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Three small enterprises have shared with Macao Image their respective journeys attempting to make a difference in designing their products specifically for tourists in recent years when the city’s travel industry was booming. They also described the support provided by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), which helped develop their businesses and promote their products via a number of business-matching sessions, and how they now wade through the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr James Chan Iu Kuong founded the Macau Fachau brand of Baijiu in 2013, a Chinese pure-grain spirit with 53 percent alcohol content. The distiller told Macao Image he had decided to try to make and sell the product in Macao, even though the city’s spirits market had long been dominated by Western imports. Back then, the number of Mainland Chinese tourists travelling to Macao was increasing, and the local souvenir products targeting this group of people were mostly biscuits and beef jerky, Mr Chan said.
He decided to make in Macao a Chinese spirit made of fermented sorghum, a type hugely popular in Mainland China. “Chinese spirit is a product that few people here are engaged in making, so there’s not much competition. And this kind of product has a long shelf-life,” Mr Chan said.
An advantage of making a product in Macao is that Mainland Chinese consumers tend to have confidence in its quality, Mr Chan said. He teamed up with a Macao distillery, the New Macau Wine Factory, to make Macau Fachau. The main production procedures of the brand take place in Macao, with the use of rice grains, sorghum and jiuqu, the fermentation agent for Chinese alcohol, imported from Mainland China, Mr Chan said.
No essences or potable alcohol are added in the process of making Macau Fachau, which ends up as a spirit with a special fragrance, Mr Chan said. Macau Fachau does not have any pungent smell and will not cause a hangover, he said.
The brand name Macau Fachau is an allusion to the history of Chinese brewing and distilling culture, Mr Chan said. Foam appears when distilling the highest quality products, and the maker generally gets rid of the early-stage and late-stage by-products and keeps only the product of the middle stage. The middle part is known as the essence, is usually of the fullest body and could generate a rich foam, which distillers call “fachau” or “flower liquor” in English.
“Our spirit is not as strong as those typical ones,” Mr Chan said, referring in particular to baijiu. “Our hope is that one day our brand can make it to the international market. But our goal now is to first make the brand well-established in Mainland China,” he said.
Mr Chan wishes to build an iconic brand image for his spirit by using the distinctive packaging devised for Macau Fachau, highlighting the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures in its design. Graphics on the theme of the Chinese style of the 1930s and 1940s are marked on each bottle, which is made with Portuguese blue and white porcelain techniques.
Mr Chan’s company, Macau Fachau Wine Co. Ltd., has participated in several large-scale trade shows in the city, as well as the China International Import Expo, and the China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair in Mainland China.
IPIM’s business-matching services also provided strong support for Macau Fachau when the brand sought to enhance its exposure, Mr Chan said. One example is that Macau Fachau products have been introduced into the city’s 5-star hotels as guest-room drinks with the help of IPIM’s business-matching service, he said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted Macao’s travel industry and weakened tourism spending this year, sales of Macau Fachau products in Macao have been “inevitably” impacted, Mr Chan remarked. But Mr Chan said his company is focused on maintaining the quality of Macau Fachau, while having slightly adjusted down the retail price of the product in order to respond to the pandemic crisis.
Macau Fachau is also tapping the online market and has set up an office on Hengqin Island in preparation for taking full control of the sale and distribution of its spirits in the Mainland Chinese market, Mr Chan said.
Against the tide
Established in 2014, 8 Bit Blocks Studio Ltd. has since devoted its efforts to designing and making various building blocks recreating Macao’s famous landmarks. Mr Kino Loi, Creative Director of 8 Bit Blocks Studio, said the brand has been aimed at tourists since its establishment.
The founding of 8 Bit Blocks Studio stemmed from Mr Loi’s interest. He recalled that there were no building block models with Macao themes and existing building blocks were imported products when he launched his company. That drove Mr Loi to design several sets of building blocks for making models of Macao’s landmarks. After purchasing the block models, landmarks such as the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the Macau Tower and A-Ma Temple can be built by following the instructions on the packages.
In the early days of 8 Bit Blocks Studio, the company targeted the city’s emergent souvenir businesses. As its operations matured, the company started the distribution of its building blocks in various shops selling cultural and creative products and gift shops, said Mr Loi. The distribution network has since gradually expanded to include local bookshops and cafes.
The company also provides customised services to corporate or association clients, when these clients request special 8 Bit Blocks for building models of their logos, buildings or mascots, Mr Loi said.
