Author: Aina Syuhada
Editor: Izzati Azali
BANGI, 7 June - Monti Keopi arose from the desire of a young man who simply loved to drink coffee and knew he could create something special by opening his first ever grab and go coffee shop in the heart of UKM's Faculty of Science, Social Sciences, and Humanities on October, 2020.
Monti Keopi aims to be the first choice of grab and go coffee shop in Malaysia by 2030 and their mission for the first phase of their business is to have over 301 shops nationwide. Their current goal is to establish their brand within the country before expanding internationally.
Ahmad Iskandar Ahmed, or Iskandar for short, was inspired to start his business at the age of 27 after falling into a profound melancholy while working in a job that did not make him happy. Working in an environment where his surroundings had high expectations was taking a toll on his mental health, especially at such a young age. The adoration he has towards business strives him into building his new found ambition, Monti Keopi.
Iskandar tried a variety of businesses before settling on the precise one, including agricultural, retail, export and import. What makes it more amazing is that he traveled to Indonesia as he was looking for inspiration and his partner happened to have a coffee farm which was the start of his journey in opening a coffee shop.
The main reason Monti Keopi chose FSSK, UKM as his pilot cafe is because of his desire to create a coffee shop that is one with nature. Furthermore, his coffee business is conceptualised as a glasshouse, which is innovative because it is located among trees. His expectations for his business's acceptability are more than he had anticipated, and Iskandar remarked that customers have not stopped coming ever since he first opened a few months back.
“Eventhough our location is secluded but the nature aspect encircling our shop makes people want to know more about our coffee and what it has in store”, Iskandar addressed.
Another interesting fact about Monti Keopi is that the coffee beans they obtain from are insightful for the customers to know that they use single origin coffee beans. Iskandar specifically mentioned that the beans they use is called Gayo, an Arabica Origin and it is originally harvested in a mountain top, Acheh, Indonesia. The coffee beans have its own sentimental value for the Asian culture that has a distinct feature which is described as strong body and light acidity.
“When it comes to our value, we want the customers to experience the process of the coffee making first hand so that they can see, smell and feel.” Iskandar declared.
Not to mention, another mission of Monti Keopi is to empower the community with their business model. Monti Keopi strictly offers drinks without any delicacies, however they’d accept any potential local entrepreneur to joint venture for their expansion phase in the future.
Coffee has become a thing for the younger generation to spend on during their past time. It is a type of drink that establishes your mood to become more elevated when you’re working or studying with a sense of aroma, hence why they give out their testers to the students of FSSK. When most people think of coffee, they think of its capacity to give them a surge of energy.
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