Breakfast is often times touted as the most important meal among all, and personally, I find myself spending a good amount of time preparing my first meal of the day. I know though that not everybody has the luxury of time like I do to get their breakfast ready from scratch. With much ongoing debate about whether breakfast is even worth our time, or if skipping it would lead to obesity, it is safe to say that it is a topic that would not get much rest.
Many have the misconception that breakfasts takes up a large chunk of one’s morning, when in fact it could be as little as 5 minutes. Overnight oats is one of the breakfast recipes which would fit into that time frame, in terms of preparation.
It is basically oats soaked in any form of liquid, commonly milk or water, and is left to sit overnight and consumed the next morning. By being highly portable and easy to consume on-the-go, it is an option that busy Malaysians can look to.
One Malaysian startup recently leveraged on the concept of overnight oats and wisely jumped on the bandwagon whilst there is still ample space on it. Five Minutes is an entity which prepares organic overnight oat meals which can be ordered by 5pm the day before delivery, which is between the hours of 9am-11am the very next day.
Oat So Good For You
Sujindran Nair, founder of Five Minutes said that prior to starting the business, the team have noticed that a lot of other healthy food and drinks have been introduced over the years to Malaysians, and they chose overnight oats as a venture, as they see an opportunity in the fact that people simply do not have the time to prepare a healthy meal, and are often time spending up to 12 hours a day behind the desk.
He told Vulcan Post, “With Five Minutes Overnight Oats, we provide a simple and convenient on-the-go meal by adding organic ingredients infused with natural fruits. By taking Five Minutes Overnight Oats Malaysians can still enjoy their familiar meals and get the nutritious goodness of our organic ingredients and its benefits.”
The prep process is fairly simple, as the team mixes their core ingredients and soaks it overnight for the next day delivery. Sujindran notes that soaking overnight might have a slight improvement on the digestibility and absorption of nutrients from the oats due to the slight reduction in phytate (a compound found in grains) which may interfere with nutrient absorption.
Five Minutes currently has flavours ranging from banana, mango and nuts which are priced at RM5, and the premium range consists of kiwi and passion fruit which are priced at RM7. Each tub of Five Minutes Overnight Oats has a shelf life of 3 days, refrigerated and are free from refined sugar, artificial preservatives or colouring.
Breaking Ground With Breakfasts
The startup delivers for free in the Cyberjaya and Putrajaya area where they see about 80% of their orders coming in from. For other locations, inclusive of Puchong, Klang and Shah Alam, there are delivery charges between RM10-RM20 depending on the area, with a minimum order of 10 cups per order.
The team consisting of Mohan, Vicky, Ganesan and Sujindran are on a mission to lower the delivery charges though, seeing since it might even go up to 4 times the original cost of the overnight oats itself. Thus, it helps that sometimes, there are collective orders from their clients, which are mostly office folks, and this can go up to 30 cups at a time.
Sujindran said, “It is something that we have been looking for an alternative solution, since delivery cost is something that is out of our control (toll and petrol cost). As much as we can control product prices, we would.”
They plan to do this by partnering with delivery startups as well as engaging with trustworthy local distributors. Even though it might sound like a feasible idea to partner with grocery stores to fill up shelves, Sujindran said that they have decided not to for now, as they would like to sustain the freshness of the product, which is their team key mantra.
Starting The Day Right
Their dedication in providing fresh healthy breakfasts to Malaysians have drawn in more than 800 customers ever since they started business in late January of this year. One of the contributory agents to their startup’s success is also in their niche offering.
Sujindran said, “We don’t see any competitors that have been doing overnight oats and we knew there is a possible market where people are starting to be health conscious and also going organic is the way that people like to eat now as it’s a cleaner eating lifestyle. Being the first to start though, it will take time to reach the customer understanding and trust towards the product.”
Five Minutes leverages on this by being responsive to their customers’ feedbacks and works towards fulfilling it. The founder said, “Lots of our current customers are asking if we can come up with dry ingredients, so that they have a liberty to DIY. It’s still in the early stages, but we’re looking to see if it’s feasible with the current market.”