KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — What began as a simple effort to indulge a child’s fondness for fruits has blossomed into a thriving business and a platform empowering others to generate income.
For husband-and-wife duo Muhammad Azlan Nasrin Mohd Nazree and Hany Liyana Mohd Masri, the inspiration came from home. Their eldest son’s love for fresh fruits sparked the idea to turn an everyday habit into a business venture.
Operating from their residence along Jalan Kuching in 2023, Hany Liyana, 31, was then a full-time homemaker searching for a viable side income.
“Every week, we were buying large quantities of fruits for our six-year-old son, Habib Hijazi. So we thought, why not turn this into a business opportunity?” she told Bernama.
That idea evolved into Buah Klub, and what began as a small experiment quickly gained traction. Their first order opened the door to steady demand, particularly among office workers in the capital seeking fresh fruit platters for small gatherings, office parties and open houses.
Today, Buah Klub offers more than 20 curated platter designs, among them Fruit Galore, Waterberry, Vita Bunch, Celebration, Sunset, Very Berry Bloom, Dua Benua, Puspawarna and Jamilaa, priced between RM80 and RM250.
A graduate in Business Information Systems from Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Hany Liyana said Buah Klub distinguishes itself by going beyond visual appeal.
“I noticed that many fruit platters online weren’t ready to eat. I wanted ours not just to look beautiful, but to be fully prepared, peeled, cut, and ready to enjoy,” she said.
But delivering that promise is no simple feat. Crafting high-quality fruit platters demands precision timing and careful sourcing of fresh produce, often purchased daily.
“The biggest challenge is getting truly fresh fruits, especially seasonal ones like mangoes, and delicate fruits like strawberries and kiwi. Sometimes we have to visit two or three supermarkets just to find the best quality,” she explained.
To preserve freshness, preparation begins just an hour before delivery.
“If an order is for 8pm, we only start cutting at 7pm. It can’t be done earlier. We also carefully time the delivery so the fruits arrive in their best condition,” she added.
Hany Liyana is generous in sharing her techniques, especially when it comes to handling high-moisture fruits.
“For watermelon, for example, we place the cut pieces in a strainer or spinner to remove excess water. After about 10 minutes, only then do we arrange them on the platter,” she said.
Other fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and apples, are soaked briefly in salt water to ensure cleanliness and prevent bruising.
Their clientele has since expanded beyond individuals to include corporate clients and even members of royal households.
As demand grew, particularly from outside the Klang Valley, the couple sought to scale their impact. In January 2025, they launched Buah Klub Academy, offering structured learning for those eager to master the art of fruit platters.
“We received many enquiries about classes, and at the same time, requests from customers outside our delivery areas. So we combined both needs through the academy, where our students can also take on those orders,” she said.
To date, more than 600 students, including participants from Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia, have enrolled in the academy’s distance learning programmes, which also cover the basics of starting a business.
For Hany Liyana, the greatest reward lies in seeing others succeed.
“I started as a homemaker with no savings. So when I see my students now earning their own income, supporting their families and building savings, it brings an indescribable sense of joy,” she said.
The couple is now setting their sights on expanding into fruit buffet concepts for larger events such as weddings, while also planning to open their own physical outlet within the next three years.
What began as a mother’s response to her child’s love for fruits has grown into something far greater, an enterprise rooted in creativity, resilience, and the simple idea that opportunity can begin at home. — Bernama
