Anastasia Maigi in Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 2.
Once upon a time, a young Anastasia Maigi thought that being contented in life is as simple as leading a calm, happy and serene life.
However, over the years, having two children of her own has changed her perspective in life. It all began 3 years ago. Recalling how tough it was to be apart from her children, she was torn between having a stable monthly income as a clerk at one of the top banks in the country and having more time with her children.
“I was at a crossroad for quite some time – to either have my career at Maybank or to have my children growing up with me. But after a while, I made my decision to step out of my career comfort zone and devoted myself wholeheartedly to care for my family. I wanted to create fond memories together as they grow up. I am glad I made the right decision at that moment of time,” said the 33-year-old home baker from Papar, Sabah who is now a mother of two happy children age 9 and 7. Truly, a mother’s love has no end.
Driven by her passion in baking, she founded Pandan & Telang bakery in Pekan Sabindo Lok Kawi and kickstarted her business by selling affordable cakes, known as “kek bajet” .
Despite having some difficulties while starting her business such as lack of demand and marketing skills, Anastasia did not give up. With her perseverance, after a few months, she began to enjoy a stable income and expanded her business by baking and selling other types of cakes and cookies such as “Cheese Leleh” and chocolate cake.
As the business started to gain momentum, the world was then plagued by COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and many entrepreneurs turned to home-based businesses, making it a more competitive industry. It was then that Anastasia realised she has to up her game in the social media landscape to gain traction and sustain her home-based business.
With the determination to pick up new skills and widen her entrepreneurial reach, Anastasia then took a step forward by joining the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® in 2021, a platform that upskills and uplifts women from all over Malaysia, with a focus on personal growth, business acumen, culinary skills, communication and digital marketing – via the Bengkel Online Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® .
Through the knowledge she picked up during her participation in the workshop, Anastasia increased her social media presence to push her business beyond just word-of-mouth. “Our community has a WhatsApp group chat where we can promote our products – and I leveraged on that. I also promote my products on various social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. ”
Anastasia successfully completed her bread making course.
“However, having a social media presence itself is not enough. But to build a sustainable social media presence is not easy as it requires ideation of creative content as well as a deep understanding of the target market,” she said.
“Previously, my monthly sales was approximately RM600. After gaining the skills and tips from the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® on how to further upscale my home-based business, my monthly sales has doubled! ”
Anastasia then took a brave step to expand her business reach from Papar to Penampang, and eventually to Putatan and Kota Kinabalu.
From a pool of 2,000 women who participated in the workshops under the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI®, Anastasia was selected as one of the 12 finalists in the reality TV series, Resipi Berani MAGGI®. The reality show features a series of culinary and entrepreneurial challenges under the mentorship of three prominent MAGGI® Mentors – Food Enthusiast and Brand Ambassador of MAGGI® Cukup Rasa, Datin Paduka Eina Azman; Celebrity and Owner of The Dim Sum Place, Sheila Rusly; and Entrepreneur Icon and Owner of My Mum’s Bakery, Anne Idris. Through determination and passion to excel, Anastasia eventually emerged as the Top 6 finalists of Resipi Berani MAGGI®.
“I am thankful to everyone that had shared with me their knowledge throughout my journey with Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI® as well as the Resipi Berani MAGGI® reality series. I hope many other women out there can benefit from this programme like I did,” she said.
Geetha Balakrishna, Business Executive Officer of MAGGI®, Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad said, “The Resipi Berani MAGGI® aims to showcase and celebrate the mentees’ transformational journey in growing a food business to inspire women to take the leap of faith and embark on something new, ushering in positive change and improvement into their lives. ”
This year, MAGGI® is returning with its six-episode reality show, Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 2.
Follow and watch Resipi Berani MAGGI® Season 2, available on MAGGI®’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/maggimalaysia) or check out
MAGGI®’s official website (www.maggi.my) for more information about the upcoming Bengkel Online Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI®.