Please tell us how you became a franchise partner.

I used to work in the F&B industry. I thought about starting my own business 10 years ago. Sushi and Yakiniku were also options, but after eating the ramen "BARI-UMA" in Singapore and being impressed by its deliciousness, I decided to start my own business. At that time, Japanese ramen was not yet familiar in Malaysia, so I decided to be a franchise partner because I wanted to become the first partner of the "BARI-UMA" brand. After comparing other ramen, I was convinced that "BARI-UMA" was the most delicious, especially their special soup & noodles, and grilled CHASHU as well. Another reason for deciding to be a franchise partner was that Withlink is an international brand holder operating not only in Japan but also in multiple countries. Our business is going well and we currently operate 3 stores in Malaysia.

Did you have any concerns about starting the FC business?

There were two. First of all, it was difficult to find a property. 10 years ago, there weren't many shopping centers in Kuala Lumpur, and since we have no experience, it took 6 months to find it, but we finally found a property that met our expectation. 10 years have passed, and the number of competitors has increased from around 5 at the time to 10 - 15 competitors now. Japanese ramen is actually very popular in Malaysia. In particular, Chinese people has a culture of eating noodles, so the ramen is well accepted. BARI-UMA's soup is made in Japan, so it is of high quality and has a stable taste. It has received high praise from ramen lovers. Because of this, we are able to operate as a popular restaurant in Malaysia for a long time. Another concern was employee management. BARI-UMA franchise system supplies authentic taste soup from Japan which can be reproduced with extremely simple operation. because quality control is easy, we were able to enhance the education and training of our employees.

Do you have any requests for WL?

It would be good to have a platform where we, franchisee can share successful cases and failure cases from other countries. I would like to refer to examples from overseas and use them as hints for success. If possible, it would be great if the seasonal products from each country are able to be shared and try to sell the products that have sold well in other countries at our own store.

What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a franchise partner?

It requires the ability to determine whether the products are suitable for your market. BARI-UMA ramen matched the Malaysian market perfectly in terms of appearance, taste, and eating style. However, results may vary in other countries. Therefore, it is necessary to have the ability to determine whether the products are suitable for the market of your country. In addition, As Withlink has a great experience, you can start franchise business with confidence in terms of product supply and support system.