About the Entrepreneur
Muhammad Osama, the co-owner of Al-Baick Fast Food and Al-Baick Bakery, has a remarkable story of resilience and passion. Originally from Pakistan, Osama moved to Hong Kong at a young age and pursued his education there. After graduating, he discovered his passion for field hockey and his desire to start a family business.
Recognizing the demand for Halal food within the Muslim community, Osama and his brother initially established Al-Baick Bakery, an Instagram cake shop, four years ago. Their bakery quickly gained a renovation for its delectable treats.
Building upon his success, they decided to open a restaurant and meticulously curated a menu of over 50 handpicked items. They expanded their offerings to include a diverse range of Halal fast food and opened Al-Baick Fast Foods in Jordan. For about a year, the restaurant served options such as burgers, pizzas, rolls, fried chicken, and more. Although they have temporarily closed down this shop, they are actively seeking a better opportunity to reopen Al-Baick Restaurant in the future.
Challenges Faced by the Entrepreneur
Like many grassroots businesses, Osama faced challenges in branding and marketing his new venture.
- No Branding Or Marketing Materials: As the Al-Baick Fast Food restaurant was opened very recently, Osama did not have any logo or shop banner to represent his new brand. He had an existing menu designed, but there were a number of updates he wanted to make. However, due to long working hours, Osama had no time to work on branding, marketing, nor design.
- No Social Media Content Marketing Templates: Osama only had one social media account to promote both Al-Baick Fast Food and Al-Baick Bakery, but without any consistent branding. He also wanted to improve the overall aesthetics and the professionalism of his social media content, but he did not have the expertise nor the time to develop them.
Direct Business Support Provided by CBI Interns
Through our Community Business Support Internship Program, we provided Osama with the support he needed to revamp his branding and digital marketing strategy and initiatives. For the months of September and October 2023, FSI worked with our interns Jagjeet Singh and Diya Dinesh and spent a total of 40 hours to achieve the following objectives:
- New Logo and Color Palette for Al-Baick Fast Food and Al-Baick Bakery: A fresh and captivating logo and color palette was crafted to bring a modern and enticing visual identity to the brand.
- New Menu Designs for Al-Baick Fast Food: New, visually appealing designs were created with detailed descriptions of each food item, to enhance customers’ understanding and experiences of the restaurant’s offerings.
- Series of Social Media Posts and Templates: Tailored social media posts and eye-catching templates were created for weekly content to captivate the restaurant’s audience and drive more online engagement.
- Bespoke Designs of Additional Promotional Materials: Customer order forms and leaflets were designed to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience to walk-in customers, allowing them to easily select and place their order, and enabling the restaurant’s efficient processing.
From the Entrepreneur
“I never imagined I would receive free assistance, especially in my native language, Urdu, from an ethnically diverse youth. Most resources and support I came across were usually in Chinese, and I felt hopeless about the brand identity process, thinking it would be a struggle.
I highly recommend other small businesses in Hong Kong to seek out FSI’s support, as their diverse expertise and willingness to help can be a game-changer.” – Muhammad Osama
From the Youth Interns
“One of the key takeaways from this internship for me was that many of these micro-to-small enterprises face very unique business challenges compared to bigger businesses, but amidst that, it gives way to very creative problem solving. In this internship, I had to put myself in their shoes when proposing strategies and solutions.” – Diya Dinesh
“I think FSI’s Community Business Internship Program lets youth explore the many different worlds of entrepreneurship, social impact, and almost all consulting and business support all at once. It helps us understand the different nuances of how a business works first-hand, which I believe is very different compared to the experiences we may have at other internship opportunities.” – Diya Dinesh
“I believe the experience has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by small businesses owned by ethnically diverse individuals in sustaining their operations. Many of these businesses are run by older individuals who may lack the necessary skills and information to effectively market their enterprises. Additionally, language barriers with the local population further limit their potential for growth. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and look forward to participating in future projects of FSI.” – Anonymous
Get Involved
Here’s how you can help FSI support more grassroots businesses in mutually beneficial ways:
- Join our Community Business Support Internship to equip yourself or your students with business consultation skills to help under-resourced entrepreneurs;
- Sponsor and/or volunteer for our Community Business Support Internship, Impact Jams, Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneur’s Toolkit etc. to channel private-sector resources towards positive social impact;
- Check out GuideFong to find more grassroots businesses, try them out, leave reviews, and tell others about Hong Kong’s first online directory for ethnically diverse businesses!
