The fresh and frozen food segment on Shopee has allowed sellers such as farmers and fishermen to open up online stores to sell their produce. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Teachers in schools these days do more than just teach their students.
They also look at more ways to help their students and families better their livelihoods.
Such is the case for school teacher Wong Ting Ting, who wanted to help her students’ parents who were farmers.
“As we know, the pandemic hit so many industries. The tourism sector in Cameron Highlands was also badly affected,” she said.
“So, I wanted to play my part to remedy this by purchasing the fresh produce from my students’ parents and selling the produce online. A friend of mine recommended me to use Shopee. I have not looked back since.”
Her Shopee store, My Sayur Box, brings many of Cameron Highlands’ delicious produce to the homes of Malaysians.
Popular items in her store include avocados, sweet potatoes and corn.
Although her store recently opened in September this year as a side income project, she has managed to generate almost RM4,000 in monthly sales.
Wong was pleasantly surprised by how well her store performed during Shopee’s 10.10 Brands Festival.
“I was shocked to see the number of orders that came in on October 10. I believe the positive response was due to the prices that I set for my products, and I do this because at the end of the day, my goal is to help my students and their parents,” she added.
According to Wong, the ongoing Shopee 11.11 Big Sale is her first mega campaign and she looks forward to what it will bring for her. In time, she looks to add more products to offer better variety to her customers.
Meanwhile, Nik Mohd Izahar, 30, has found his business on Shopee to be an unexpected source of income, after being let go from his previous job in the lumber industry with just two days’ notice due to the pandemic.
“I needed to find a way to generate income. To be honest, I did not foresee that selling on Shopee was going to be my main focus when I opened my Izahar Shop store last year during the first movement control order,” he said.
“It definitely helped my online selling journey that the platform is easy to use, with a user-friendly system.”
Izahar Shop is home to vegetables and fruits, as well as other sorts of items to cater to the different preferences of his customers.
One of the more popular items in his store is the pucuk paku — edible ferns traditionally foraged in the wild, and also bamboo to cook lemang during Raya season.
Izahar collecting bamboo, which is one of the top-selling items in his store. The bamboo is used to cook lemang. — Picture courtesy of Shopee
Apart from selling vegetables right from his own farm, he also sources fruits like duku and salak from his fellow farmers in his village.
This has been how Izahar gives back to his local community, as he firmly believes in helping others when doing business.
“I visit these farms myself, pick the best looking produce and prep them well before packing them for delivery.
“This process takes effort, but is well worth it to ensure the happiness of our customers who would receive only the freshest items.”
However, the Kelantanese’s venture has not been all rosy.
Naturally, these are items that are perishable and therefore cannot be in transit for more than five days.
“Of course, there is no business without risks and that applies to my store as well. There have been instances where customers received orders that were no longer in the best state as a result of a delay in transit,” he said.
“If this happens, I would gladly replace the items. I acknowledge that this is all part and parcel of the business due to the nature of what I am offering.”
Izahar also has his own way of rewarding users who purchase from his store.
“When they buy a certain amount, I would include more into their parcel. For example, if they purchase five pucuk paku plants, I would add one more for free,” added the father of two.
“I feel that it is how I can help others while they support my business. Kita tolong sesama kita.”
In anticipation for the November 11 sale on Shopee, he is preparing more free gifts to reward his customers and thank them for their support.
Nik Mohd Izahar, 30, of Izahar Shop packs his parcels carefully before sending them out for delivery. — Picture courtesy of Shopee
Having experienced the e-commerce platform’s recent 9.9 Super Shopping Day, Izahar understands that these campaigns would mean more orders for his store.
Although he admits he is not the most-tech savvy seller out there, that has not stopped Izahar from achieving success through his Shopee store. On a good month, he generates close to RM6,000.
Both Wong and Izahar are not the only two who are selling fresh produce on Shopee.
Malaysians can find a host of other sellers on the fresh and frozen food segment on Shopee such as The Planet Farm, Kok Wai Vege Shop, Barang Murah Kaw Kaw, Siti Maryam and PeladangOnline that offer freshly-picked fruits and vegetables directly from farms.
The fresh and frozen food segment on Shopee was introduced in 2020.
This category has allowed sellers such as farmers and fishermen to open up stores to sell their produce, either organically or through Shopee’s partnerships with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority, National Fishermen’s Association and Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia, to name a few.
Malaysians can show their support towards these local sellers and farmers in this 11.11 Big Sale which features a great selection of deals, fun and entertainment from now till 11 November.
With discounts up to 95 per cent, free shipping with no minimum spend as well as RM1 deals, Shopee’s largest shopping festival is set to host millions of Malaysians in search of the best deals and savings, and connect them to hundreds of thousands of brands and sellers from across 25 product categories.
The festival takes it up a notch with its biggest giveaway yet — a condominium unit worth over RM500,000 at the multi award-winning SkyMeridien Residences @ Sentul East.
This is in collaboration with property developer SkyWorld Development Group, where shoppers just need to play Tap & Win A Condo and collect golden tickets on Shopee to stand a chance of winning.
To find out more about Shopee’s 11.11 Big Sale, visit https://shopee.com.my/m/11-11