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T&Co has been supplying AirAsia with
freshly brewed coffee and tea on board
our aircraft since 2013. Recognising that
taste buds function differently at high
altitudes, it has invested in formulations
that taste good when consumed 30,000
feet above ground, gaining a legion of
fans among our guests.
In 2017, our café brand made coffee
drinkers among Allstars too extremely
happy by setting up an outlet at our
headquarters, RedQ. This is its third
outlet on the ground, following the
establishment of its flagship café in Mid
Valley Megamall in 2014 followed by
another outlet at the MiCasa All Suite
Hotel in Kuala Lumpur city.
The team has shown itself to be as
adept at satisfying caffeine cravings
on ground as in the air, judging by the
crowds that regularly throng its kiosks.
It helps that, like AirAsia, they truly
listen to customers and take action on
feedback. Based on comments received,
T&Co enhanced its Vietnamese Iced
Coffee; and the result was so pleasing, it
became the star product of the year.
Forever expanding its offerings, the
year saw T&Co initiate a hamper service
(catering for festivities such as Hari Raya
and Chinese New Year), and introduce
to its cafés the snacks that it previously
offered only inflight. In addition, it
embarked on a bulk-order service,
enabling customers to place orders in
advance for scheduled pick-ups.
T&Co’s ambition is to supply all flights
within the AirAsia Group and is in the
midst of discussions with our associates
to iron out the details for this to happen.
At the same time, it has been working on
the much-awaited Asean Blend coffee,
which will be rolled out in 2018. In the
pipeline are also an improved 3-in-1
coffee, ambient ready-to-drink juices
and a ready-to-drink coffee in either
aluminium can or tetra pack packaging.
On the ground, it intends to introduce full
meals in its outlets and to take these to
the corporate offices of our associates.
Even better for fans, delivery services in
Kuala Lumpur city are in the offing. For
even greater expansion, there are plans to
start franchising the T&Co Café brand.
T&CO COFFEE SDN BHD
T&CO HAS BEEN SUPPLYING AIRASIA
GUESTS WITH FRESHLY BREWED COFFEE
AND TEA ON BOARD OUR AIRCRAFT SINCE
2013.
While working on its expansion plans,
T&Co lent its expertise to one of AirAsia
Foundation’s grant recipients – Muser
Coffee Hill – to develop drip bags for its
coffee. Muser coffee, from the highlands
of Thailand, are part of T&Co’s Asean
Blend.
BigPay is a homegrown Asean fintech
company that is set to democratise
financial services in the region,
providing a convenient, user-friendly
digital alternative to conventional bank
accounts.
In the third quarter of 2017, BigPay
launched a closed beta app that allows
users to manage money on the go
from their smartphones. Users can
see their transactions in real-time, add
photo receipts to purchases, track their
monthly spending, freeze their card
and send money to friends and family
for free.
To open a BigPay account, customers
need only download the app and sign
up, following which they are issued a
Mastercard that enables them to spend
securely at over 35 million merchants
– both on and offline – as well as to
withdraw cash from ATMs globally.
As part of the AirAsia ecosystem, BigPay
seeks to reduce the cost of travel. Unlike
most debit and credit cards in the market,
therefore, it does not charge any FX mark-
up on international spend. Neither does it
charge any transactional fees or hidden
cross-border fees. Since its public launch
in Malaysia in January 2018, BigPay has
BIGPAY MALAYSIA SDN BHD
attracted strong interest and sign-up
growth, with limited marketing spend.
Going forward, there are plans to roll out
many new and exciting features. BigPay
is a licensed e-money issuer regulated
by Bank Negara Malaysia.
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AirAsia Group Berhad
BUSINESS REVIEW
149