JOHOR BARU: Businesses selling Hari Raya biscuits have had an encouraging start to sales this year as the festival falls just about a month after Chinese New Year.
They said that with Ramadan, a month that often sees a spike in demand for the biscuits, starting on the third day of Chinese New Year, they were able to attract customers celebrating both occasions.
According to Nur Aina Zarifah Bilal, the supervisor of a shop selling festive biscuits here, the increase in sales began about four days before Chinese New Year.
“We sell festive biscuits all year round, but the peak is during Ramadan.
“This year, we saw more people coming even a few days before Ramadan, especially those who were preparing for Chinese New Year.
“Some customers, especially those from Singapore, were also buying the biscuits for their Chinese friends who were celebrating Chinese New Year at that time,” she said when met at the shop here.
Nur Aina, 20, whose mother also supplies biscuits to the shop, said there is also an increase in interest in homemade food.
“The shop has a factory in Muar, but it also receives homemade biscuits, including some from my mother, who bakes them at our house in Gelang Patah.
“Some customers prefer home-baked biscuits and would specifically ask for them. That is why we also have such an option,” she said.
Like Nur Aina, Mohd Naharudin Isa, who has two shops selling festive biscuits in Johor Baru, said he too enjoyed better sales even before Ramadan.
“This year, I also have a lot of customers who were buying for Chinese New Year, not just for Hari Raya.
“This has helped to boost sales, especially during the first week of the fasting month and even a few days before that,” said the 57-year-old.
With Hari Raya arriving in less than two weeks, he expects sales to spike again soon, especially in the last few days before the festival.
“Although there is an increase in demand for festive biscuits, there is also an increase in the number of traders selling them.
“A lot of young people are venturing into this business, which is a good thing, but it also means that the high demand does not necessarily translate to better sales.
“Either way, I believe there will be a spike in sales as Hari Raya draws closer, and I have also kept aside some biscuits for my regular customers who would be bringing the goodies back to their hometowns.”
Meanwhile, Azida Harun, 48, said despite the perception that many are tightening their wallets in view of the rising cost of living, she was still able to enjoy good sales.
“I am just doing this as a side hustle, so I do not want to stress myself too much by taking more orders than I can handle.
“Sales have been good, actually, and I also had customers ordering as early as December last year, but I had to limit the orders as I am baking the biscuits all by myself.
“I normally keep it to a maximum of about 1,000 containers for Hari Raya. The orders I received had surpassed that amount since early Ramadan, and I have since stopped taking any new orders.”
