KANGAR, 16 April 2020:
A part-time harum manis mango grower took an initiative to open a drive-thru stall in front of his house at Kampung Baru Syed Omar near here to sell the famous Perlis harum manis mango – after incurring losses when using the courier delivery method.
Danial Afiq Azizi, 26, said the slow delivery service had spoilt the fruits and he had to refund his customers.
“A kilogramme of harum manis mangoes is worth between RM18 and RM25 depending on its quality, so I need to bear the losses when I have to refund the money.
“I also had to incur losses when some interstate buyers from Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka told me the packages they received were torn or the number of fruits was less compared to the one I shipped out.
“So, I took the initiative to sell the harum manis in front of my house during the Movement Control Order (MCO).”
In previous seasons, he sold the mangoes from his half-acre farm at the back of his house directly to customers.
Danial Afiq said one box of his harum manis weighing between 2kg and 3kg is sold at a price of between RM50 and RM70 at the drive-thru stall starting 1.30pm.
“The response is very positive and I could sell more than 100kg per day, which is more than using the online selling method.”
The eldest of three siblings explained that one tree could produce about 80kg of mangoes depending on its age, the proceeds from sales are used to help his mother and siblings who are still in school.
Since the MCO was enforced, he cannot continue his job as a marketing and event agent. But he felt grateful to be able to sell the famous Perlis mangoes and gain alternative income.
“I have a plan to continue with this business in future and increase the number of trees. I will also improve my drive-thru stall.”
To meet customer demand, he also offers cash on delivery (COD) and home delivery services.
– Bernama