IPIM’s support was important to 8 Bit Blocks Studio in helping it identify potential suppliers or distribution partners, Mr Loi said. It acted as a business-matching platform for the company’s exploration of partnerships with the city’s entertainment resort operators and other large-scale companies, he said.
8 Bit Blocks Studio has shifted its sales target to Macao residents, because the COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted sales to visitors, Mr Loi told Macao Image. “Now our promotion campaigns are geared towards locals, and we have also strengthened partnerships with some local shops. For example, we are working with some cafes in devising some new products in accordance to themes they request for,” Mr Loi said. He said local buyers, unlike tourists, much preferred building blocks designs that are related to their daily lives, rather than those recreating landmarks.
Currently 8 Bit Blocks Studio is focusing its efforts on developing new models and renewing the packaging of its products. “When all these preparation works are done, we will be able to roll out a new line of products with a brand-new packaging, and better image all in one go, when market conditions improve,” Mr Loi said.
Converging creativity
Stardust Journey Co. Ltd., a Macao company specialising in pattern design, began as an online shop in 2016, when its owner and designer, Ms Jovin An, and her partner ventured into selling silk scarves she designed.
Before launching Stardust Journey, Ms An had struggled to find a job in Macao that corresponded to her studies of textile and pattern design in Britain. She eventually got a job as a fashion buyer for a local company in Macao, but that lasted only about a year because she realised her duties and career interests were mismatched.
Ms An then started the brand Stardust Journey with her partner, with the aim of integrating her concepts of pattern design with people’s lifestyle.
“Stardust is so small in the universe that it can hardly be gauged, but it could also evolve into a planet,” Ms An smiled and said, explaining how she came up with her brand’s name. The silk scarves that Stardust Journey first sold online in 2016 bore florid patterns and story-telling motifs. They were well received at the Craft Market, which boosted her confidence in Stardust Journey’s design, Ms An recalled.
“In the beginning, we only sold silk scarves because we considered that this type of product that would easily gain traction with consumers, particularly women. Silk scarves were a good starting point because you can frame it as an artwork, or you could simply wear it as an accessory,” Ms An said.
Stardust Journey sticks to the use of natural fabrics in making scarves, to stay “green” and to avoid giving consumers the impression its products are “fast fashion”. As the popularity of the brand grew, Stardust Journey expanded and opened a bricks-and-mortar shop and studio in 2018. The move was important for the brand to further grow its awareness and outreach, Ms An said. She explained that organising pattern design workshops could provide hands-on experience by allowing customers to work on their own design patterns, increase the awareness of the company’s products and help Stardust Journey reach out to other potential clients.
“It is more than selling a scarf,” Ms An said, stressing that the company is selling different stories told through patterns designed to evoke recollections of experiences or memories. Special themes such as exotic trips and the imagined life of a Macao racing greyhound in retirement have been stories that Stardust Journey has told through some of its designs.
Stardust Journey considers Macao people its main customer base, Ms An noted. Although the pandemic has impacted its product sales, the market’s demand for its pattern-making workshops has increased. Before the pandemic, the company worked on enhancing its brand exposure and searched for potential partners by participating in a number of trade shows, with the support from IPIM.
Stardust Journey is now aiming to expand into new markets beyond Macao, such as Japan and Mainland China, Ms An said. To reach such a goal, Ms An is compiling a portfolio of the company’s designs.
“What we would like to achieve the most is to also expand our sales channels and increase the categories for our products. We have now only scarves, cushions and carpets. As Stardust Journey wants to establish itself as a lifestyle brand, we are pondering on how to apply our pattern designs to more different household items, such as pyjamas and bed sheets,” Ms An told Macao Image.
Macao enterprises are building a more resilient business model to wade through the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic
The brand of Baijiu Macau Fachau was founded in 2013
“Our hope is that one day our brand can make it to the international market. But our goal now is to first make the brand well-established in Mainland China.” Mr James Chan Iu Kuong, founder of Macau Fachau Wine Co. Ltd.
“When all these preparation works are done, we will be able to roll out a new line of products with a brand-new packaging, and better image all in one go, when market conditions improve.” Mr Kino Loi, Creative Director of 8 Bit Blocks Studio Ltd.
8 Bit Blocks Studio’s building blocks are available at various shops selling cultural and creative products and gifts
“As Stardust Journey wants to establish itself as a lifestyle brand, we are pondering on how to apply our pattern designs to more different household items, such as pyjamas, bed sheets etcetera.” Ms Jovin An, founder of Stardust Journey Co. Ltd.
Stardust Journey sticks to the use of natural fabrics in making its products
