Jaybee Satay started as a small family business with the satay selling from house to house, in 1989 about 33 years ago. The family business ran by the six siblings, they would spend together marinating, skewing the meats and grilling them, according to the family recipe that has been in the generations since 1980s.
In a day, they managed to produce 500 skewers to be sold with a starting price of 15 cents (RM 0.15) for each satay. The siblings then began to reach out the hawker stalls to sell their satays. The success of the business has helped the six siblings to open up their own ‘satay business’. Hj. Mizan, the eldest brother, was the first among the six siblings to open up his new satay business. Following the success of the satay business, the 19 year old Mohd Khamis, took the opportunity to establish his own line of satay business. Right after finishing STPM, Mr. Khamis bought a house which was then transformed into a satay production. In addition to that, he also opened a store but later closed it down to focus on the making of the satay.
There is no doubt that managing the business is not easy. Since satay is a cuisine that all Malaysians love and enjoy, the competition was tight. Nevertheless, with perseverance, the brand managed to make a name in the industry. Furthermore, as a company in the food industry, encountering spoiled food is one of the common things the company has to face everyday. It was also frustrating for the company to experience dishonest workers and missing debtors.
