KUCHING: The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country in 2020 seemed to have served as impetus (even a stepping stone) for two local youth, Didi Aryanto Solong, 29, and his friend Ibrahim Yusup, 27, to try their luck in business.
According to Aryanto, at first they only sold “cucur pisang” or banana fritters by the side of the road before switching to selling Nyor Shake Ohhaa brand drinking water to customers.
“I’m sure many people know how challenging the initial situation was when the pandemic hit because it caused many people to lose their jobs and not least those who started small businesses at that time.
“However, our situation is different because we run a banana business even though at the same time we are still working,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
The business, which was started around March 2021, was located at Pasar Seni Jalan Haji Taha before the duo moved and rented a stall at Di Rimba Borneo 12.
“In the beginning, we were just selling banana shakes by the side of the road until we got the inspiration to start this Coconut Shake business.
“After being comfortable doing business, we decided to stop working and expand the business we have been working on all this time,” he said.
A total of 20 flavours of coconut water-based drinks were sold by these two young men with various creative dishes.
“As we all know, coconut water has a variety of good properties for our bodies, both adults and children.
“The specialty of the Shake or Smoothie that we serve to customers is flavoured with coconut water and also fresh fruits that contain various vitamins,” he added.
Among the menus that are the choice of many at their stall are Coconut Shake Gula Apong, Mango Dragon Shake, Mango Shake, Avocado Gula Apong Smoothie, Bisscoff Smoothie and the latest Durian Shake.
“Just like other traders, we also promote the sale of Coconut Shake to close friends and family in the beginning,
“We use social media such as Facebook and Instagram as our media platform to make it easier to reach the target market outside the area.
“We also asked for help and hired some Influencers (social media influencers) to increase the public’s confidence in our sales,” he added.
At the same time, Aryanto also said that he and his business partner always improve the quality of the Coconut Shake drink that is sold as a measure to take care of customers and ensure that they are satisfied with the quality as well as the quantity served.
“Nyor Shake Ohhaa operates from Monday to Saturday from 12 noon to 9 pm and is located at Rimba Borneo 12.
“Alhamdulillah, for now the response from customers is very encouraging, especially on weekends and nights,” he added.
At present, Nyor Shake Ohhaa drinking water also does not provide any delivery service (COD), but customers can order the drink through Grabfood and DBazzar applications under the name NYOR SHAKE OHHAA.
“The selling price starts from RM6 to RM14 including ice cream toppings and also placed fruits.
“With this kind of quality and price, we hope that all segments can buy and taste shakes from Nyor Shake Ohhaa,” he added.
According to him, they are able to sell Nyor Shake Ohhaa water from 150 to 200 cups on a normal day, while on the weekend they can get up to double the amount on a normal day.
“We hope that Nyor Shake Ohhaa can become one of the “hotspots” for the state of Sarawak and be able to benefit others with the products we produce,” he added.
Customers can visit Facebook Coconut Shake Ohhaa and Instagram NYOR SHAKE OHHAA or call 0132239828 for more information.
