Meru Raya: Besides the wide range of food found at Meru Raya Ramadan Bazaar in Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah here, visitors could also find themselves in the company of ‘players’ from the popular Korean drama series, Squid Game.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, these ‘participants’ are selling watermelon juice in various flavors to quench the thirst when breaking fast. Inspired by the popular Korean drama series, Nur Nadira Muhammad Nazir decided to wear the iconic series’ costume to sell ‘King of Watermelon’, which is a watermelon-flavored drink. The 21-year-old from Ipoh has been selling watermelon drinks in various flavors at Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah Ramadan Bazaar in Meru Raya since the first day of Ramadan last Sunday.

Nur Nadira shared her motivation for the unique marketing strategy, saying, “I chose to wear the Squid Game costume and mask because I really like the popular series and got this idea with the aim of attracting people to come and buy at our stall.” She invested about RM300 to purchase the Squid Game costume and a doll, which is displayed in front of the stall, and also played the Squid Game song, ‘Mingle Game Song ‘Round and Round’ throughout the business session.

The gimmick has been successful since day one, with encouraging responses from visitors. Nur Nadira noted that wearing the Squid Game costume is quite challenging under the hot weather conditions lately, but the non-stop sales help take her mind off the heat. Despite the discomfort, her team remains enthusiastic to attract customers, occasionally removing the masks to ease the discomfort and facilitate their work.

The stall offers watermelon juice in five flavors: original watermelon, sarbath watermelon, extra joss watermelon, coconut watermelon, and mojito watermelon, all priced between RM5 and RM8. Nur Nadira, assisted by three workers, starts business operations at 3 pm and continues until the juice stock runs out.