PERMAISURI: What started as a sampling drive turned into lucrative business for rempeyek maker Khairil Bariah Razali, 49 from Setiu.
“I started the busines by giving out samples of the traditional deep-fried cracker to friends and family 10 years ago. My rempeyek has since received overwhelming response with orders started pouring in especially during festive seasons.
“I created my own version of rempeyek, which is popular in the home state of my late husband and I, Perak.
"When people ordered other dishes like fried bihun, I would give them a complementary jar of rempeyek. From there, I started to receive orders from around the east coast, especially Terengganu and started producing it in bulk.
“I make four types of rempeyek, namely, rempeyek ikan bilis (anchovies), groundnut, dhal and green beans. Mine are a bit spicy than what we normally buy in the market,” said Khairil Bariah, or fondly known as Kak Tah, when met at her workshop in Kampung Seri Kenangan, Pelong, Setiu, here today.
She said during Ramadan, her shop would be busy with the production sometimes dragged until late at night.
“We produce about 21,000 pieces of rempeyek daily using 70kg of flour, with each killogramme could produce about 300 pieces.
“There eight full-time staff here, while three of my relatives also help out with the production,” said the mother of six.
Kak Tah said during festive seasons, the gross earning could reach RM60,000 due to high volume of orders from customers.
“The prices, depending on the quantity and the containers used, vary between RM12 and RM15 for every 45 pieces.
“As we need to ensure that we complete the orders before Raya, we had been going back to my hometown in Perak in the wee hours of Raya eve, arriving on time for Subuh (prayer) since four years,” she said.
She said apart from marketing her products in pasar tani around Terengganu, she was also actively participating in Agro-tourism (Agro Pelancongan Malaysia or MAHA) and other expositions organised by the government.
“My sweetest memory is flying to the Middle East and India to market my rempeyek. I am in the midst of upgrading my production workshop to improve both the quantity and quality, as well as to expand my business and market my rempeyek overseas,” she added.
