In this exclusive interview, Ivy Tan, Business Executive Officer of MAGGI® Malaysia, shares the inspiring journey of the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM). Over the past three years, this impactful initiative has empowered more than 4,800 women across Malaysia by providing comprehensive workshops, innovative masterclasses, and strategic mentorship. Discover how PMWCBM has harnessed the power of food to foster confidence, encourage entrepreneurship, and build a supportive community for women nationwide.
Can you share more about the journey and achievements of PMWCBM over the past three years, particularly its broad appeal and reach, which attracted 3500 participants and garnered a significant viewership?
MAGGI® has always been committed to empowering women and supporting women to both in business and in society, which we embody within our dynamic business culture every day. Through our MAGGI CukupRasa brand, we embody the spirit of “Tak Kenal, Tak Cinta”, which basically means if you never try you never know, in hope that we are able to inspire women to step out of their comfort zone and try something new be it in the kitchen or in life. With the women population contributing nearly 45% of Malaysia’s socio-economic landscape, it is imperative that strong support for women’s empowerment efforts can help drive economic growth and national development. Therefore, since 2020, MAGGI® stepped forward by spearheading the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) as a primary initiative to empower women in Malaysia through food as we firmly believe that food can be a catalyst to empower women and serve as a catalyst for women’s advancement. The program consists of workshops, masterclasses, and mentorship programs to provide opportunities for women to upskill themselves, build their confidence and develop their cooking skills while empowering them to generate sustainable income through the food business in all three seasons.
Over the past three years, the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) has illustrated a remarkable stride in board appeal and reach to empower more than 4,800 women across Malaysia. While the masterclass workshops and mentorship programs occurred primarily online, the mentorship program also consists of a TV program – Resipi Berani MAGGI®, to document the transformative journey of participants through a series of cooking challenges to encourage participants to step out of their comfort zone and try something new and it aims to bring the program closer to viewers at home and inspire them to follow suit. The essence of empowering women through food by equipping them with relevant skills was believed to create resonance with the women’s community nationwide which resulted in the success of the program and its ability to attract numerous applicants over the years. For example, Nur Syahidah Ammullah binti Abdul Rahim, the winner of Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 2, experienced an 800% increase in her business income after participating in the program. Similarly, another contestant, Nur Hidayah Jeffri, the champion of Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 1, witnessed a significant increase in her food business by 30 fold. While, in terms of personal growth, Nur Hanie Binti Mohammed, the winner of Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 3, has enhanced her intrapersonal development from being a shy introvert to a confident woman who boldly embraces new experiences and challenges in life. She has also benefited from the program with an incredible increase on her social media following, from scratch to almost 900 followers on TikTok within 3 months.
Additionally, the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) has also received multiple awards in recognition of its outstanding approach to women’s empowerment. The awards include the Effie Silver award under brand content & entertainment category; the Media Specialist Association (MSA) Silver Award for Best use of Integrated Media as well as the Bronze title of Best use of TV and Best use of branded entertainment and content.
How has PMWCBM built brand loyalty and strong consumer engagement over its four seasons, and in what ways has it aimed to enhance and empower participants’ skills through food?
The success of Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) helps MAGGI CukupRasa as a brand to nurture and foster stronger brand engagement with its target audience. The program showcases that the brand, MAGGI CukupRasa understands the tension points and the emotional need state of its audience where many women want to do more and achieve more in life but sometimes are too afraid to step out of their comfort zone to try something new due to the fear of failure, judgment, and lack of confidence and support to move forward. MAGGI CukupRasa provides a platform and a support system through its Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) to help women empower themselves through food.
With all the comprehensive support provided through the mentorship program, which includes workshops to build confidence among participants and encourages them to step out of their comfort zones, and later enhances their hard skills through culinary and content creation lessons, the ultimate goal of the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) is to improve the livelihood of the women’s community by empowering them through food. We deeply appreciate the constant support and loyalty from our consumers, which has contributed to the success of MAGGI®. Therefore, MAGGI® aims to elevate the livelihood of consumers, as improving their quality of life is always the priority for MAGGI®.
