An enabler for SMEs to grow their Halal food business

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 September 2021: Maybank Islamic Berhad today announced a strategic collaboration with COOKHOUSE Malaysia to offer Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage business an opportunity to access most comprehensive and best equipped Cloud Kitchen in Malaysia.

This first-of-its-kind collaboration between an Islamic bank and Malaysia’s premier shared kitchen provider enables SMEs to rent dedicated commercial-grade kitchen space with state-of-the-art facilities at a cost-effective price.

This initiative is beneficial to SMEs that have been operating from their homes, but have plans to scale up their businesses and obtain Halal certification.

The collaboration is part of the Bank’s on-going efforts to tap on the ever-growing Halal market by enhancing the awareness of the Halal industry and increasing the number of new Halal certified companies.

The SME foodpreneurs are able to capitalise on COOKHOUSE’s expertise as one of the most established Cloud Kitchen Operators in the country, hence shortening their learning curve, lowering startup cost and bridging them to the market in a more efficient manner. It also provides them with enterprise-ready solutions such as online platform for ordering, cashless payments and integration into food-delivery services.

Apart from leveraging on networking opportunities, COOKHOUSE also provides SMEs with the avenue to increase their production capacity, benefit from bigger storage space, centralising their operations and ultimately support the growth of their businesses.

The partnership with COOKHOUSE came about from the Bank’s engagement sessions with the SME customers especially those in the F&B businesses who operate from home but wanted to grow their businesses and become Halal-certified.

One of JAKIM’s regulations on getting Halal certification is the business premise where operations are conducted. Hence, this collaboration with COOKHOUSE provides an avenue for Maybank Islamic customers to address this requirement, with rent from as low as RM900 a month.

Maybank Islamic CEO, Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican said, “We are always seeking ways to provide a path for our SME customers to grow their businesses and this partnership with
COOKHOUSE is timely as more and more food entrepreneur are looking for cost effective way to expand their business and pivot to a delivery business model. It also reinforces our efforts in the Halal segment and echoes our humanising mission to assist the SMEs in these challenging times.”

He also said that the purpose of these Cloud Kitchens is to facilitate SMEs with the opportunity to operate and hopefully expand their footprint across the country. “Halal is a supply chain responsibility of the business owners, but we at Maybank Islamic can facilitate and assist their process in getting Halal certified and provide further financing for their business expansion and future growth,” he said.

Dato’ Mohamed Rafique added that looking at the growing interest in the online F&B industry, the Bank is confident that there will be positive demand for the Cloud Kitchen in Malaysia. “This novel concept is a cost-effective way to grow the business in way that’s strategic, flexible and profitable as it eliminates high overheads like rent or infrastructure costs,” he said.

Launched in July 2020, COOKHOUSE currently operates in strategic locations in Klang Valley namely PJS3 Sunway, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Seksyen 17 Petaling Jaya and Bukit Bintang.

COOKHOUSE Malaysia Founder, Huen Su San said, “We are delighted by the confidence of Maybank Islamic in COOKHOUSE’s capability in enabling budding F&B entrepreneurs to expand into the halal market space locally and internationally through the provision of religiously compliant facilities at Malaysia’s most comprehensive and best equipped cloud kitchen. With the Bank onboard, we will continue our efforts to build quality community-based spaces for those in the F&B industry by modernising their operations and help them keep up with the rapid changes in the digital business landscape. The partnership with Maybank Islamic will open more doors and allow more Malaysian food businesses to leverage on the growth in Halal markets worldwide”

For more details on the Cloud Kitchen, please email halal@maybank.com.