FRESH FISH TO DOORSTEPS - NEW ERA

FRESH FISH sent to your doorsteps?... It was a new concepts of marketing nowadays. FARIS Fazilan has always loved the taste of fresh seafood. He feels the best way to get a continuous supply is from the source. Better yet if you can get it delivered to your doorstep. That is why Faris set up IkanFresh2U a year ago. Faris and his business partner, Azli Bharudin, did a three-month survey of the business and invested RM70,000 to kick off IkanFresh2U, which now operates at Taman Permata in Ulu Kelang. The process of delivering fresh fish to houses is actually simple once you work out the mechanism. “The main idea was to provide fresh seafood with no chemicals at your doorstep. All the seafood at IkanFresh2U comes fresh from the sea at Pantai Remis. “With my family’s support and Azli’s family, whose relatives are mostly fishermen in Pantai Remis, Perak we started the delivery of fresh fish last June. “Response was really good and after a year in business, we are trying to keep up with the orders to all areas in the Klang Valley,” said Faris, who also does a Digital Quran business with Azli. Through social media promotions and publicity, they received an order of one-and-half tonnes of seafood in the first week alone and an average of 200 regular customers in the first month.

IkanFresh2U has all the popular varieties such as mackerel, garoupa, tenggiri, yellowtail scad (selar kuning), stingray, white and black pomfret, red snapper, swordfish, prawn, crab and squid. There is also a mixture of different kinds of fish depending on the season, but what gives IkanFresh2U an edge over its competitors is the fact that they also supply rare tasty fish such as ikan pari nyonya, udang tocak, ikan aji-aji and six types of premium prawns. Diamond-shaped white pomfret readily available at Pantai Remis in Perak. The white pomfret is a bestseller because of its fine texture and unique flavour. IkanFresh2U currently supplies to restaurants, hotels, professional caterers and individuals. “Getting good quality seafood begins from the source, which is Pantai Remis. “The prices of fish vary according to the type and size, and also the weather. We get our fish right off the boat. “Four staff are stationed at the jetty to sort out the order and handpick the best of the seafood from over 150 fishing centres. They will weigh and pack them with double layered polyethylene bags, and place them in polystyrene boxes before they are shipped back to our pick-up point in Taman Permata, Ulu Kelang,” said Faris, 28. The fish will then be cleaned, packed and wrapped accordingly before six runners deliver them to the customers. IkanFresh2U has a delivery schedule, which helps them to deliver the seafood to your doorstep in no time. “Our packaging keeps the product fresh and in optimum condition, and we deliver all the seafood on the same day. We have set up a system to facilitate our operations and ensure supply for the delivery. “We have to live up to our motto - taste the difference - and hope to win our customers with good service. Our aim is to supply top-notch seafood products and preserve the freshness until it reaches our customers because we don’t want to store any fresh fish at our shop,” said Faris, an electrical engineering graduate.

Pricing of the seafood is reasonable considering IkanFresh2U does everything right up to the cleaning process before delivering it to customers. One kg of seabream (ikan kerisi) is priced at RM27.30; sardine is RM19.50 while premium red snapper is RM48.10. Depending on the weather and source, normally there is no shortage of seafood. “The only thing you cannot control is the price fluctuations. But what really determines the final price is the weather, be it fresh or frozen fish,” said Azli. Besides delivering fresh seafood, IkanFresh2U also supplies fresh frozen seafood at Iwani Frozen Food Sdn Bhd in Taman Permata, Ulu Kelang. They have a huge selection of fish, shellfish, fish roe, shrimp and other frozen food such as keropok lekor and Malay kuih, among others. “We will soon get our frozen seafood from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia. Our prices are reasonable. “We have to retain the competitive retail wholesale price because in the long run, it will help boost our sales,” said Faris, who has big plans to take IkanFresh2U to the next level. To get your supply of fresh seafood, just order through their online shop to get it delivered to your front door. Thankyou!!..

By,

M Anem,

Senior Agronomist,

Taman Cendana, Malacca City,

Melaka, Malaysia.

(1 Muharram 1440H).