Blinded by boycotts

 

The boycott of KFC, McDonald’s, and other American brands is often coloured - for or against - by racial bias.

But why not see how Malaysian companies can take over their market share? 

Many Malays support these boycotts due to the slaughter in Gaza. Thus far, some 108 KFC outlets have “temporarily” closed down.

In contrast, non-Malays usually pooh-pooh the boycotts. They may sympathise with the Palestinians but are more wary that anti-Israel emotions can easily mutate into bashing of local Chinese and Christians.

So, online comments often claim that the Malays are “stupidly” shooting themselves in the foot as the majority of staff, and even owners, of these outlets are Muslims.

“Who is going to help the workers laid off? You (the Malays) only think about the Palestinians but not your own people,” went one post.

But would Chinese Malaysians support a boycott of KFC if the US tightened its economic war against China? What if the Yankees actually bombed China in the future, just as Israel is now bombing Gaza?

Would Malays then scoff at local Chinese for harming local jobs over a “faraway conflict”? 

Let locals take over

Rather than these two views coloured by the usual racial and religious emotions, there is a third option.

Instead, why don’t we look at how local companies can benefit by grabbing market share from American brands?

McDonald’s closed its Russian restaurants soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A Russian took over and rebranded the stores as Vkusno & tochka, or “Tasty & that’s it”. After one year, Reuters reported that it’s doing well. 

In our region, Jollibee defeated McDonald’s to become the fast food “king” of the Philippines.

In 1978, Filipino businessperson Tony Tan Caktiong started a few burger restaurants in Manila. Three years later, McDonald’s entered his market. 

He chose to compete with the world’s biggest burger chain rather than sell his business to them. It was a David versus Goliath battle.

Today, the Jollibee fast food empire has 1,150 stores and has about US$1.6 billion in annual revenue. Whereas McDonald’s in the Philippines has just 650 locations and US$845 million in revenue. 

Filipinos love American food but prefer a sweeter taste. And that’s how Jollibee beat McDonald’s - by offering sweet fried “Chickenjoy”, a sweet tangy “Yum Burger”, and sweet spaghetti with banana ketchup! 

The lesson is obvious. A local Malaysian chain that better caters to local tastes can beat global franchises.

No wonder McDonald’s has even offered Rendang Burgers and Prosperity Burgers. In response, Malaysian chain MyBurgerLab offered the Nasi Lemak Burger!

What’s next? Masak merah burgers and assam pedas egg benjo?

Fried chicken wars

As for fried chicken, there have been several local unsuccessful attempts to compete with KFC, such as McDota, Hartz Chicken Buffet, and KL Fried Chicken. Try saying the latter in a Southern USA accent - Koo-where-la Looomporr Frrieed Chickin! Yeeee haw!

The Malaysian chain that has managed to survive and prosper after decades of fast food wars is Marrybrown. It was founded in 1981 in Johor Baru by Chinese couple Lawrence and Nancy Liew.

Like Jollibee, they have also adapted to local tastes with rice meals, porridge, and curry noodles apart from burgers and fried chicken.

It is instructive to note that as KFC suffers in Kelantan, Marrybrown aims to open 40 new outlets there.

Today, it has 500 outlets across 16 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and even in the Middle East, Africa, China, India, and Europe.

So, who says that local food chains can’t compete with American ones? We also have many other successful Malaysian chains such as Secret Recipe and Sushi Mentai. 

And despite their American names, Big Apple Donuts, San Francisco coffee, and Manhattan Fish Market are also locally born.

Go for local coffee

As for Starbucks, I personally feel it’s overpriced. Perhaps this is what happens when you have to pay high franchise fees to an American company.

Vietnam has its own strong coffee culture. So it’s fitting that their top two home-grown coffee chains - Highlands Coffee (over 600 outlets) and Trung Nguyen (over 400 outlets) - have beaten Starbucks into 5th place (about 90 outlets) in that country.

Another country with a strong coffee culture is, yes, Malaysia! It is our genius to take Indonesian coffee beans and apply local roasting skills to create so many good local coffees. For example, we have Aik Cheong (Malacca), Keretapi (Penang), 434 (Muar), and Televisyen (Kluang). Don't forget Yit Foh from Tenom, Sabah.

In Indonesia, Malaysia’s Ah Huat white coffee is so valuable that its trademark is the subject of an RM23 million lawsuit there.

Local chains like Old Town, Hainan Hometown, and Kluang Station offer a comfy cafe setting to enjoy kopi, tea, or cham at a fraction of Starbucks’ price.

If you can’t do without your cappuccino fix, why not instead support local coffee chains like Zus, Bask Bear, Gigi, and Richiamo?

A systematic comparison by The Vulcan Post found that all the Malaysian options are cheaper despite having fancy drinks such as “Buttercream Latte” and “Ice Blended Caramello Cappuccino”.

Conclusion

So maybe it’s time to stop thinking of boycotts with just racial emotions. Rather than scorning those who support the Palestinian cause, let’s be more rational.

We may or may not agree with the boycotts but let’s explore the opportunities they present.

Sure, jobs may be lost at KFC and Starbucks but perhaps they can be gained at Marrybrown and Zus Coffee?

Why are we so loyal to American brands anyway? Are they really better? 

Or do we have a cultural bias to regard anything Mat Salleh as superior? In other words, are we still mentally colonised?

Instead, let’s see how Malaysians can reconquer the market share of foreign brands. That may be the best way to raise national pride. - Mkini

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ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.