Parit 6 tebuk pulai: A livestream of a husband and wife frying banana chips in their backyard became the turning point for Nekyahh Kerepek, which now records monthly sales of up to RM136,000 and provides jobs for local residents, including the elderly and single mothers. For Muhammad Akram Shairi, 32, and his wife Siti Farhana Masud Hayati, 26, it all began during Ramadan last year when their first TikTok livestream unexpectedly generated an order for 30 kilograms (kg) of banana chips.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the following day, orders doubled to 60 kg, prompting the couple to hire a worker to help with production. Today, their Nekyahh Kerepek factory in Parit 6 Tebuk Pulai processes about 200 kg of bananas daily and employs 14 people aged between 24 and 66. Muhammad Akram shared that during Ramadan last year, they started live streaming frying the chips and immediately received a 30 kg order. The next day, they hired a worker after receiving an order for 60 kg, with orders continuing to increase, necessitating more hires to meet demand.
He explained that seven employees were involved in production, while another seven handled office management. The production team mainly comprises elderly workers who prepare raw materials, peel bananas, fry, and package the chips. For the couple, employing older workers was about providing them an opportunity to earn an income without overly strenuous tasks.
Siti Farhana highlighted the advantage of their workers' experience in food preparation, as some shared techniques for making chips and sambal based on years of experience. Workers enjoy coming to work, arriving as early as after the Subuh prayers, even though operations run from 7 am to 4.30 pm.
Muhammad Akram noted that sales generated through TikTok now range between RM130,000 and RM136,000 a month, depending on raw material supplies and demand. Behind the success was a painful lesson from their previous business, where they suffered losses of nearly RM400,000 when their clothing business encountered cash flow issues in 2023.
He recounted that during Aidilfitri preparations last year, they only had RM60, with money from online sales accounts not yet withdrawable. He proposed to his wife that they pretend to be busy frying chips in the backyard to avoid relatives due to having no duit raya to give. The experience taught them to be more cautious with cash flow and to expand the business gradually using sales profits.
However, rapid growth brought a new challenge: securing sufficient banana supplies, especially when prices rose to RM7 per kg. As a long-term measure, the couple is cultivating their own banana plantation in Kampung Gajah, Perak, with over 2,000 seedlings planted. Muhammad Akram emphasized that having their own supply is crucial not only to sustain production but also to protect the jobs created for local residents.