Founder Iman named her company Saffron & Serai and decided to focus on sustainability (all photos: Saffron & Serai)

Iman Preece has always wanted to start her own business and create something of her own. It was while working in the UK that the pandemic hit, and during the ensuing lockdown, she realized that her time had come. "You know people always say,'Oh, I don't have time.' I realize I don't have that excuse anymore. I work for an interior design company and we have a lot of leftover fabrics that can be thrown away. I keep everything , I basically want to upgrade them to cushions and the like. So I ordered a sewing machine online and started to learn how to sew from YouTube," she said.

Iman named her company Saffron & Serai and decided to focus on sustainable development. "My mom is Malaysian and my dad is British. So, I know I want Malaysian style or Malaysian aesthetics," she said. With the pandemic raging, she decided to move back to Malaysia in July last year and brought her business ideas. Since she could no longer use the remaining fabric from the previous company, she began to use the remaining batik to make masks.

It was when a friend suggested to make beeswax wrappers instead of plastic wrap to package food, the main product of her business appeared. "My aunt used to put beeswax wraps around the house. I remember feeling them. They are all plain, so they never really appealed to me because they were just plain cotton or canvas. I thought,'This is good , But too practical and super basic'," she explained.

Therefore, Saffron & Serai's beeswax packaging has a variety of patterns and designs, including Malaysian batik. But the research and development behind its creation is not easy. "For beeswax wraps, you can only use 100% cotton. So, initially I tried to use batik residues and tried to find an effective recipe because I thought that on the Internet, people would share information, but they would keep some for themselves. Information. So, I basically adjusted the formula to the extent I thought it was really effective," Iman said.

Her mother ran the food and beverage (F&B) business, so naturally, she became Iman’s first guinea pig. "I said,'How about you use this at home, and then you don't need to use plastic wrap'. My mother started to use it to wrap her bread dough and let the bread ferment and ferment. She found that beeswax packaging is very suitable for this Circumstances, because they can make the bread breathe but not sweat. She started to replace all the plastic wrap she used at home," Iman said happily.

During the testing phase, Iman learned a lot. "I think one of the most important things I learned is to understand quantity. For example, how much fabric produces so many wraps and how much beeswax, jojoba oil and turpentine do I need for this," she added. This is especially important as the demand for her products starts to rise.

In May 2020, Iman launched her website, and she admitted that the business battle is a bit tough. "I have no business or technical background, so even trying to figure out how to build the first stage of a website is very challenging. Anyone can create something on Instagram, but personally, I think you need another Layer. So, the first step was to create a Shopify website, and it took me a long time to figure it out, because I want to say that I am more of a creative person," she said.

Thankfully, her friend runs a brick-and-mortar store called Shop Unplug in Bangsar, which is a sustainable lifestyle store, so Saffron & Serai's beeswax packaging was first listed there. "I noticed that it moves very slowly, but my friend will guide me. She will say, "I noticed that people are not so enthusiastic about this pattern", or "Maybe you can choose more of these colors." It's very useful to have someone on the scene give you feedback so I can understand what people really want," Iman said.

Saffron & Serai's beeswax packaging comes in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes. It even has a beeswax canvas bag, which is perfect for taking out. The trip to Terengganu to meet with artisans and batik manufacturers inspired the idea of ​​developing another product. "In about November or December, I went to see the batik supplier, my mother and brother accompanied me. They would stop at the ancient tomb to pray. But in surau, you have to bring your own prayer mat, because You can’t share, and you are basically not allowed to touch anything. My brother didn’t bring his own, so he prayed on the floor, which really bothered me,” Iman explained. She started to make foldable batik prayer mats in two sizes with bamboo fiber, which has antibacterial properties.

During her trip to Terengganu, Iman also purchased other sustainable products that she can sell on her website, such as woven floor mats and placemats, as well as coconut bowls and tableware. “I tried to find artisans who could make things that I could customize according to the look and feel I liked. When customers came to request, I started selling items such as coconut bowls,” she said.

At the core of Saffron & Serai is Iman's goal to be more environmentally friendly and to make a more seamless transition towards sustainable, zero-waste practices. "My brand philosophy is to make sustainable development the norm. This is a way of life, a small thing that you can integrate into your daily life."

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It was at the beginning of this year's motion control order that Iman felt stagnant due to the closure of the fabric warehouse, so her production and new designs were stopped. In order to make the most of this time, she updated her website and started selling beeswax refreshing sticks. "The beeswax package will last about six months to a year. After realizing that the product will indeed move, I started thinking about the end of its life cycle. Do people just throw it away? Yes, it is compostable and biocompatible. Degradable, you can put it in your compost pile, and it will decompose because it is natural. But what if I can extend its life?" Iman added, with the help of beeswax refreshing sticks, The package can last four to six years.

Saffron & Serai has started to sell its packaging paper wholesale, which means mass production. So far, it has produced personalized packaging for corporate gifts, and even produced a series of products in cooperation with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Iman has big dreams for Saffron & Serai. "I hope to see our beeswax packaging become the norm, replacing plastic wrap and plastic in cafes and other dining establishments, starting in Kuala Lumpur, and then to other parts of Malaysia. I hope that customers can easily get beeswax wrappers-displayed on coffee beans and Between beverage utensils and as a substitute for plastic when taken away. In addition, it’s great to be able to use our beeswax packaging in large grocery stores such as Ben's Independent Grocer, Village Grocer, and Jaya Grocer," she said.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia on September 27, 2021.

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