Trying again on the pandemic, I’m positive there are numerous issues we’d reminisce and even miss concerning the period. It was undoubtedly a time of many uncertainties and stresses, but in addition one which sparked quite a lot of new concepts and companies.
As some say, challenges breed innovation. And when one door closes, one other might open.
Such is the case for couple Natsu and Felix, the founders of Divini Pastry, a quaint cafe in Puchong that started off as a pandemic-born enterprise.
Resort to enterprise
Felix has at all times had a ardour for cooking. At 18, regardless of his dad and mom’ needs, he moved to Singapore to work in a ramen chain restaurant. Right here, he labored his manner up and have become the youngest kitchen lead within the enterprise at age 21.
With a ardour for cakes and desserts, he pursued a diploma in pastry and would attend courses on days off. By the point he was nearly completed with his diploma, Natsu, whose background is in advertising and marketing, had moved to Singapore too.
“After I graduated, I went for interviews however my confidence in my resolution was shaken after I was confronted with the truth of a steep 50% pay minimize as a consequence of my change of profession and lack of expertise in pastries,” Felix admitted.
However Natsu inspired him to take the leap, providing to assist with each their dwelling bills in the meanwhile as she was making extra.
But, the pandemic modified issues. In the future, Felix received the fateful name that broke the disappointing information of a layoff.
“Like everybody else who was laid off in the course of the pandemic, I used to be struggling to get one other job in Singapore,” he shared.
On the similar time, Natsu’s firm was additionally dealing with monetary challenges. So, after discussions, the couple determined to return to Malaysia to begin a enterprise collectively.
“I’ve at all times been captivated by petite and bite-sized pastries and desserts,” Felix shared. “Being uncovered to high tea throughout my time working for resorts, I realised that a number of the desserts/confections served are generally solely accessible in high tea at resorts.”
“I wished to make these luxurious pastries/desserts extra inexpensive to the frequent man.”
With that, Divini Pastry was born on the top of the pandemic.
On-line to offline
One thing that units Divini Pastry other than different cafes is its specialisation in biscotti, which is a form of Italian almond biscuit.
Felix felt that biscotti was one of many least frequent choices amongst unique choices of high tea. As a double-baked cookie, it additionally has a really lengthy shelf life.
Whereas its preparation course of could be extra troublesome, this additionally means much less competitors available in the market. On the similar time, Felix felt like many Malaysians love biscuits and cookies, particularly throughout festive seasons.
With all these justifications, Divini Pastry began as a web based enterprise, solely specializing in solely biscotti and butter shortbread.
Nonetheless, the couple confronted challenges with logistics because of the extraordinarily fragile nature of their biscotti. They tried all types of packaging and wrapping strategies, however their biscotti would at all times arrive crumbled. Thus, they resorted to delivering their items themselves.
Initially based mostly in Ipoh, they’d make journeys to the Klang Valley, the place most of their prospects had been, as soon as each two weeks. Finally, they acknowledged it was unsustainable in the long term.
With that recognition got here the concept to begin a bodily retail outlet as an alternative.
Serendipitously, Natsu’s mom had simply bought a store lot in Puchong for her workplace. The couple took on her provide to lease out the bottom ground area, successfully resulting in Divini Pastry’s enlargement right into a bodily cafe mid-2022.
Biscotti to espresso
Divini Pastry has seven biscotti flavours to supply:
- Basic Tuscany (almond)
- Large Crimson Wolf (cranberry and wolfberry)
- Golden Jade (matcha and golden raisin)
- Oh Ferrero, (darkish chocolate and hazelnut)
- Cashew within the Darkish (charcoal and cashew nut)
- Smells Like Happiness (pistachio and black sesame)
- Going Nuts (macadamia and pecan nut)
Aside from biscotti, Divini Pastry additionally serves up bakes resembling Danish butter shortbread, focaccia, espresso bun, marble butter cake, and lemon chia seed cake, amongst different choices.
Their breakfast and lunch menus cowl a wide range of sandwiches and wraps. For dessert, they do gelato and waffles alongside with their cakes.
The cafe additionally provides reservation-only high teas on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (1PM to 4PM). The three-course high tea has 4 rotating weekly menus, and is priced at RM98/pax for one particular person, or RM88/pax for 2 individuals and above.
However past serving biscotti and different delights, Divini Pastry’s objective is to develop Malaysia’s speculoos tradition.
Speculoos refers back to the conventional Belgian cookie that includes a spice mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. However for Felix and Natsu, speculoos tradition is all about having fun with the biscuit with a drink.
“Again then, throughout our youthful days, I recall seeing biscuits being served collectively with espresso,” Felix recalled.
Nonetheless, he felt like this tradition has disappeared, primarily because it’s an added price for the enterprise.
Therefore, in an effort to deliver this tradition again, Divini Pastry serves all their sizzling espresso with a chunk of their biscotti on the facet.
“Ever since we began Divini Pastry, we began to note increasingly more cafes serving speculoos together with their espresso, and have even been seeing biscotti available in the market much more generally these days, which is an efficient signal,” Felix expressed.
Bootstrapping to profiting
To start out Divini Pastry, Felix and Natsu put round RM40Okay of their very own financial savings into the enterprise.
“We prioritise high quality and style over revenue margins which prospects who’ve tasted our stuff can strongly attest to, and we (dare I say) give the warmest and friendliest service you’ll ever expertise in comparison with many cafes in Malaysia,” he stated.
In the present day, the workforce proudly shared that their final audited annual income was within the high six figures, and that they’ve been worthwhile.
There’s nonetheless a protracted strategy to go for the couple, although. For one, they’ve but to discover a strategy to bundle their biscotti with the least quantity of breakage.
To additional develop the enterprise, they’ll additionally want to rent satisfactory and dependable manpower. At the moment, the kitchen workforce consists of two members, together with Felix, whereas the entrance of the home is singlehandedly run by Natsu, although she’s aided by her household every so often.
Increasing the workforce is an effort that’s already underway, although. With a bigger workforce, Divini Pastry goals to push ahead with its mission and change into a go-to model in relation to biscotti in Malaysia.
- Be taught extra about Divini Pastry right here.
- Learn different articles we’ve written about F&B companies right here.
Featured Picture Credit score: Divini Pastry