Former Airline Officer Sells RM5 to RM8 Coffee from His Australian-Inspired Van-Cafe at Kelantan

By Ammar Haziq  •  15 Feb 2021 in News

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After a rough, metaphorical landing, a former airline sales officer decided to get a cool-looking classic van and sell freshly brewed coffee along Jalan Bayam in Kelantan.

35-year-old Wan Mohd Naim Wan Mohd Ghazi said the idea came after he got laid off from work in June last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After I was offered the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) following my six years of service, I began to look for ideas to generate income.

“The idea to sell coffee on the street was inspired during my vacation in Australia in 2013 where such a concept was popular,” he told Bernama.

Before opening up shop, Wan Mohd Naim took a two-month workshop in November and learned how to prepare different types of coffee.

The first few brews were tested by his close friends and family. Once he got the seal of approval, he decided to get serious with the business.

“I invested about RM20,000 to start the business including purchasing a coffee-making machine and other equipment, and also bought the van from my aunt for RM10,000 and modified it into a cafe-like coffee counter,” he said.

He said when he first started a month ago, he only managed to sell 15 cups of coffee but it’s been slowly growing after he took to social media to promote the business.

“Now my customers have several options to choose from such as Latte, Cappucino, Americano, Hazelnut, Caramel, Mocha and others as low as RM5 to RM8 a mug.

“I even created my own seasonal coffee where last week, I introduced ‘Coffee Orange’s Street’ and ‘Oranged Street’ in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration where the promotion will last until February 28,” he said.

A regular customer, Mohd Nizarmuddin Mohamad Nor, 33, said he would come every day because it’s tasty and affordable coffee.

“For coffee lovers, this Van’s Street coffee is the best choice to enjoy high-quality coffee that is on par with those sold at cafes. Given the current challenging times, everyone can afford a cuppa,” he said.

Brewing it from the heart, Wan Mohd Naim, who now has two assistants, runs the coffee-van business along Jalan Bayam from 3 pm to 9 pm, except for Sundays, because that’s for naps.