A POST by finfluencer Umar (@umarmaggi) on X highlights the uniqueness of Malaysian food culture.
This was clearly illustrated in the case of banana leaf rice chain BananaBro which is “owned by a Chinese, kitchen headed by an Indian but the food caters to Malay crowd” yet the “melting pot” business was able to rake in a revenue of RM70 mil in 2023 alone.
Biasa kedai mamak ni owner dia mesti mamak.
Tapi ada satu kedai mamak ni, owner dia chinese.
Betapa harmoninya negara kita.
Chinese bukak kedai.
Indian masak.
Malay makan.Hahahaha 😂
2023:
Kedai mamak ni dah hit RM70 JUTA revenue.
This is Banana Bro. pic.twitter.com/ShWXWajS8A
— Umar (@umarmaggi) March 12, 2025
Detailing the founder’s background, it was highlighted that Tony Lim made an unexpected foray into F&B (food and beverage) business as his previous expertise was in logistics.
He opened the Chatime franchise in Cambodia in 2011 before bringing the Boat Noodle brand to Malaysia two years later.
Two others are credited as co-founders of BananaBro – David Vel who is BananaBro’s executive chef and Aaron Gan who is the CEO.
The poster pointed to a key factor in BananaBro’s success which was catering to the halal market, thus allowing greater number of Malaysians to enjoy traditional South Indian cuisine.
After a bumpy start with its maiden outlet in Berjaya Times Square, BananaBro struck gold with its second restaurant in Subang Jaya. The lesson learnt here was that location is key in the F&B industry.
Based on a calculated business strategy, BananaBro positioned itself in malls to leverage on high foot traffic (such is the case with 90% of its 30 plus outlets).
The poster also highlighted BananaBro’s “super conservative” approach to financing that has served them well. Without resorting to external funding, the business expansion continued apace.
This approach has served them well which included utilising government-backed SME loans during the pandemic which has enabled BananaBro to expand to 30 outlets in just five years.
Without being overly aggressive, the brand is projected to grow to 60 outlets over the next two years with each branch contributing between RM1.5-RM2 mil in revenue annually.
Praising the consistency in quality, the poster said this was crucial for the franchise to survive. Any dip in quality would have disastrous consequences for the brand image.
The poster who is the co-founder of Mokky’s Pizza further highlighted four key elements behind BananaBro’s success story. These were (i) conservative funding approach; (ii) strategic locations; (iii) quality control; and (iv) maintaining executive control with minimal external funding.
Praising the company’s financial prudence, the poster noted that this example was a refreshing reminder of old school business practices as opposed to the hyper growth targets of many modern start-ups.
Netizens welcomed Umar’s analysis of the company though a few pointed out that BananaBro serves South Indian cuisine which was different from mamak food.
Some did point out cases of non-Indians/non-mamak owners opening such restaurants, having cottoned on to the fact that these places cater to people of all backgrounds.
A few though lamented that Malay involvement in successful businesses such as this was merely to be bums on seats.
At the end of the day, FocusM wishes BananaBro all the best in bringing South Indian cuisine to a wider audience. – March 17, 2025
