“Since we can’t return to China, why not let the snacks come to us instead?” The idea of importing tasty snacks rarely seen in Malaysia struck during a deep midnight conversation between Jong and Lydia, who previously lived in China for their studies but are currently stuck in Malaysia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Being the type of people who enjoy having some titbits while going about their day made them yearn for snacks commonly found in China such as Lay’s wide variety of uniquely flavoured potato chips and Chinese yam slices.
Not wanting to stay idle, the couple decided to kickstart their journey of setting up their very own snack business called Snacksonhands in November, armed with nothing but a background in business management and economics.
After conducting some research on Instagram and Facebook, they took the first step by importing Chinese snacks they felt was worth sharing with fellow Malaysians but later realised that they were unable to change the market’s demand and had to adapt to local tastes. Thus, they began to include snacks from Japan and Korea in addition to existing China-made products.
Snacks are wrapped into beautifully decorated boxes instead of being sold individually. Aside from that, customers are also allowed to choose which snacks they wanted to include in it. Soon, more orders began to trickle in much to their delight.
As Chinese New Year rolled by, Jong and Lydia brought it to a whole new level by baking and selling their own Chinese New Year biscuits as the gift box’s main product, along with complimentary snacks as a “little surprise”.
While Giftbox is making steady progress, the couple believes it is not the endpoint but rather the beginning of new possibilities, just like when they started off as a small, humble business.
Sharing Happiness
There is one concept that serves as the heartbeat of the business – sharing happiness. This is because Jong and Lydia believe that not only do snacks bring happiness to those who munch on them while working, they can also be a means of sharing joy with friends and family in the form of gift packages.
No plan IS the plan
“We have no ultimate goal yet. The only thing we can tell is that we will want to keep this alive for the next three to five years as it is getting more intertwined with our lives now,” said Lydia.
Giftbox was never meant to be their main source of income as Lydia is still in her junior year and Jong has a stable job. Rather, Giftbox was birthed out of the desire to better spend their spare time, improve their lives, and be more independent financially. For now, the only plan they have is to import snacks from more countries and continue selling home-baked goods.
Lydia said that she hopes this will motivate youths like her to step out of their comfort zone and go for the things they would like to achieve.
“I’ve always told myself that being a student doesn’t mean I have to settle with the theories learned in class. In fact, putting them into practice is more important since I have nothing to lose.”
On the other hand, Jong thanked his fellow competitors for their efforts in expanding the tastebuds of Malaysians.
“We are comrades in this business, and I know how hard it is to procure shipments of such products to our shores. Fighting, everyone!”
Visit their shop and share happiness today!
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Sources: FB/snacksonhandss
Editor: J.W Chan
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
