Birthed out of a love of food, friendship and frivolity, Food Dreams & Co (FD&Co) is the brainchild of three entrepreneurial women. Led by Ida Ali, a veteran of the hospitality industry along with her lifelong friends Rina and Ara, what started out as a dream to run their own small food catering business of food that they loved to cook and eat, is now blossoming into a full-fledged cloud kitchen, virtual brand empire.
With a mission to be the taste of home-cooked food, delivered right to the door, offering choice and convenience at affordable prices, they saw an opportunity arise to address gaps in the market for both local Malaysian and international comfort food by leveraging their work experience and network with the new digital economy and its infrastructure.
Despite the pandemic, 12 months ago Ida, Rina and Ara formed FD&Co to operate Cloud Kitchens in locations underserved by this infrastructure and launch amazingly high-quality delivery optimized virtual brands that speak to stomachs and palettes of Malaysians.
Since that time, 9 locations have been built in Kota Damansara, Shah Alam, Klang, Setia Alam, Kepong, Cyberjaya, USJ, Puchong and Cheras. 2022 will see further expansion within the Klang Valley and potentially outstation markets as early as 1st quarter 2022.
With a suite of delicious brands to be launched in the coming months, to date, four exciting brands have been released across these 9 locations.
Representing international comfort food are ‘Pasta Beats’, an affordable range of popular pastas, that feature all-time favorites like Mac & Cheese to the ever-popular Seafood Aglio Olio and ‘That’s MY Hot Dawg’ a range of mouthwatering hotdogs that range from the classic NY (New York) topped with mustard and ketchup to the Malaysian inspired street flavors of ‘Otai’ with egg and a mix of black pepper, chili and mayo sauces.
Local fare has not been forgotten. The brands ‘Imaginasi’ and ‘Chop Chop’ serve affordable, mouthwatering local fair.
‘Imaginasi’ featuring local delights like Nasi Kerabu Ayam Berempah and Nasi Aroma with Daging Dendeng. A popular selling point is their six different delicious sambals ranging from sambal penyet to sambal budu.
‘Chop Chop’ the latest brand to be launched of delicious Muslim friendly Chinese fare has also been very well received, especially the sweet and sour chicken and sliced beef with ginger and spring onion.
Understanding the key drivers of the food delivery business, being speed and replicable quality has made it imperative that the standard operating procedures of the kitchen operations along with the hiring and training of the crew is of utmost importance.
Quality standards are maintained through regular audits of both suppliers and kitchens and training is conducted both in person and virtually through Selfdrvn an app-based learning and engagement tool.
With a vision to be the go-to brand for tasty, convenient, and accessible delivery food and core values that include going the extra mile to create amazing experiences for their customers, constantly keeping their finger on the pulse of the customers to develop an enticing range of food and by staying curious and excited about the food served and the why, what and how of the food being eaten.
FD&Co are truly Malaysian food innovators.
-NIAGATIMES
