If you’ve recently strolled through the vibrant suburb of Taman Paramount, a short walk away from the thrifting street, you might have spotted Chunky.
It’s hard to miss the brand’s quirky-looking purple signboard next to other stores that have been around for longer.
Although the store itself is quite new, the Chunky brand isn’t. In fact, it’s actually a pandemic baby, and founder Alia’s fourth entrepreneurial venture.
Fourth time’s the charm
Back in her twenties, Alia started a side hustle baking macarons called “macaronsbyalia” then pivoted to making artisanal, custom-designed cakes. Her portfolio included creating fancy seven-tier wedding cakes with fondant, edible flowers, and sugar cookies.
“I never said no to my customer’s special requests,” she quipped. All the while, she was still working full-time as an interior designer.
When her home kitchen began overflowing with baking projects, she took the next step and opened a dessert cafe at 27 years old. Called “November Cafe”, her customers enjoyed a wide range of offerings from savoury meals and coffee to custom desserts.
However, after two years, it became clear that the lack of focus made it difficult to sustain and she shut it down.
Not one to give up, Alia later co-founded Raindough Desserts with a partner which focused on custom cakes again. “It did better, but we still struggled with profits,” she candidly shared. Her mum suggested developing a product that could generate steady, daily revenue.
Maybe it’s a mother’s blessing or just pure coincidence, but it was around this time that Alia’s friend ordered some of New York’s famous Levain cookies.
One taste was all it took for Alia to get her “aha” moment. She knew then that chunky cookies would be the foundation for her new standalone brand.
It’s a “batch” made in heaven
In January 2020, Alia established Chunky.
Some might say it’s unfortunate timing but Alia found that it was actually a blessing in disguise. While the pandemic meant she couldn’t set up a physical shop, her use of TikTok Shop as an ecommerce platform paid off.
So much so that it landed Chunky its first major corporate order with BMW. She disclosed that they even received enquiries from people wanting to invest in the business then.
It wasn’t long after that her team set up its first physical outlet in Damansara Utama. The transition wasn’t too hectic as Alia and her team continued baking as usual. With the store being located on the shoplot’s top floor, foot traffic wasn’t too overwhelming either.
When visiting, you’d find trays on trays of chunky cookies in a wide range of flavours. A must-try is the Raspberry White Chocolate, an in-house specialty. The founder also recommends trying their monthly specials if you’re more adventurous, like kunafeh crisp, and teh tarik and bandung.
Otherwise, Chunky’s menu staples include classics such as sea salt chocolate chip, red velvet cream cheese, and matcha white chocolate. Less conventional offerings they have are croissant cookies and cookie cakes.
Online orders from platforms like Shopee and Grab outpaced walk-in customers, which helped grow its web presence. However, Alia wanted to capture a larger market.
Social media is the name of the game
That’s how Chunky ended up moving to Taman Paramount in March this year.
“We knew we needed a ground-floor unit since being on the first floor hadn’t boosted our sales, even in a nice community [in Damansara Utama],” she shared.
It currently shares a half-lot with Mexican F&B joint, Los Tacos, which is actually her brother’s venture. Five months into the relocation, she happily shared that everything about the area feels right.
The neighbours are friendly, the community is supportive, and the brand’s sales have significantly improved. By focusing solely on selling cookies, she reported that Chunky has established a strong presence in this competitive neighbourhood.
She credits a large part of the brand’s growth to their loyal customer base, especially the online orders from TikTok and Shopee.
“I believe it’s essential to be aggressive online all the time. Staying trendy and understanding the latest marketing strategies on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram is vital.”
Alia believes they’d just be another baker selling cookies if they didn’t keep up with the times. “At 38, I am still doing my best to be tech-savvy, as this has been my bread and butter since I started my first business in 2010. I still have a lot to learn, and I’m definitely not slowing down yet!”
Be a smart cookie
All that said, she doesn’t deny that competition in the F&B industry is tough. But it motivates the Chunky team to stay sharp, think creatively, and continually refine their business.
Her advice for other entrepreneurs transitioning from online to physical stores is to gather your resources quickly. “Networking is crucial. It’s easy to get caught up in doing everything yourself, but connecting with others is invaluable,” she said.
Some ways you can do this is by attending business classes, finding mentors, or even join networking programmes to boost your knowledge.
More importantly, she cautions not to sit on your ideas. “Talk to someone who can help you gain the confidence to make decisions.”
Alia confided that her weak points were in operations and management and that hindered her from making crucial decisions. So she hired a consultant to streamline those areas.
Regarding Chunky’s future, Alia proudly shared that the brand is in the midst of opening its second outlet in KL. But her bigger goal is to eventually open up more stores throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak.
To achieve this, she’ll start by doing more pop-ups to gain market traction. Who knows, maybe you’ll spot the brand’s soft and gooey cookies at your next craft fair or village market.
- Learn more about Chunky here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Chunky