Deliccia is a social enterprise which markets foods that are home cooked by women struggling to make ends meet.
KUALA LUMPUR: A group of youths has stepped in to help urban housewives and single mothers become entrepreneurs in their own right.
These young people have pooled their resources to start a business aimed at fighting poverty. They market Chinese, Malay and Western food, home cooked by women trying to overcome hardship. Their company is called Deliccia.
One of Deliccia’s co-founders, former teacher Icy Lee, told FMT the idea behind the set-up came last year when she met a housewife selling curry puffs from a stall at an LRT station.
“We found out that the woman was really struggling,” she said. “Her shop rental kept increasing. Eventually, she had to quit because she could no longer afford the rental.
“We realised then that many housewives know how to cook but the problem was that they do not have market access. That is why we decided to be the platform for them.”
Another co-founder, Ray Leong, said lack of skills, education and transportation were among the main problems that struggling housewives and single mothers faced in trying to gain financial independence.
“Most of them don’t have specific skills other than cooking. At the same time, they have to stay at home to look after their children.”
Apart from food deliveries to individuals, Deliccia offers catering for private parties and corporate events.
“What differentiates us from other companies is that we take custom catering orders,” Lee said. “We give suggestions based on budget, taste and the occasion. Those are the things that you can’t get from traditional catering services.”
Profits generated from the business are evenly split between Deliccia and the cooks, or “the beneficiaries”, as Lee and Leong like to call them.
“Sometimes, if the beneficiaries require a 60 percent share due to increased costs of ingredients, we would oblige because we want to help them financially,” Lee said.
At present, Deliccia has six beneficiaries, and the business is operated from Lee’s and Leong’s homes.
“We are seeking a bigger space to expand our operations,” Lee said.
“We are still struggling in our journey, but that is not a problem. We hope more people will join us and more customers will patronise our service.”
Prospective customers can contact Deliccia by telephone (011-3547 0911) or email ([email protected]) for orders and inquiries.
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