Faiza's Company is Targeting 20% Higher Sales

BATU PAHAT May 23 - Rice supplier company, Syarikat Faiza Sdn. Bhd. (Faiza Company) is projecting a sales growth of 20 percent for all its products this year.

Managing Director, Faiza Bawumi Sayed Ahmad said the projection is expected to be better based on the company's achievement of record sales of more than RM200 million last year and previous years.

He said this was because demand for existing products such as rice and spices remained high as well as encouraging response received on new products, herbs that were in the market late last year.

"At the same time, Faiza Company plans to produce some new products such as ketupat rice, noodles, soy sauce and chili sauce in the market soon.

"The introduction of new products is expected to boost sales as companies will run aggressive promotions even though Faizal Company products are well-known and are believed to be halal and high-quality especially among Muslims," ​​he said when met at his factory in Sri Gading, here.

The 68-year-old Faiza Bawumi started a small spice business to a neighbor before opening a retail outlet Faiza Mini Market in the 1970s.

In 1992, he established Faiza Company to process and distribute rice in the country before becoming a subsidiary of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) officially in 1997.

The company now has more than 21 brands of rice besides producing various types of spices in the market.

Faiza Bawumi said new products such as ketupat rice are in the final stages of production while other products will be in the market before the end of this year.

He said for the product of the vet, the company had invested RM1.6 million to buy machinery from China while the soy sauce and chilli sauce were still in the process of testing.

"When it comes to operations, the methane plant can produce nine tons per day but in the early stages, its production is limited to five tonnes to see the buyer's response first.

"What is interesting is that the production of the noodle ensures that Faiza Company emerges as the first bumiputera company to produce rice in the country with a pack of 400 grams.

"The main target of the buyers is definitely among the housewives and restaurant owners who are supplying halal, clean and high quality products," he said.

Faiza said the price of the noodle product was still in the stage of the study but reflected the price of a little over the same product on the market, ranging from RM3 to RM4.

Asked on future industry prospects, Faiza Bawumi said the company had no problem to continue to compete in the market as it maintained good service, high quality and reasonable prices.

He said the bitter challenges in the business would have existed and the company had planned to diversify food products for the preparation of the Faiza Company in the future.

"We can not rely heavily on rice or spice products as it may be that the community will shift interest in maize or flour based food products in the future.

"Even companies should be prepared with any possibility in the event of a disaster that causes the supply of rice to be cut off, so other products can be a buffer to the company," he said.

At the same time, he said, it has allocated RM5 million a year for promotion and advertising in order to strengthen the name of Faiza Company as a high-quality brand of food products in the country.