Pivoting to another product, he settled on a fiery Malaysian favourite. The 35-year-old decided to sell his range of homemade sambals via a dedicated Shopee store, Kedai Abang Syukor.
“Sambal is the king of condiments in this country. It’s ingrained in Malaysians to pair it with everything, and it’s perfect for online sales as it’s ready-to-eat and easy to ship out,” Syukor, who hails from Penang, told FMT Lifestyle.
He also decided to change the way he did business, concentrating all sales and marketing efforts for the sambals on the Shopee Live streaming platform.
This turned out to be the right decision: Syukor discovered he enjoyed live streaming, and Kedai Abang Syukor quickly became one of the platform’s top sellers, accumulating airtime of almost 155 hours a week.
More impressively, his sambal business ended up raking in about RM1 million over three months!
Abang Syukor sambals come in 18 delicious varieties, including Sambal Merah, Sambal Paru, Merah Tempoyak, Hijau Bilis Jering, and Acar Rebung Madu.
“I think my sambal has become popular because of our strong focus on online marketing. Our products also have interesting packaging and premium taste, as well as affordable prices.
“Last month we managed to sell 50,000 bottles. God willing, I will work harder and aim to sell 100,000 bottles a month,” Syukor said.
Platforms such as Shopee Live allow sellers to host livestream sessions to promote their stores and products directly to shoppers, who can interact with them via chat in real time.
Syukor, a seasoned entrepreneur with about 15 years’ experience, also sells Abang Syukor curry powders via a second store on Shopee, in addition to other food items such as coffee and burger sauces elsewhere.
All his products are made in their own factories, with about 100 employees across food production and manufacturing, including 31 members for sambal operations and seven dedicated Shopee Live hosts.
He and the hosts take turns manning the online stores to ensure they operate around the clock, giving them a strong advantage over brick-and-mortar competitors.
Syukor said he enjoys using live streaming for his businesses because of the medium’s popularity and reach. It also means he doesn’t have to worry about issues that arise from running physical stores, such as overhead costs.
“I think all traders should try exploring online businesses and be up to date with trends such as live streaming to stay relevant. It’s a lot of help to small sellers like us,” he said.
“Each host has their own fanbase, and their own unique persona. Some are lively, some are serious, others are even shy. But I think even shy people don’t have to be worried when live streaming, because they will eventually get used to it.
“Going live feels like you’re just chatting with your friends. At the end of the day, if I can do it, I think everybody can,” Syukor concluded.
Find out more about Syukor’s sambals and curry powders here.