Content creator and entrepreneur Khairul Aming is one of the most recognisable faces among Malaysians, where he’s mostly known for his best-selling sambal nyet.
However, his success has also led to unethical behavior by unscrupulous individuals, who have come up with their own ‘copycat’ version of his wildly successful product.
Fake version of Khairul Aming’s sambal nyet sold online
In an X post shared by user @cheajibsayang, he showed how one company almost pulled the perfect trick off in copying Khairul Aming’s sambal nyet.
Shockingly, every detail, right down to the font on the packaging, mirrored the original product: the red wrapping, the jar, and even the logo design.
The only difference was that the label was spelt as ‘Sambal Nyet Khairi’.
Here is Khairul Aming’s ‘Sambal Nyet Berapi’:
And here is the ‘copycat’ version:
The fake sambal nyet also comes with a thank you card accompanied with a photo of a man in a suit which reads:
This success would be meaningless without the efforts of my friends and this success doesn’t go to anyone but to customers like you. You (customers) have become my driving force to keep working hard to produce quality products which will be loved by all.
“Please share this deliciousness with your friends and family. Sincerely, SNK Team.”
Again, this was clearly an attempt to rip off the thank you card that Khairul Aming sends to customers who purchased his sambal nyet.
‘This is copying!’
Netizens wasted no time in slamming the company for their unethical actions in trying to trick customers into buying a fake version of sambal nyet.
‘Copied the product, name, and design. Even copied the thank you card concept too. Truly a shameful act.’
‘My goodness, if you want to do business, do it properly and not copy (from others) exactly!’
Some also tagged Khairul Aming in the comment section and urged him to take action against those ripping off his product.
Links to the fake sambal nyet on Lazada and Shopee have since been removed at the time of writing.
Khairul Aming addresses the Issue
Following the outcry from netizens, Khairul Aming responded via his TikTok account, affirming his intent to take legal action against the seller attempting to replicate his intellectual property.
In his TikTok video, he mentioned that his lawyer has sent a letter of demand citing infringement of intellectual property rights. This letter outlines eight specific demands that the seller must meet.
Failure to comply will result in escalating the case to further legal proceedings.
I have support local businesses, especially small businesses but this is not the right way to run a business.”
He ended the response video by emphasising that sellers should sell their products under their own identity and work on building their brand rather than resorting to copying another brand’s identity.
This isn’t the first time Khairul Aming’s sambal nyet has been ‘copied‘ by others, where he first addressed the issue back in 2021:
