Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian live commerce company JAM is accelerating its growth strategy with the launch of its Malay-market venture, JAM Bahasa, and the opening of a purpose-built livestream production studio.
Co-founder and Managing Director Cherine Fong said one of JAM's most significant growth initiatives this year is the launch of JAM Bahasa, a new venture targeting Malaysia's Malay-speaking consumer segment.
The expansion marks the company's first major move beyond its initial Chinese-speaking audience and reflects the size of the Malay market, which represents the country's largest consumer demographic.
To spearhead the initiative, JAM has partnered with Malaysian celebrity couple Scha Alyahya and Awal Ashaari, who have joined the venture as co-founders rather than brand ambassadors.
Cherine said the arrangement aligns incentives more closely with long-term business growth and reflects confidence in the scalability of its existing model.
"The Malay community is the largest consumer segment in Malaysia, so the opportunity is enormous and largely underserved at the premium end of live commerce. What's exciting is that the model is the same.
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"We're applying the exact playbook we proved in our Chinese key opinion leader (KOL) business but localised properly for the Malay market. If the playbook travels from one community to another within Malaysia, it tells us something powerful about how far it can go," Cherine said.
联合创办人兼董事总经理 Cherine Fong.
Founded in April 2024, JAM has tripled its business within its second year of operations, reflecting rising demand for professional livestream commerce services from both brands and content creators.
The company has evolved from managing a small group of KOLs on Instagram into a full-service multi-channel network (MCN) operating across TikTok, Shopee, Lazada and Instagram. Today, JAM manages about 10 KOLs and employs around 20 full-time staff, providing talent management, livestream production and end-to-end e-commerce solutions under one integrated business model.
JAM generated a gross merchandise value of RM3.5 million during its first year of operations, from April 2024 to March 2025, with business volume continuing to grow as the company increased livestream frequency while improving production quality and conversion rates.
Cherine said the company's growth has been driven by continuous optimisation of its livestream operations and the successful expansion of its affiliate and shop livestream business.
"We've grown our KOL roster, which means we run more livestream sessions every month, and critically, we've got better at every single one. Every livestream teaches us something – about pacing, about product selection, about what converts – and we feed that back in.
"So it's not just more streams, it's better streams. On top of that, we ran our affiliate & shop livestream business as a pilot late last year, and the results were strong enough that we knew it was time to build it out properly. So year two was really about deepening what worked and proving what was next," Cherine said.
Unlike traditional influencer agencies, JAM specialises exclusively in live commerce, operating branded livestream channels while delivering end-to-end commerce solutions for consumer brands.
"Our largest pillar today is the KOL livestream business, and the revenue there is a mix — a hosting fee, commission on sales, and platform incentive, aligning the company's performance with measurable sales outcomes for brand partners.
"That blend is deliberate. It means we're aligned with both the brand and the platform. We only do well when the livestream actually sells. Our second pillar is affiliate and shop livestream brand services, where brands engage us to run their live commerce end-to-end. Across everything, the model is built on the same principle — we're not paid just to show up; we're paid to perform."
The company produces more than 300 hours of livestream content every month on both it’s channels on Lazada.
Scha Alyahya said live commerce is becoming an increasingly important retail channel in Malaysia.
"Consumers today are looking for authentic recommendations and interactive shopping experiences. Live commerce creates that direct connection. I personally feel there is significant room to grow the Malay-language market."
She said the partnership is about building a sustainable business rather than endorsing products.
"As a co-founder, I'm involved in shaping the direction of the business. It's about creating a trusted platform that delivers value to both consumers and local brands."
BUILDING A PREMIUM MODEL
Many high-profile creators were reluctant to conduct sales-driven livestreams on their personal social media accounts, while brands faced high costs when engaging prominent influencers directly.
To address the issue, JAM created a shared commerce platform that allows creators to participate in livestream selling without directly commercialising their own channels, while giving brands access to audiences at a more scalable cost structure.
Cherine said the strategy appears to have resonated with both creators and advertisers, helping the company expand rapidly over the past two years.
She said JAM differentiates itself through its singular focus on live commerce and the operational expertise of its founding team, which includes entrepreneurs and established content creators Jane Lau, better known as Jane Chuck, and Hanpin Ma.
Scha Alyahya, Awal Ashaari, Jane Lau and Hanpin Ma.
"Live commerce is our entire business, not an add-on. Our founding team includes A-list KOLs who built their own brands," Cherine said.
"Jane and Hanpin know what works on camera because they've lived it. As for building in-house, a brand can absolutely try, but they'd need the studio, the trained hosts, the production team, the platform relationships, and two years of trial and error. We already have all of it. We let brands skip the learning curve and go straight to results."
INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE
To support increasing client demand, JAM recently launched a dedicated 6,500-square-foot livestream production studio featuring 13 fully equipped production pods.
The facility enables brands to outsource their complete livestream operations, including content strategy, scripting, host training, production and real-time sales management, strengthening JAM's ability to serve growing demand across its business segments.
According to Jane Lau, the partnership reflects confidence in the scalability of JAM's proven live commerce model while addressing significant opportunities within Malaysia's largest consumer demographic.
She believes that Malaysia's live commerce industry is expected to become increasingly segmented over the next three to five years, with operators differentiating themselves through either high-volume, low-cost offerings or premium, conversion-driven services, according to JAM.
"We're firmly building for the premium end. As for risks, the biggest one is trust. If live selling becomes all hard sell and no substance, audiences switch off, and the whole industry suffers. That's exactly why we've been obsessive about production quality and authentic creator-product fit from day one. The companies that treat live commerce as a serious craft will be the ones still standing in five years," Jane Lau said.
She added that it has benefited from strong market confidence since its inception, securing backing that has supported its growth to date.
Meanwhile, she said that JAM will remain selective in any future fundraising, seeking strategic investors who share its long-term vision of building a premium regional live commerce platform rather than pursuing capital alone.
Looking ahead, JAM plans to expand into South East Asia in the first quarter of 2027 as it positions itself for the next phase of the region's fast-growing social commerce industry.
Jane Lau believes premium live commerce will continue gaining traction as brands increasingly invest in professionally managed livestream channels to drive customer engagement and online sales.
"The reason we're confident going regional is that we've already proved we can localise—taking a model built for one community and successfully adapting it for another. That's not a theory for us; it's something we've done. Our edge is the same everywhere: premium production, a proven playbook, and the discipline to adapt it to local talent and local audiences rather than copy-pasting."
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