Here’s the story of Oriental Kopi, the public-listed chain that made RM43mil profits last yr

The talk of the town has been Oriental Kopi and their recent IPO.

But in case you’ve been living under a rock and wondering who that even is, here’s the tea–or rather, kopi.

Behind the cup 

Oriental Kopi got its start in 2020, founded by Dato’ Chan Jian Chern, Chan Yen Min, and Koay Song Leng. 

According to its IPO prospectus, the first Oriental Kopi cafe was opened in a rented shop lot in Johor Jaya, Johor. Subsequently, in May 2021, the cafe chain expanded to a shopping mall where they opened the second Oriental Kopi cafe in The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey in Johor.

In December 2020, the business began selling packaged foods, such as coffee, tea, spreads, pastries, instant noodles, and more. 

In November 2021, the first Oriental Kopi cafe outside of Johor was opened in a rented shop lot in Bandar Puteri Puchong, Selangor. Some months later in April 2022, they established a new Oriental Kopi cafe in Pavilion Bukit Jalil Mall in Kuala Lumpur. 

Oriental Kopi also signed a JV with the Chua family of Paradise Group Singapore to set up Oriental Kopi outlets there. Paradise Group has more than 10 restaurant brands which includes Paradise Dynasty, Le Shrimp Ramen, Para Thai, and more. 

A whopping RM43 million in profits

From there on, the business continued growing.

Today, there are 20 outlets of Oriental Kopi. In 2024, their revenue rose to RM277,280,000 and the profit after tax was RM43,132,000.

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

This includes profits from its packaged goods, which the business highlights as a strength in the prospectus.

Aside from that, Oriental Kopi also highlighted a number of other strengths, including:

The business is modular and scalable, thus facilitating prompt and simplified procedures to
expand the number of their cafes. The business has direct and indirect distribution channels to optimise their market access. The cafes are strategically located which enhances their brand visibility and drives
business growth. There’s a dedicated food recipe creation team that develops new and improved menus for the chain. The business owns and operate all their cafes in Malaysia, enabling them to have control over the quality of products and services. They have experienced directors and a key senior management team to sustain and
continue developing the business.

But who exactly comprises that team?

From mobile phones salesperson to managing director

Dato’ Chan Jian Chern, also known as Dato’ Calvin, is the business’ promoter, specified shareholder, substantial shareholder, and managing director. 

Now aged 42, he had completed his secondary education in 1999, the same year he began his career with Digiworld Enterprise as a salesperson of mobile phones and accessories. 

He’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, though. In 2003, he set up a sole proprietorship, known as Tenggara Telecentre Trading. Later on in 2014, he set up Tenggara Telecentre Sdn Bhd to carry on the business of Tenggara Telecentre Trading under a private limited company. 

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

In 2009, he also started a different company, Mars Mobile Distribution Sdn Bhd, which is a wholesaler and retailer of handphones, computers, and telecommunication equipment. He also started Leagoo (M) Sdn Bhd in 2014 which also sold handphones, computers, and telecommunication equipment. 

But in 2018, he was no longer involved in the management of the mobile phone and accessories businesses via Tenggara Telecentre Sdn Bhd, Mars Mobile Distribution Sdn Bhd, and Leagoo (M) Sdn Bhd.

That year, he co-founded Golden Whale International with Chan Yen Min, which is in the business of a bubble tea retail chain under the “Black Whale” brand. 

During his tenure, he led the team and executed the business strategies and marketing plans of the company. He was also able to acquire knowledge and management experience, as well as build business networks within the F&B industry. 

In 2021, he was less active in the Black Whale beverage business to focus on Oriental Kopi Group’s business. 

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

During the initial stages of the Group’s business, he was responsible for the Group’s overall management including operations, cafes expansion, branding and marketing. Currently, he is primarily responsible for the formulation of the business strategies, including corporate plans, branding and marketing strategies, contributing to the growth of their Group. 

Dato’ Chan Jian Chern was also previously involved in several businesses such as Cunfry, where he was a shareholder from 2021 to 2023. 

