MALAYSIAN FOOD GOES GLOBAL In todays world of the chain restaurant, new eateries are mushrooming everywhere we look.

Malaysians may have noticed one particular, and they very much home-grown, name among the bunch Ani Sup Utara. This chain is instantly identifiable by their soup-based food delicacies that have brought a taste of northern home comfort to the big city. The origins of Ani Sup Utara can be traced back to 1984. Its founder Hasanuddin Ibrahim had his hand in various little enterprises, including selling boiled peanuts from roadside stall and supplying balloons to parties. Born in Langkawi, Hasanuddin, along with his wife Rohani Abu, ended up selling soup-based food at night markets around the Klang Valley. The business just grew from there. They started participating in national events like Sure Heboh TV3 and the Malaysia Sales Carnival, eventually becoming the largest stall retailer at the events. The couple opened their first restaurant in 2003 in the Klang Valley and have not looked back since. We did not have any plans to open a chain at first, but then we saw how well-received our restaurant and food was, so we decided to expand, says Hasanuddin. Thats when we had our vision to build the largest network of restaurants serving Malay food in Malaysia. Hasanuddin and Rohani established Little Cash (M) Sdn. Bhd. as franchisor in 2005. In just five years, the company has expanded to manage 18 outlets. The companys main activities are to manage, develop and supervise the franchise. Little Cash provides training and supervision to all owned outlets as well as franchisees outlets, says Hasanuddin, who is also the executive chairman of the company. We are constantly upgrading our system to suit the present business environment and ensure that we utilise the largest and most efficient technology. Littel Cash and Ani Sup Utara have received a lot support from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism, Perbadanan Nasional Berhad and the Malaysian Franchise Association and SME Bank with regards to setting up the franchise, says Hasanuddin.

News Straits Times, September 24th 2010