Climate change is occurring in Kuching, as evidenced by the extreme weather conditions over the past months; and there is a yoghurt business in town with a mission to reduce carbon footprints; paving the way for a sustainable future.
There is still a long way to go; but YourgutBB hopes to inspire and influence more businesses and people, to make the planet a better place!
KUCHING: Located at Soho East, Jalan Wan Alwi, YourgutBB, which means ‘Your Gut’s Best Buddy’ is producing 200kgs of premium yoghurt every week, from its production studio here, to cater to demand.
The premises, which is divided into two sections, namely, the retail and production studio, allows customers to dine-in or walk-in to purchase the freshly-made yoghurt.
Although the company supplies to agents and distributors, it limits them to within the 30km to 50km radius. This is to ensure the quality of its yoghurt which does not contain preservatives or additives.
“All our products are naturally handmade, with real fruit flavouring and less sugar while the plain yoghurt contains no sugar. We produce locally and deliver freshly,” said Ang Tse Chwan.
The 35-year-old, a former lecturer of design and animation at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), founded the business with his younger brother Wilson Ang in March 2020.
Speaking to the New Sarawak Tribune recently, Ang said they had been looking for a way to run a business while taking care of the planet, without compromising the well-being of the people.
And YourgutBB is the answer; a business which serves to balance the sustainability of economics, environment as well as society.
Produced locally on demand
Instead of centralised manufacturing, YourgutBB sets up production points or studios locally, at the targeted areas, hiring local manpower to produce yoghurt on demand, and also a system of delivery to reach the end customers.
“We transfer technology, knowledge and information from our research and development (R&D) to the local community as well as use and source for local ingredients. For instance, in Kuching, we have products using Gula Apong and pineapple from local farmers,” he said.
Because of that, the company does not need a huge space to store or to refrigerate its yoghurt or raw ingredients as most products will be distributed to the consumers (who had pre-ordered) as soon as possible.
This system helps to reduce food waste, operating costs, especially on cold storage facilities and cold chain logistics. At the same time, it reduces the carbon footprint.
“Can you believe that the electric bill of our production studio in Kuching, which produced nearly one tonne of yoghurt per month, is only around RM200 to RM300, which is relatively low for the manufacturing industry,” he said.
According to Ang, Kuching is the first and the only location where they have set up a retail section which opened in March this year due to positive response.
In other states or locations, the company is working with the local community, running production, accepting, producing and distributing yoghurt based on demand basis.
“We decided to have a retail store in Kuching due to the positive response as well as to reach out more customers, where people can just walk-in to purchase (even without a pre-order),” said Ang.
However, those who wish to purchase in bulk are advised to pre-order as there are limited quantities or flavours available at the retail store as the company is holding firm to its business principles to produce fresh yoghurt and minimise waste.
Cashback for returning bottles, containers
YourgutBB is going the extra mile to reduce plastic waste by using polypropylene (PP) plastic bottles and containers, which are safe for food storage and also have a high heat tolerance.
The PP bottles and containers can be returned to its production studio for a cashback between 50sen and RM2, depending on the sizes and conditions.
The company will reuse the bottles and containers after a thorough cleaning, sterilising and drying process which further cuts down its operating expenses and reduces plastic waste. That is why it can offer premium fresh yoghurt at an affordable price.
Based on the statistics, YourgutBB Kuching has produced 11 tonnes of yoghurt between 2020 and 2022 but only used 451kg of plastic.
Compared to conventional or regular yoghurt, it was estimated the company used about 1,300kg of plastic to pack 11 tonnes of yoghurt.
“We used three times less (plastic packaging) compared to regular yoghurt.
“What’s more important is that the packaging for regular yoghurt is almost never recycled while our plastic bottles have a reuse rate of over 80 per cent,” Ang said, adding approximately 46 per cent of their customers would return the bottles, which had helped to reduce plastic waste indirectly.
“We believe that sustainability is our mission and the goal we have been pursuing relentlessly since the beginning. While it means more work and procedures, we are willing to pay for it,” he added.
According to Ang, YourgutBB also places more emphasis on educating the consumers instead of conventional marketing strategy to boost its business.
It has created various educational materials, be it video or posters which are posted on its social media accounts – to explain what it is doing and why it is protecting the planet.
“We hope people can understand our efforts in packaging, production, shipping and recycling. We will continue to work hard and hope to influence more people and businesses.
“Because we know that if there are many people, there is great strength. Together, people can make the planet a better place and leave a cleaner, more sustainable world for the next generation,” he said.
