal Products Expo.
She is a regular exhibitor at the annual China-Asean Expo held in Nanning.
The seventh will be held in October this year. SME Bank and MID, among others, facilitate her participation by subsidising her airfare and assisting with the logistics for transportation of her products during the expo, respectively.
Despite her unprecedented achievement at least in Sabah, there was a time when Noreen thought of throwing in the towel, prompted by the price hike of essential consumer goods, especially flour, cooking oil and sugar.
"For many of us, it meant a small profit margin and we had problems with cash flow.
But the continued demand for my products raised my hopes.
"It brought to mind what a Chinese friend once told me.
She said, 'Think before venturing into business.
Once you are in, there is no turning back.' How true this saying is!"
Her contribution to the Sabah economy has paid dividends.
In 2008, she won the Anugerah Usahawan Tani at the 9th Seminar for Agro-based Entrepreneurs & Outstanding Agricultural Entrepreneur Recognition Gathering. And in July last year, the State Ministry of Agriculture & Food Industry rewarded her with a cheque for RM10,000 in recognition of Heera Enterprise's productivity.
She received the sum from the Minister, Datuk Yahya Hussin.
Asked how she expended the money, Noreen said she bought machines to enhance production such as a dough sheeter, a mixer and a sealer.
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