The central to the success of strong consumer engagement was the selection of the right mentors. These carefully selected mentors are renowned within the food industry such as Anne Idris who is the winner of National Entrepreneur Icon 2019, Sheila Rusly, the renowned actress who is known for her passion in cooking and Eina Azman, the face of MAGGI® Cukup Rasa. Embodied with the spirit of ‘Tak Kenal Tak Cinta,’ which Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) aims to achieve, Anne initially ventured into the bakery business without prior training or knowledge of both baking and entrepreneurship. Despite her lack of experience, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and give it a try. Soon, her talent in baking was recognized by clients who were willing to pay five times the price she had initially offered for her cakes. After garnering attention from the local community, Anne shifted her strategy to online business, hoping to leverage the digital platform to expand her reach. According to Anne, this move elevated her business to the next level, resulting in a 300 percent increase in sales. Her entrepreneurial career has been further enhanced as she became a mentor in various entrepreneurship programs, including the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM), where she shared valuable business advice and inspired more female food entrepreneurs. Similarly, renowned for her acting career, director, and producer, Sheila Rusly has cultivated another identity by regularly sharing her culinary creations with fans via social media. Her journey of expressing her passion for food through social media platforms has earned her the title of ‘food influencer’, thanks to the engaging cooking content she produces. With Sheila joining part of the mentor team, insightful advice can be shared to the participants in transforming these Wanita Cukup Berani into content creators. As for actress Eina Azman, who posts about her culinary passions on social media, has also faced challenges in her food journey. Despite facing obstacles, her bold determination to overcome fears has allowed her to share mouth-watering recipes through captivating social media content. Leveraging her past experiences, Eina could provide Wanita Cukup Berani with guidance to excel in the realm of food content creation. With a passion for food, real-life inspirations and the right experiences, our mentors are well placed to guide and empower participants to take that step forward to be bold and try something new. Their genuine enthusiasm and expertise resonate with the audience, thus, further strengthening brand loyalty and trust among consumers.
Through participating in the program, the contestants have received invaluable insights and mentorship which enriches their food and entrepreneurial skills. By documenting the participants’ journey in Resipi Berani MAGGI® TV show it has helped to broaden viewers’ culinary knowledge and inspire them to be innovative in food preparation. These initiatives are evident to showcase our commitment to building meaningful relationships and emotional connections with our consumers beyond the typical marketing strategy, demonstrating our brand’s genuine care for society and the shared values in today’s socially-conscious world. We aim to share our passion for cooking in demonstrating the versatility of MAGGI® products to elevate everyday dishes and encourage experimentation in the kitchen.
MAGGI® has shown a deep commitment to nurturing skills through various initiatives. Could you elaborate on the types of workshops, and mentorship programs?
MAGGI®’s commitment to nurturing skills is evident through a range of initiatives within the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM). Over the years, the general key modules of the program cover a range of topics from food preparation training and business masterclasses to confidence-building and personal grooming sessions.
The mentorship aspect, which was documented in Resipi Berani MAGGI®, offers personal guidance from industry experts as mentors who share their experiences and insights to empower the mentees in their food entrepreneurial journey. From 2021 to 2022, the winners of the Resipi Berani MAGGI® have been offered a one-on-one coaching mentorship program with Anne Idris to further learn valuable insights into running a food business and building an entrepreneurial career from the food entrepreneur icon herself.
In 2023, the program was further enhanced by introducing components focused on digital content creation, aiming to digitally enhance the participants’ skills, thereby taking their food entrepreneurship to a new level. Additionally, the finalists of Resipi Berani MAGGI® were offered a 12-month content creator training program with MAGGI® to refine their content creation skills and enhance their business under the guidance of MAGGI®. These comprehensive approaches enabled participants to acquire new skills, deepen their knowledge, boost their confidence, and receive ongoing support beyond the workshops.
The partnership with Google, Meta, and TikTok marks a significant collaboration. How do these partnerships contribute to the program’s goals, and what impact have they had on your ability to empower women?
The partnership with Google, Meta and Tiktok has been pivotal in advancing the goals of the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI®. The breakthrough partnership is a new initiative which we introduced in 2023 to support and help the contestants embark on a path to success in the digital world where cutting-edge resources, expertise and platforms to empower our contestants were provided to thrive in the digital age and open up new opportunities and avenues for success. Through workshops and training sessions, the participants acquired essential digital skills and learned to leverage different social media platforms to grow their businesses and brands. The impact of these initiatives is evident in the significant growth and achievements of the participants which translated into tangible results, as seen in their businesses and social media presence. For instance, Ida Faizura Binti Megat, the 1st Runner-Up of the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® (PMWCBM) Season 3, saw a 40%-50% increase in business sales and a 30% rise in her social media followers.
