Zes Anika Idaman owner Syafiqah Sobri and her husband Muhammad Naim Mat Rejab with some of the frozen food products they are selling at the Malaysian Goods Mini Carnival Tour. – BERNAMApic
ALOR SETAR: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry will work with social media influencers in an effort to promote local products via the Malaysian Goods Carnival.
Its Trade, Distribution and Business Sector senior director Datuk Rohaizi Bahari said the collaboration is seen as helping to highlight local products especially those that are new and not well-known.
"The ministry is committed to ensuring that the popularity of Malaysian products or brands is expanded in the domestic and foreign markets and they are not limited to only (certain) items such as food, drinks and beauty products,” he told reporters at the northern zone 2023 Malaysian Goods Mini Carnival Tour here on Thursday (Sept 21).
The three-day carnival at Aman Central Mall, Alor Setar sees 20 entrepreneurs from the northern zone (Perlis, Penang and Perak) taking part. It is also one of the ministry's initiatives under the Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign 2023 to encourage the people to give priority to local products.
Zes Aneka Idaman Enterprise owner Syafiqah Sobri, 35, who is in food products such as cakes and biscuits, said the carnival is good for helping local traders introduce their goods to the people.
"Although I've been running the business since 2006, this is the first time I've participated in a carnival like this.
"Earlier, I was shy and afraid to promote my products because they did not appear as good as other products, partly because the cookie packaging is still using plain plastic bags.
"I also feel that if influencers can help promote local products, it would be good... they can help because... we have no experience (promoting products) but they already have a name so they can help the efforts of small traders," she said.
For Diamond Cosmetics marketing manager, Nor Haslina Mohd Pisol, 36, the carnival is a way to show that locally-produced goods by smaller businesses are of comparable quality to those of leading brands.
"We have been selling health and beauty products since 2020 but they are still not known to Malaysians, while they have been well received in Singapore and Indonesia.
"Maybe, with the help of these influencers, we can promote our products faster because they have many followers," she said. – Bernama
