Yesterday, after the official launch of Taste & Trade 360, we were taken on a guided tour of Kitchen Arena by Mr. Ethan Choong Wai Hon and his business partner, co-founder of Kitchen Arena, Mr. Dexter Soh Yeow Seng. The Kitchen Arena showroom cum warehouse sits on half an acre of land located on Jalan Balakong. If you are thinking of starting a f&b business, you should consider looking at Kitchen Arena’s products as they are very well stocked with all the necessities for the f&b industry. They’ve supplied to Uncle Roger’s new restaurant, along with many more restaurant in the whole of Malaysia and that includes East Malaysia.
As Mr. Choong put it, many have described Kitchen Arena as being the “IKEA of commercial kitchen equipment”. This is so true as they have just about everything restaurateurs need at their impressive showroom, it is truly a one-stop shop for restaurateurs, be they just starting out or those who are looking to replace or add to their kitchen equipment. It’s not just equipment for restaurant, they supply bakery, cafe, kiosk, food truck & hotel kitchen equipments.
Kitchen Arena is the leading supplier of kitchen equipment in Malaysia, providing the largest range of commercial kitchen equipment at competitive prices. They have years of experience in planning to fabrication to installing equipment. They started off supplying kitchen equipment as an e-commerce website in 2016 but later opened their showroom to Balakong so that customers can view firsthand the equipment and experience it before ordering.
As the main sponsor of Taste & Trade 360 at MITEC in October, more people who are interested in starting a f&b business can visit them and gain some knowledge about the business as Kitchen Arena has much to share.
Other than cooking equipment for all kinds of restaurants, be they Chinese, Japanese, Western, fast food or bakeries, they have 8,000 SKUs which include refrigeration, cleaning and sanitation products and everything one could ever need for their f&b business from dozens of brands. It was fascinating to look at all the kitchen equipment available.
I sat down with Mr. Ethan Choong to talk about Kitchen Arena and the upcoming Taste & Trade 360 Exhibition.
What is the history of Kitchen Area?
Mr. Choong: Kitchen Arena was founded as an e-commerce website in 2015 & we opened a physical store in 2020.
Why did you open this physical store?
Mr. Choong: For 2 reasons:
- Before the pandemic in 2020, people were skeptical about the products. After all, the price range is between RM50k-100k and it was challenging to get customers to wire transfer such a large amount without viewing the equipment in person. So a physical store was needed to gain customer confidence.
- We want people to experience the equipment personally so that they can envision the concept for their restaurant.
Why are you sponsoring the Taste & Trade 360 Exhibition?
Mr. Choong: Last year, we participated in a fair with 30 exhibitors and there were 500k visitors in 3 days. The feedback was overwhelming. After 3 months, we came across Brilliant Exhibition. Our paths crossed to organise a f&b exhibition. We share the same passion to give something back to the people.
Who are your target market for the Taste & Trade 360 Exhibition?
Mr. Choong: Start-up f&b entrepreneurs, people who are just starting in the industry, smaller players.
In your opinion, what are the challenges faced by this target market?
Mr. Choong: Business set-up from components such as IT, logistics, support, import-export, covering everything to do with starting up.
How many products are carried by Kitchen Arena?
Mr. Choong: We have 8000 SKUs in our e-commerce website & 350 brands.
Why should people visit Taste & Trade 360 in October?
Mr. Choong: We have expert kitchen consultants, 4-5 companies specialising in consultation. There will be financial consultants from 3-5 financial institutions offering leasing, hire purchase and banking facilities.
What is your nessage to people thinking of visiting Taste & Trade 360?
Mr. Choong: There will be 80 to 100 exhibitors during the 3-day exhibition. We hope that this exhibition will help to elevate and uplift f&b businesses and that hopefully by having this exhibition, operating procedues and standards as well as food quality can be improved. Visitors have the opportunity to connect with the experts who can bring their vision into reality.
