Author’s Blurb: I used to think broths or soup noodles were sick people’s food as a kid. As an adult full of worries and anxiety now, one bowl of it never fails to soothe me. From its warmth to the fragrant flavours, it’s my first suggestion every time I’m asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Real estate agent and mother to one, Sue, aims to make bone broths accessible to as many people as possible through her home business.
While a staple dish in her family, she’s never thought of monetising or building a business out of it.
But in October 2020, things changed when she launched Just Stock to spread the simple concoction that’s always regarded as having multiple health benefits.
Boiling It Down
By day, she works her full-time job. By night, she would clean and prepare the raw chicken, then roast them in her oven. Other ingredients like carrots, onions, and leeks are chopped and thrown into a large soup pot with the roasted chicken.
A sprinkle of Himalayan pink salt and other aromatics later, it’s left to simmer for some long hours. Once cooled, she portions them into tubs and deep freezes them to maintain their freshness for longer.
Because the broths are made-to-order from scratch by Sue and her helper, customers must allow up to a 3 to 7-day wait before receiving it.
For now, Just Stock only delivers to those in the Klang Valley. The broth can be used for cooking soups, porridges, stews, noodles, meats, or consumed as is.
A tub of their 430g Roasted Chicken Bone Broth is priced at RM29.90, while their 270g variant is RM18.90.
Of course, they’re not the only bone broth brand in Malaysia. Another than we found was an Instagram business, @bytqahnasir which sells a 5-pack of their 50g bone broths for RM15-RM20.
However, this business targets a whole different customer segment, and it’s in the form of baby food.
Sue shared that her method of standing out is through Just Stock’s packaging and by educating the masses on the benefits of bone broths.
I believe their audience and segmentation are rather different. It is down to who we are talking to and resonating with. From our packaging to the tone and manner in our communication pieces we put out. They need to be relevant and appeal to our consumers—that’s how I believe we stand out from the rest.
Sue, founder of Just Stock.
Transporting The Soup
Whenever I’d order soup noodles from Grab that come in paper bowl-like packaging, it would always seep through the material, making a soggy mess.
Hence, I was curious as to why Sue chose to package her broths in kraft paper tubs instead of glass jars, for instance.
Sue shared that during the early stages of Just Stock, she was also looking to package them in glass jars.
However, the right ones (wide mouth jars) were rather costly which would be a challenge in her aim of making quality broths accessible and affordable.
Furthermore, glass jars are fragile. As the frozen liquid inside it will expand, it might lead to cracking if not stored properly or if the wrong type of glass jar is used.
“This cracking would mean some of the broken bone broth in the freezer would go to waste, or the consumer would have to consume all the bone broth at one go without the possible option to refreeze,” Sue explained to Vulcan Post.
After months of research, kraft paper tubs became her best option. Plus, it serves as a branding element thanks to its look and design.
This packaging didn’t come without its challenges though. After some learnt lessons from leakages, the frozen soups are now packaged with cling film wrapped between the opening and its lid.
It’s also packed in an insulated bag to keep it frozen and follows a strict delivery SOP.
“It all boils down to working very closely with the delivery partner and having a tight SOP in place as we want our products to reach our consumers either frozen or cold,” explained Sue.
In the short term, she hopes to introduce a larger product range under Just Stock and even have the products in specialised grocery stores. She also wants to expand its deliveries beyond the Klang Valley into neighbouring states.
Bottom Line: Due to the product’s packaging, it could be a race against time when it comes to deliveries, especially if going beyond the Klang Valley, and even more so during MCO. Perhaps they could look into bagging the broths in a vacuum-sealed bag before packaging it into its container. This might help prevent leakages even if it melts.
- You can learn more about Just Stock here.
- You can read more about other Malaysian startups about here.
Featured Image Credit: Sue, founder of Just Stock
