You’ve probably heard of the phrase “sapot lokal” or “support local”, which urges Malaysians to support our local brands and companies – but should we still show our support if the quality is not up to expectations?
Following the recent boycott towards Starbucks Coffee, many Malaysians have shared suggestions of which homegrown coffee chain they can patronise instead. Apart from the suggestions of ZUS Coffee, San Francisco Coffee and even Bask Bear, a Malaysian recommended the local cafe chain Richiamo and gave the coffee shop a rating of 8 over 10 for their coffee.
Several other netizens also vouched for the coffee chain, praising their food, especially the local delicacies that Richiamo offers. While some weren’t satisfied with the coffee, they did mention that the cafe has better non-coffee options, suggesting their chocolate and boba drinks.
Unfortunately, many netizens disagreed with the tweets because many pointed out that the coffee at Richiamo wasn’t all that good. Some complained that the coffee tasted watered down or overly sweet and milky. Others said there is no consistency in the quality of drinks across branches or even baristas.
The tweet also led to netizens debating whether supporting local brands means overlooking the quality. One Richiamo critic said he would patronise a store regardless of the origin or the ownership if the quality is good. However, because of his disappointment in Richiamo’s quality, he won’t support the cafe even if it’s a homegrown coffee chain. He also added, “Don’t (use) race to rally support to overcompensate the fact that the F&B is horrible. Quality over race.” A few others supported his views and criticised the mentality of buying a local brand even if the product is terrible.
What do you think about this debate? Would you look past the quality if it meant supporting a local brand?
