Big dreams in a cone of gelato
Awake: Dreamcones' staff man the new kiosk at The Mall. Pictures: BT/Saifulizam
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Learning from others’ strengths, weaknesses in business can be
beneficial, reports DEBBIE TOO
TO BECOME synonymous with the word "gelato". That has always been the objective of Dreamcones when it set up shop in Brunei about a year ago.
To know whether it has achieved this objective or not, ask the Bruneian next to you now what he knows about gelato. Dreamcones has been active in roadshows, radio and television.
"The idea for starting a gelato business in Brunei came in 2006, when I travelled to Bangkok, Thailand, where ice cream and gelato are very popular. Brunei has a hot climate and the Brunei population loves ice cream," says Leslie Lai, owner and marketing executive for Dreamcones.
The brand is a franchise from Bangkok but 70 per cent of the ingredients and the manufacturing are local.
"The core ingredients are imported from Bangkok and Europe, but we make everything and the other ingredients are purchased locally,"says Lai.
Opened in 2007, in one year the business flourished to have one stand-alone parlour in Kiulap and one kiosk at The Mall in Gadong. But it wasn't an easy road. Lai says that initially the problems he faced, like many startups, had to do with funding.
"We needed to conduct a wide research on why our business (would be) feasible in Brunei, meeting with bankers, relevant government authorities, who were very helpful, but we learnt a lot from these barriers," says Lai. Another challenge that Dreamcones faced was with competition.
"There were three other competitors that existed when we opened, and it is a good thing because we also managed to learn from their strengths and weaknesses and that's a key to improving," he says.
Loyal customers and friends who supported Lai were the key in breaking into the market. "We also interact with the public through broadcasting, and we give back to the public by contributing to charity."
On average, Dreamcones sells about 150 to 170 cups of gelato a day, but sales were to quadruple that when they first opened. "People in Brunei were actually lining up outside our store, but that is how the product life cycle is in Brunei," says Lai.
He adds that the initial short burst of popularity and sudden slow movement cannot really be overcome, but that their plan now is to maintain their sales. "The strengths of our product is the quality of the gelato, and the services we provide, so interaction with the public and the customers is important. We advise them on upcoming promotions instead of waiting for them to come to us."
Having a personal touch by way of continuous interaction with the public is important in maintaining the business and to keep his customers returning, he says.
One way that Lai has managed to maintain sales was with the opening of their new kiosk at the side entrance of The Mall in Gadong.
"Everyone knows that The Mall is where (most of the) human traffic is (in Brunei), and especially that particular entrance. It has more people walking in and out of the shopping centre than the main entrance. It has got banks around and it is a walking distance to other shopping buildings."
He adds that it took a lot of convincing the landlord and the government authorities regulations to have that kiosk in The Mall built.
Lai says that he wants to develop Dreamcones more for the future and hopefully his plans will lead to the gelato kiosk being a landmark in Brunei.
"Who knows, we may change our name to something local and authentic and when tourists come to Brunei, if they want to grab desert, they can come to us."
Lai adds that future ventures may include bringing the brand to neighbouring Malaysian states.
"There are some gelato shops in East Malaysia but quality-wise they can be improved," he says.
On whether the public can expect to see more Dreamcones kiosks opening in the near future, Lai says that he's happy with what he has at the moment but he would like to participate in more roadshow events rather than opening more kiosks.
The Brunei Times
TO BECOME synonymous with the word "gelato". That has always been the objective of Dreamcones when it set up shop in Brunei about a year ago.
To know whether it has achieved this objective or not, ask the Bruneian next to you now what he knows about gelato. Dreamcones has been active in roadshows, radio and television.
"The idea for starting a gelato business in Brunei came in 2006, when I travelled to Bangkok, Thailand, where ice cream and gelato are very popular. Brunei has a hot climate and the Brunei population loves ice cream," says Leslie Lai, owner and marketing executive for Dreamcones.
The brand is a franchise from Bangkok but 70 per cent of the ingredients and the manufacturing are local.
"The core ingredients are imported from Bangkok and Europe, but we make everything and the other ingredients are purchased locally,"says Lai.
Opened in 2007, in one year the business flourished to have one stand-alone parlour in Kiulap and one kiosk at The Mall in Gadong. But it wasn't an easy road. Lai says that initially the problems he faced, like many startups, had to do with funding.
"We needed to conduct a wide research on why our business (would be) feasible in Brunei, meeting with bankers, relevant government authorities, who were very helpful, but we learnt a lot from these barriers," says Lai. Another challenge that Dreamcones faced was with competition.
"There were three other competitors that existed when we opened, and it is a good thing because we also managed to learn from their strengths and weaknesses and that's a key to improving," he says.
Loyal customers and friends who supported Lai were the key in breaking into the market. "We also interact with the public through broadcasting, and we give back to the public by contributing to charity."
On average, Dreamcones sells about 150 to 170 cups of gelato a day, but sales were to quadruple that when they first opened. "People in Brunei were actually lining up outside our store, but that is how the product life cycle is in Brunei," says Lai.
He adds that the initial short burst of popularity and sudden slow movement cannot really be overcome, but that their plan now is to maintain their sales. "The strengths of our product is the quality of the gelato, and the services we provide, so interaction with the public and the customers is important. We advise them on upcoming promotions instead of waiting for them to come to us."
Having a personal touch by way of continuous interaction with the public is important in maintaining the business and to keep his customers returning, he says.
One way that Lai has managed to maintain sales was with the opening of their new kiosk at the side entrance of The Mall in Gadong.
"Everyone knows that The Mall is where (most of the) human traffic is (in Brunei), and especially that particular entrance. It has more people walking in and out of the shopping centre than the main entrance. It has got banks around and it is a walking distance to other shopping buildings."
He adds that it took a lot of convincing the landlord and the government authorities regulations to have that kiosk in The Mall built.
Lai says that he wants to develop Dreamcones more for the future and hopefully his plans will lead to the gelato kiosk being a landmark in Brunei.
"Who knows, we may change our name to something local and authentic and when tourists come to Brunei, if they want to grab desert, they can come to us."
Lai adds that future ventures may include bringing the brand to neighbouring Malaysian states.
"There are some gelato shops in East Malaysia but quality-wise they can be improved," he says.
On whether the public can expect to see more Dreamcones kiosks opening in the near future, Lai says that he's happy with what he has at the moment but he would like to participate in more roadshow events rather than opening more kiosks.
The Brunei Times
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