“The new bakery outlet is the first of many if all goes according to plans. It is starting its days softly simply by opening its doors to ensure proper training of staff and that all details are in place before the next outlet is to open in the heart of KL in the Starhill Centre on Bukit Bintang beginning of April”, explains Mr. Bjørn Vidar Holtung, Manager of business development for Din Baker Handel Sdn. Bhd.
“We are very proud to introduce Norwegian breads, buns, cookies, waffles and cakes to the Malaysians. We are offering a variety of Norwegian take-away items as in a “normal” Norwegian bakery but we arel also focusing on our café which is part of the outlet. We serve all customers at the counter whether they buy take-away items or enjoy it or any of our café products in the shop”, Mr. Holtung explains and emphasizes that not only are they selling Norwegian bakery items but also Norwegian coffee, excellent sandwiches, salads and beverages.
This fact may attract the Norwegian and Scandinavian communities but with 10,000 people living in the immediate vicinity and a prime location next to Ikea and other superstores Mr. Holtung is confident of the success of this first outlet.
Danish Product Manager Kim Misje Kirchert mentions that other items are likely to be available in future, like for instance Danish rye bread which is mentioned with a smile. Recently more Norwegian cakes have been launched and for the Norwegian National Day, 17th of May, a number of special Norwegian cookies are planned to be imported.
Quality is a key word for the new outlets which is introducing a new shop design concept for this part of the world with a relatively high counter for the take-away items. The Curve outlet will have its own little bakery to enhance the ambience but most items are baked on a local bakery using Norwegian recipes and raw materials.
Din Baker invites ladies and others to have their coffee mornings or get-togethers at the outlet where a partly closed area is available for more “private” functions. The outlet is open 10am to 10pm all days except Friday and Saturday when they close at 1 am.
The second outlet in Malaysia is planned to open in the Starhill Centre on Bukit Bintang mid April. The original plan was to open mid March and everything is ready for this but due to the delays in re-construction of this centre the actual opening of Din Baker’s second outlet is expected to open when Starhill actually re-opens.
The new Norwegian baker is a joint venture between Norgesmøllene A.S. and Din Baker A.S. The latter is the only truly national baker in Norway with 320 outlets and 84 bakeries in Norway. The turn over is NOK 2 bill. including exports of bakery items to Korea and raw materials to a number of countries.
