“I knew that I created something right,” Jonathan Leon Lim (Jon) stated.
It didn’t matter that his cafe was about in debt after three months of business because of a failed partnership. It didn’t matter that people were offering to buy him out of the brand, he was steadfast and stayed on.
Jon was confident that Bray Bakery, a sourdough specialty brand he started in 2020, was filling a much-needed market gap.
Now, the business is making a six-figure revenue per month.
A life-changing accident, literally
With a degree in advertising, culinary arts was never really in Jon’s life plan. But then he underwent a major surgery that made him unable to continue in the media field.
Lost, Jon turned to his cooking hobby for comfort. He used Instagram to find some jobs and applied to work at cafes and restaurants. Slowly, he worked from the ground up and made his way to fine dining restaurants, including now-Michelin-starred Dewakan.
He was actually in the midst of moving abroad to advance his culinary career when the pandemic struck.
Lost yet again, Jon began baking sourdough bread at home, the thicker and denser kind you’d have at European establishments. He sold them to neighbourhood crowds only to find that locals didn’t like them.
“I was actually surprised, like this is bread from one of the best restaurants in KL, you don’t like it?” Jon candidly said.
Rather than staying stumped, though, he tweaked the recipe to make the sourdough softer and milder in taste, overall more appealing to Malaysians. This led to a steady stream of customers and business was sustainably well.
So much so that Jon’s daily routine was from 12AM to 8AM, where he’d bake and deliver his sourdough offerings to customers around the Klang Valley. Many of them were families like your next-door aunties and uncles.
“I found a problem that I can solve”
By November 2021, Jon decided to expand Bray Bakery and set up a physical store. A total of five partners made this dream possible.
However, just three months after opening their doors at Menara See Hoy Chan in KL, the bakery was almost RM1 million in debt. Things weren’t looking good for the business, and yet, Jon was determined to not give up.
“I know that I found a problem that I can solve. It’s either I want to work on it or go work for someone else,” the now 32-year-old entrepreneur confided. “And I decided to believe in my vision.”
You see, Bray Bakery isn’t just a sourdough specialty cafe.
More than that, his plans for the brand were much bigger than just F&B offerings; it’s to address a bigger issue in the culinary industry—business education.
He realised a couple years ago that most chefs could cook but that’s the extent of their skills. The culinary field doesn’t teach much about the business side of managing an F&B enterprise. “We are taught to just cook, not to balance sheets and accounts,” he shared.
As such, Bray Bakery also doubles as an establishment to nurture the next generation of F&B chefs-slash-entrepreneurs.
Some of the lessons he’s personally picked up (and hopes to impart to others) include:
- You have to ensure that there’s a strong market demand while still providing a niche enough offering.
- You should know the key value you’re bringing to the industry and to customers and capitalise on that.
- You need to ask yourself how long you’re willing to stay in the game because F&B isn’t a fast-rewarding field.
Nurturing the next generation of chefs
A cafe at its core, Bray Bakery brands itself as using “sourdough methods to incorporate into its food offerings”.
What this essentially means is that every single item on the menu has sourdough in it. Ask yourself, what can you eat with sourdough, and the cafe would probably reply “anything”.
You can find a wide range of food to choose from, such as Sourdough Pancakes (RM27), Lamb Potato Gratin Pie (RM34), and Brulee French Toast (RM24). If the dishes don’t come with a side of sourdough toast, then they’re cleverly incorporated in another manner.
So whether you can see or taste it, your meal has some form of sourdough in it. “The secret ingredient is the heart. I can’t explain it but you can taste it,” Jon expressed.
Every single F&B offering was developed in-house by Jon and his team. They chose to keep it casual and not too refined as that might scare some customers away, according to the founder.
Bray Bakery’s current team comes from diverse backgrounds. Some used to be lawyers, kindergarten teachers, and even interior designers. Each of them changed their careers to start their own business.
Jon’s role is then to act as a mentor of sorts. For those interested, he’s training them to run and lead a business like ensuring they understand business models, backend systems, and the likes.
Eventually, the goal is for these apprentices to have their own brand under the bigger Bray Bakery group. “It’s [like] me acquiring them instead of hiring,” he said.
To bring sourdough to every household
In terms of the future, Jon’s goal for the brand is to earn the local community’s trust and also build a community that can serve others.
He believes that the best way to achieve this is by showcasing the potential of local talents and artisans. That, and Bray Bakery’s sourdoughs that were crafted to meet the needs and tastes of Malaysians.
In November this year, the brand will be undergoing a slight rebranding where they’ll make it more local. This includes a change in logo and mission, as well as an emphasis on heritage and Malaysian ingredients.
The founder teased that there will be four more neighbourhood outlets opening up soon. Bray Bakery will also expand into other verticals like takeaway shops, with the first one opening at Desa Park Waterfront soon.
“Based on my plans, I’m only 20% into my goals. There’s a lot to do and they’re all plans in action,” he concluded. “I want to bring sourdough bread to every household in Malaysia.”
Featured Image Credit: Bray Bakery
