Darussalam Enterprise’s (DARe) food and beverage (F&B) incubation space Kontena Park (KP) has recorded $500,000 in sales and drawn over 75,000 customers since it reopened with an all-new design and new tenants in September 2019.
The cumulative revenue was recorded within the one year tenancy agreement by the nine businesses in KP’s eight retail units, with the highest monthly sales for individual vendors reaching $10,000.
The dining in ban from March 19 to May 16 because of the COVID-19 outbreak saw the lowest period of sales. Vendors remained consistently profitable however through food delivery with platforms including Hey Domo, GoMamam and Ta-Pow!, with DARe also stepping in to provide relief by waiving the monthly rental of $350 for six months.
DARe envisions KP as an incubation or developmental space for local F&B brands – especially home-based businesses – to gain experience operating in a commercial facility, before transitioning to commercial locations and ultimately set up their own chains or franchises.
Tenants are given a one-year contract, after which they “graduate” and make way for a new cycle of tenants. Executive Officer at DARe Khairul Azmi said the third cycle of KP vendors would move in this December and begin operating by January 2021.
“The current (second) cycle were given the option to extend (their tenancy) by an additional two months to make up for the period of dine-in restrictions,” he said.
“As part of our plans to continuously improve KP as an incubation space, we will be providing a standardized point-of-sales (POS) solution; more F&B-related training and exposure on standards, business management, marketing as well as access to co-matching grants.”
Top Folk’s founder Md Fakhri Md Ishak said their experience at KP has helped form a clear route for their future expansion, which will begin with setting up a central kitchen at DARe’s industrial site in Beribi after they graduate.
“Moving from a home-based operation into a commercial space made us increase our capabilities; at home the flow was much slower – here, we had to learn how to manage the lunch and dinner crowds effectively and keep our quality consistently high.
“Moving forward with a central kitchen will help us increase our supply, either for deliveries or potentially for smaller outlets (which do not have a full-sized kitchen to prepare in),” he added.
KP first opened in May 2017, before being upgraded in 2019 with more spacious kitchens and a shaded seating area for up to 100 customers. Each unit has a 6.1 metre square front service area and a 6.5 metre square certified kitchen in the rear.