He was also a director from 2022 to 2024, and a founding shareholder since 2022 till to-date, of the Beutea beverage chain operator group of companies. 

Since the establishment of the first Oriental Kopi cafe in Johor Jaya, Johor in 2020, he has led the group’s business to further expand to 20 cafes (including Singapore). 

Joined by a couple of engineers

At 33 years old, Chan Yen Min is Oriental Kopi’s promoter, specified shareholder, substantial shareholder, and executive director. 

Her background is actually in chemical engineering, having obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Taylor’s University in 2015. She went on to work in notable companies, including Yokogawa Electric and Petron Malaysia. 

In 2018, she co-founded Golden Whale International to operate the “Black Whale” brand with Dato’ Chan Jian Chern. During her tenure, she was responsible for procurement, retail outlet management, human resource and administration. 

Chan Yen Min was also involved in both Cunfry and Beatea, the latter which she is still a shareholder of. 

In 2023, Chan Yen Min ceased her involvement in Golden Whale International and Cunfry to focus on Oriental Kopi’s business.

She is the sister of Dato’ Chan Jian Chern, and the spouse of Koay Song Leng, who is the executive director of Oriental Kopi. 

Koay, 34, also has an engineering background, having gotten his Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from Taylor’s University in 2015.

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

He started his career with Foster Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (Singapore), a company that provides thermal insulation materials, then joined Grundfos (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a water pump manufacturer.

In 2019, though, he left and joined Golden Whale International. Here, he was responsible for warehousing and logistics, outlets expansion and general outlet maintenance. 

As Oriental Kopi’s Executive Director, he is responsible for overseeing retail outlet management (including kitchen operations), warehousing, and logistics management.

Like his wife, he was a director and shareholder in Cunfry until 2023. He was also a shareholder of Beautea since 2022 till to-date. 

Koay’s sibling, Koay Chor Leng, is also involved in the business as a Retail Operation Manager. Meanwhile, the Chan’s cousin, Chan Wei Jet, is the Group’s Business Development and FMCG Manager.

Steeping the kopi 

While an IPO is an “exit strategy” for some, this looks to be just the beginning for Oriental Kopi. 

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

According to their IPO prospectus, the total gross proceeds from their public issue will amount to RM183,964,440 based on the IPO price. The team expects the proceeds to be used in the following manner:

Set up of new head office, central kitchen and warehouse (RM53,685,000, 29.18%)  Expansion of cafes in various states within Malaysia (RM36,400,000, 19.79%)  Expansion of their brands of packaged foods segment (RM5,000,000, 2.72%) Marketing activities in foreign countries (RM5,500,000, 2.99%)  Working capital (RM75,779,000, 41.19%) Estimated listing expenses (RM7,600,000, 4.13%)

Looking ahead, the team aims to continue with their existing business activities, leveraging their strengths to address potential opportunities by expanding their cafe chain operations and distribution and retail of packaged foods. 

These expansion plans will happen both locally as well as in foreign countries. 

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

In the prospectus, the group highlighted that they have three potential business models for the expansion of their cafes for their F&B services and in-store sales of their packaged foods in foreign countries by way of joint-venture owner-operator, master franchisee, or franchisees.

Image Credit: Oriental Kopi

From Malaysia to the world

If you’ve ever visited an Oriental Kopi outlet, especially during lunch or dinner rush, you’ve likely noticed that the restaurant is almost always packed, or even has a queue out front. 

There’s no doubt that Oriental Kopi has rapidly grown to become a go-to place for reliable local fare in a nice environment. Personally, I’m excited—and proud—to see the company scale up and bring this to other countries, too. 

But there’s no such thing as “too big to fail.” Oriental Kopi has been enjoying its flowers, and it’ll need the right strategy and execution in place to continue to do so.

With that in mind, we hope to keep an eye on the business and see where they go from here. 

Learn more about Oriental Kopi here. Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Featured Image Credit: Oriental Kopi