DOING your own thing is daunting, but for the owner of Mr Baker's Bakeshop, the struggles to fulfill a lifelong dream of running his own bakery business has been worthwhile.
Eric Pui says that he is actually surprised that just shy of its third year in business, his bakery is becoming a success despite maintaining its motto of 'Strictly No Added' preservatives, among other things. With a main branch in Jalan Batu Bersurat and an outlet at the Jerudong Park Medical Centre, this popular bakery has taken the slow and steady approach in developing and strengthening its market presence among local consumers.
Coming from an accounting background, Pui says running a bakery is "something I've always wanted to do since I was young, and I didn't have a chance to do it because the bakery business in Brunei is very competitive".
Although "it's quite difficult", he mustered the courage to pursue his dream saying, "I thought that, if I don't do it then, when am I ever going to?"
"So I told myself, and I told my dad actually, why don't we go ahead, this is my dream, it was what I wanted to do," he adds.
Knowing that he was in for tough times, Eric says that in order to stand out in the market, he decided to do something that's different from other bakeries in the country. "If you may notice, in Mr Baker, there are three main ingredients which are commonly used by other bakeries, but these three main ingredients you will not find in Mr Baker (products)," he explains, referring to the dough improver, which enhances the texture of the bread; stabilisers and emulsifiers, which are preservative additions.
"That's actually our slogan: "No Added Preservatives", he says explaining that he wanted products that were more natural and healthier. "Of course, we use the term 'No Added', because certain ingredients already have preservatives in them, so I'm reluctant to use the term 'No Preservatives'."
Though critics have questioned the "healthiness" of bakery products like the cakes and sweet treats Mr Baker's specialises in, Eric says the answer is very simple.
"If you have two products and one is more natural; the other one is, you know, with all these ingredients, of course you will go for the more natural option. So it was very tough at the beginning, Our loaf, for example, has a shelf life of three days. When you go to the store, even for myself, the first thing you look at is the expiry date," he said.
People are used to five or six-day expiry dates, he explained, adding that when customers see a shorter expiry date they assume that the product is sold because it is almost expired or that it is not as fresh so they don't buy the item.
"Whenever I'm here, I try to explain to my customer that actually it's today's production but our expiry date is actually three days long because I don't use the preservatives. The first one and a half years, well to be honest, we didn't make much but in the second half of the year, I started to see people actually appreciating our product."
Eric says he has been especially touched by the patronage of an elderly local who chose to purchase bread loaves from Mr Baker's, even though she admitted it was slightly more expensive, due to the healthier ingredients.
People nowadays are more health-conscious, he said, and seeing the rise of interest in his products, has given him to boost of confidence in his business principles.
Eric also says that he overcame many struggles financially before the business started to see a profit, including having the courage to stick by his business idea instead of switching to what other bakeries were doing.
"If you asked me to change, I don't think I would, because I don't want to do anything I'm not passionate about and if I follow (others) I'll be just following and I want to be recognised in the market. I know it's a 50-50 kind of thing; it's either I'll become successful or I'll fail. But I chose to stay put."
"We're doing well now," he says, adding that he is looking to expand. With plans in the pipeline to open a similar cafe/bakery outlet in the Gadong area, it seems sticking to your guns and self-belief are just as important in business as a good idea.
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