- In 2012, he lost almost 80% of the business and struggled to bring back revenue.
- ZY Phyto has helped created several cosmetics millionaires who started from zero.
When WargaBiz approached Zaidi Yusoff, founder ZY Phyto Holdings Sdn Bhd to feature his story, he seemed taken aback and jokingly said, “Why would you want to interview me?” I’m just a regular guy.”
His calm and laid-back attitude broke the formality of the interview. It was pleasant to get to know him, his business empire, the ups and downs and some untold stories of his life.
For years, Zaidi had taken a different marketing approach by not exposing much about him and more on the business itself. However, as the competition in the industry is getting stiffer and more players are venturing into the industry, he decided that now is the right time to tell the untold stories of the ZY Phyto.
He believes he needs to step out of the shadow and let the public know who is the person behind the company. Being a major OEM company in the industry, ZY Phyto has manufactured several hot-selling products for a few established cosmetics entrepreneurs. Zaidi revealed that they have helped create several millionaire entrepreneurs and wish to do more.
An electrical engineering guy who found love in creating herbal products
Hailed from Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Zaidi did not come from a family business background. He was educated at ITM Shah Alam, where he obtained a bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering.
“I joined an electronic company for ten years, where I worked as a production material planner,” he recalled.
ZY Phyto: When one door closes, another opens
The idea to start a business came naturally when he decided to quit his electrical engineer job and joined a multilevel marketing business (MLM). During that time, he was heavily exposed to health and beauty products.
“I started to slowly learn about the health and beauty industry and I fell in love instantly. So, I tried to change my circle and socialising with dieticians to learn more about the industry and at the same time, producing a product under my brand.”
His journey in the production of health & beauty products started when his friend approached him to help him create a product. Without proper equipment and setup, he sealed the deal – hoping that it would be a starting point in his new career. He went to several government agencies to learn more about herbal production. Not long after that, he somehow managed to create it.
“For me, success is the ability to help people grow from nobody to somebody”
As he had limited source to rent a shop, so he operated the business in a small house with minimal setup and equipment.
“I had no money to rent a proper shop. So, what I did was I set up my own factory-like McGyver. I did everything on my own – formulating, mixing, bottling and delivering,” he laughed.
It went on for over two years before he finally had the money to move to a proper place.
ZY Phyto started at the utmost right time
Zaidi was grateful to start the company at the right time. In 2006-2007, herbal-based products were starting to grow and he could see that the industry would be booming in the next few years. Besides, there were less Bumiputera manufacturers and it gave him more opportunity. After a few years, he was proud to call his company as one of the pioneers in the industry.
Providing A-Z services
Asked what makes ZY Phyto Tech Industries different, he immediately replied, “Are we different?” in a humorous tone. For Zaidi, he believes that their ability to provide all-in services adds more value to their company.
“At ZY Phyto, we have an ecosystem. We are not only manufacturing products, but we control our supply chain too. We have a team of designers, chemists, fully-equipped factories, printing facilities, packing and bottling facilities and a lab too. These are a few pointers that make us different.”
The struggle to build an empire
ZY Phyto proved that they were able to do anything even without any access to financial aids. In 13 years, the company has grown into having five major facilities – a cosmetics factory, printing factory, supplement factory and a new addition is a food factory.
“We barely had anything when we first started the business. One thing that I want to share is we built the empire without relying on bank loan nor grant,” he said.
“Once we stop growing, the current will push us back”
However, it was not all rainbows and unicorns for ZY Phyto. In 2008 and 2012, the company lost almost 80% of its business and struggled to bring back revenue. The company lost its major customers But, they managed to bounce back from the critical time.
Successfully creating millionaires
ZY Phyto has helped several entrepreneurs producing hot-selling products and thus made them becoming millionaires. In comparing the market trend now and then, he pointed out that many things have changed, especially in term of marketing.
“Previously, we relied on traditional marketing methods but now, everything can be done via digital marketing. It saves cost and easy to do. Now, everyone can market their businesses as low as RM10!” he said.
The future of ZY Phyto
“Be thankful for all the hardships and experiences. They taught us to be stronger and shape us to be who we are today.”
For Zaidi, he is now focusing on readjusting the company direction. He is adding a new line under his belt, which is food manufacturing. The company is currently producing fish skin snack and they are available in selected local hypermarkets. He decided to bring the cottage industry to the international level and try to penetrate the Brunei market.
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