All in the family
Are You Being Supported In This Journey Called Life?
In the 1990s, when Malaysia was facing an economic recession, housewives took up some part-time jobs to ease the financial burden at home and support their children’s education. Josephine was one of those. To earn more to help the children’s education and the family expenses, she started her business by selling herbal tea. However, herbal tea was not popular among the people in Sarawak back then; the people loved carbonated drinks over herbal tea. Therefore, herbal tea could hardly be sold. The common feedback was, “We will try your herbal tea when it becomes as popular as carbonated drinks.” How demotivating.
In her distress, her father told her, “Expand the width of your business.” Therefore, she took it on and started selling herbal tea to various places and areas in Sarawak. Her husband, Andy, did a lot of preparation for her to travel to places to work. At the same time, he is also working hard in his position.
Inspired by Family
The journey of this herbal tea business was not smooth sailing. Fortunately, the family was always there to support. The support from her customers, staff, and family members saw her through the ups and downs. It reminded her of the first intention to start the business, which was to support the children’s education and improve the living standard.
After school, the children would follow the mother to various coffee shops to learn about the business. Once they got home, they did not slow down but continue to study hard and learn further. As time passed by, the children had finally grown up. They actively got involved in pursuing this business. The attention, energy, and time they spent on the company ultimately paid off as the herbal tea business had gradually improved.
Now, the four children have assumed different roles in the company while the performance of the business is rising. As the fourth child, Alan pursued a Master of Business Administration after completing a Diploma in Accounting. He also worked in Singapore to gain some experience before returning to Sarawak to continue the hard work with his family.
Humble Beginnings
In 2000, Josephine officially named this herbal tea business “Leaves”. It launched six different types of flavour for the syrupdrink and started selling them in the form of 500ml bottles. In the same year, the trademark of the business was also successfully registered. In 2002, the company was awarded the Halal certificate. In 2004, it launched the then well known “3 Layer Milk Tea”, collectively known as “Teh C Special” in Sarawak, the first drink favoured by people of all ethnic groups.
Growth
In 2005, leveraging on a new bottling technology, Leaves® introduced a new packaging, which increased the sales by 55% on that particular year. The local community slowly gained awareness of Leaves® and its quality. Between2006 and 2012, many distributors approached them for the business. In February 2021, Leaves® launched the ready-to-drink “Sarawak 3-Layer Milk Tea”. They started distributing this product across Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, and West Malaysia. Today, Leaves Trading Sdn Bhd has obtained the MeSTI, GMP, and HACCP certifications, testaments to its standards, hygiene, and safety control.
Today
Leaves® success today, which was achieved over 20 years, is no doubt the fruit of the support, hard work, unity, and perseverance amongst the family members and the blessing of Sarawak. Throughout this journey, they have overcome the hurdles together. That is why Leaves® is doing their best to support those around them, including employees and local community.
Goals
Today, Leaves® is moving towards the goal of IPO. Under Alan’s leadership, Leaves® has successfully raised RM2mil in funding. Leaves® would not have accomplished this feat without the values it has been upholding: Love, Unity, and Support.
The initial intention of establishing Leaves® was for the education of Josephine’s children. Therefore, today, Leaves® is still actively helping children, donating a portion of the revenue to the less privileged children, such as the orphans and the children from low-income families. Children are the pillars for the future of the country. Therefore, Leaves® is dedicated to supporting the children of this country.
Leaves® is grateful for the employees, customers, andinvestors who trusted them in the past. Leaves® also envisions a future of more people trusting the brand and working hand in hand to move towards the goal of IPO. And it all began with a small dream and a heartwarming family beverage brand – Leaves®, A SIP OF JOY.
CEO
Alan Chai
As the CEO, Alan Chai is actively involved in planning and managing the direction of Leaves®. Alan believes that companies have no boundaries, but innovation and execution lead to long-term profitability. He has 10 years’ experience in high-level business negotiation, corporate strategy, product design and sales planning.
CMO
Mike Chai
Mike possesses 20 years experience in sales & marketing and a real knack for building rapport with customers and business partners. He is responsible for our sales growth due to his ability to convince customers and business partners of the quality of our products. He is also one of the loyal team members, having served Leaves® since 2001. Mike also oversees the content creation on our Facebook page. Under his skillful management, he increased our follower count significantly.
COO
Josephine Ch’ng
Josephine implements SOP and figures out effective methods in each department to accomplish Leaves®’s objectives. She is a diligent pioneer team member who is instrumental in facilitating our expansion across Malaysia. The supply chain is smooth due to Josephine’s planning skills.
Production Director
Steven Chai
Steven is in charge of developing an efficient production system to support company expansion. A diligent and dependable team player, Steven is confident that his experience will enable him to successfully manage Leaves®’s facilitate the production line, which in turn realize the company vision and mission.
