Perseverance is the key to success. This is a phrase that many of us are familiar with, but for the young student start-up, CHOMP Enterprise, it serves as the spirit behind the company that drives the team to push past their boundaries and face the numerous challenges as a new start-up.

CHOMP Enterprise was founded on 6 February 2023, when Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Song along with Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jaysen Khoo decided to start a business to provide their fellow students with good quality food at the most affordable price. The very first product line they introduced was a series of burritos, which inspired them to name their company “CHOMP”, a short yet memorable word that is often associated with food.

In mid-June 2023, Nicole Wong joined the team as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and helped them plan a new line of products to sell. Ideas went back and forth from spaghetti to pancakes, but the team eventually decided on selling fruit smoothies, which led to the formation of CHOMP Fruit Bar. The reason behind the decision was due to the lack of vendors selling fruit juices or smoothies despite the scorching weather in Kampar.

CHOMP Fruit Bar was proven a success, captivating students with its healthy fruit smoothies, when it was first launched on 16 October 2023 at the cafeteria between Block D and Block E of UTAR Kampar Campus. Soon after, the menu was further expanded to include a variety of coffee-based products, such as Vietnamese drip coffee and French press coffee, both of which were spearheaded by coffee enthusiast and connoisseur, Chong Jin Qian. The Chief of Coffee, Chong, served as a great addition to the team due to his vast knowledge of coffee.

Song commented, “Starting up the business wasn’t without its challenges though and we had to halt our business temporarily between February and June. It was largely due to both academic and non-academic commitments on top of certain technical difficulties. So we decided to set aside the burrito business and shift our focus to matters that require more immediate attention.”

Khoo continued, “Thankfully, our passion for this business remains kindled and it led us to give it another try. It proved to be the right call and we are happy to report that since the beginning of its operations, the company has made thousands in revenue. We were also greatly overjoyed to have achieved profits within the first month despite our initial negative projections. This is encouraging and we are very excited to grow the business.”

The team also expressed that the Unovate department in UTAR has proved to be instrumental in providing a safe and lower-risk environment for the students to start making their entrepreneurship dreams into a reality and has also been providing support to young and aspiring entrepreneurs in the form of legal advice, manpower, and promotions.

The courses offered by UTAR are diverse and help sharpen its students’ skills in many other aspects outside of their main course. The vast array of elective courses offered to its students ranges from entrepreneurship to performing arts to help cultivate a new generation of multi-talented and adaptable students who do not shy away from challenges.

To date, Team CHOMP consists of four main members - CEO John Song, COO Jaysen Khoo, CMO Nicole Wong, and Chief of Coffee Chong Jin Qian. The team was created because of their shared passion for good quality food. The team currently aims to further enhance their range of products as well as expand to new locations sometime in the future.