Our main objective of this program is to inspire and provide opportunities to women from all walks of life, to build their confidence and to empower them with skills to pursue their dreams and aspirations. Looking at the notable achievements of the past contestants has been encouraging for us as a brand, knowing that we have played a role in shaping them into a more skillful and confident person to achieve newfound success and unlock their full potential in the food business realm.
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How does MAGGI® ensure it remains relevant in its mission to empower women through food, and can you share any insights into the strategic decisions that guide this commitment?”
At MAGGI®, we remain committed to our mission of empowering women through food by staying agile and responsive to evolving trends and consumer needs. Our strategic decisions are guided by a deep understanding of our audience and commitment to fostering meaningful connections through food. This has been illustrated in the different key elements which we have present in each of the seasons, by learning and keeping up with the food market trend, assessing and analyzing the skills required and exploring the possibility of business avenues to empower the contestants through a series of challenges and workshop training.
In last year’s season, we identified the need and rising trend in the digital age by embracing innovation and collaborating with Google, Meta and TikTok to highlight the essentiality of food content creation. By developing and tailoring modules of the workshop and key aspects of the program, we have provided participants with valuable skills and also empowered them to leverage social media platforms to showcase their cooking skills and expand their reach in the digital presence. According to recent studies, there has been a 30% increase in the number of women actively sharing recipes and their food experiences online. Our commitment to women’s empowerment extends beyond culinary skills to encompass broader aspects of personal and professional development. It is overseen by our support in providing guided workshops, mentorship programs and content creator trainee contracts. We offered the participants the opportunity to enhance their confidence, business acumen and social media presence with initiatives to equip them with the tools and support they need to achieve financial independence and generate meaningful contributions to their families and communities. We always ensure that our initiative resonates with women from diverse backgrounds and experiences, empowering them to pursue their culinary passions and achieve their goals.
Overall, our strategic decision lies on a strong commitment to empowering women through food, driven by insights, innovation and genuine desire to make a positive impact in the lives of our consumers. We are dedicated to fostering a vibrant community of food enthusiasts and providing women with the support and resources they need to thrive in the culinary world.
Looking ahead, what can we expect from MAGGI® Wanita Cukup Berani 2024? Could you give us a sneak peek into the key components, themes, and innovations for the upcoming season?
Building upon the successes of the previous seasons, MAGGI® Wanita Cukup Berani 2024 promises exciting components, themes and innovations. The upcoming season will focus on continual women empowerment through food by inspiring them to embrace new challenges and learn valuable skills. The program will feature our essential key modules on confidence building, business acumen and cooking for business to encourage participants to step out of their comfort zones and explore new culinary horizons.
As we look ahead to the upcoming season, contestants can expect a dynamic blend of immersive experiences with new elements that go beyond food entrepreneurship and content creation, enabling the contestants to refine their creativity and abilities to showcase their food creations in captivating ways. Whether it’s refining cooking techniques, mastering digital content strategies or entrepreneurial skills, the upcoming season will expect a comprehensive support and mentorship tailored to new avenues and business advancement opportunities. With these innovative components, themes and mentorship offerings, the upcoming season promises to be an inspiring journey of growth for learning and empowerment to all participants, to also inspire and benefits more audiences.
With over 10 awards and accolades received in the past three years, what do these recognitions mean for MAGGI® and its efforts towards women’s empowerment, and how do they shape the future direction of PMWCBM?
The numerous awards and accolades received over the past three years are a testament to MAGGI®’s commitment to women empowerment and culinary excellence.These recognitions validate the impact of the program in empowering women and transforming their lives through food. It has been an inspirational growth for us to continue pushing our boundaries in setting new standards for the program and ensuring that every woman has the opportunity to thrive in their life through food. As we look to the future, this recognition will serve as a catalyst for our innovation and growth, guiding our efforts to empower women through food and creating lasting changes to their businesses and lives, in order to improve their livelihood.
Looking ahead, Ivy Tan provides a glimpse into the future of MAGGI® Wanita Cukup Berani 2024, where new components and innovations aim to inspire women further and enhance their culinary and entrepreneurial journeys. With over ten awards and accolades earned in the past three years, MAGGI® Malaysia continues to set the standard for women’s empowerment, offering a dynamic platform for personal growth and business excellence through food. Empowering women remains at the core of PMWCBM’s mission, creating lasting change and unlocking opportunities that transform lives.
