SINGAPORE: Having no plans to launch her own business, Norhidayah (Hidayah) Sabri admitted that she could not have “envisioned” herself in that position.
In 2018, however, everything changed when Hidayah’s mother-in-law prepared a pot of teh tarik to welcome her friends who had come to visit soon after the birth of her second child.
She thought, “Why not?” after one of her friends suggested that she sell the tea because it was so good.
One-woman show
According to the Vulcan Post story, in order to purchase the ingredients for her mother-in-law’s teh tarik recipe and purchase beverage dispensers for catering at big events like weddings and birthday celebrations, Hidayah used S$500 of her personal funds to start her own business.
She used the money she made from her initial orders to progressively grow the company, registering it in 2019. However, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic struck that the firm really took off.
Teh Tarik Shus Bro was one of the numerous Singaporean enterprises that had to find methods to innovate and adapt as a result of the pandemic’s prohibition on large social gatherings and festivities.
To attract clients, Hidayah decided to provide novel packaging alternatives, such as three-liter cardboard boxes and plastic pouches, as the company mostly supplied to customers for large events with a minimum order of five liters or roughly 25 servings.
The brand’s teh tarik can now be enjoyed in lesser amounts because of these new packaging options, resulting to a surge in popularity, particularly during the Ramadan in 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 regulations that prevented people from meeting, many customers started ordering the boxes and pouches as presents for their friends and family.
The biggest gathering Hidayah has ever catered was a wedding with 600 guests. She also frequently completes weekly orders for church events and Hajj lessons.
Despite breaking even in its first year, Teh Tarik Shus Bro required three years to become “financially sustainable” because of the small initial investment.
However, since Hidayah had no prior F&B experience, getting there wasn’t easy.
Innovation pays off
At the beginning of the business, she had to figure out how to modify her mother-in-law’s recipe to handle bigger orders. “I had to learn the recipe for larger quantities to be able to cater to the masses instead of preparing it every day for consumption at home,” she said.
“We (developed) precise measurements for everything because we also needed to make sure the quality remained consistent throughout, and it hasn’t changed since.”
Her business started to expand after she perfected the recipe. Nevertheless, it has always been a one-woman operation and continues to be so even in the face of rising demand and an increase in orders.
In addition to making each drink according to order, Hidayah also handles marketing, logistics, replenishment, customer service, and delivery plans.
However, her family sometimes helps out with Teh Tarik Shus Bro’s deliveries when she doesn’t have enough drivers.
To maintain the quality of her services without going overboard, Hidayah stops accepting new orders if demand surpasses her capacity to fulfill them. She has stopped taking orders and is already almost completely booked for Ramadan this year.
Over the last six years, Teh Tarik Shus Bro has grown steadily, but Hidayah has no immediate plans to create a physical location.
She revealed that she is happy with the way her business is now operating because it enables her to manage both her business and her two sons at home.
Still, she wants to reach a wider audience in order to establish Teh Tarik Shus Bro as a “household name.”
