Berjaya Food (Starbucks Malaysia): A Boycott Swings FY2024 to a Loss

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on December 31, 2024.

For operators tracking franchise risk, Berjaya Food (BFood) — Starbucks' Malaysian licensee — shows how a single geopolitical boycott can swing a multi-brand operator from profit to loss.

The operator

Bursa Malaysia-listed BFood (founded 2009, listed 2011; HQ Kuala Lumpur) runs Starbucks (100%), Paris Baguette (JV), Kenny Rogers ROASTERS (100%) and plant-based brands (Ser Vegano/SALA, Kelava, Joybean), mainly in Malaysia with expansion into the Philippines and the Nordics (Denmark, Iceland).

FY2024 (to June 30, 2024)

• Group revenue MYR 750.7M (~RMB 1.19 billion), down 32.7%, on weaker consumer spending and weak-store closures; gross margin fell from 54.3% to 37.8% on higher material and logistics costs; the group swung to a pre-tax loss of MYR 89.06M (after-tax MYR 87.44M).
• Starbucks is the core: Malaysia Starbucks revenue MYR 676.0M (down from ~MYR 1.0 billion), with a pre-tax loss of MYR 45.1M (from a MYR 165.6M profit) — the article attributes the drop largely to Middle East-conflict-driven boycott pressure on consumer sentiment, plus promotion spend and reinvestment in staff/stores. Brunei Starbucks revenue fell to BND 1.7M (loss BND 0.3M).
• Starbucks Malaysia operated 408 stores (227 central, incl. 80 drive-thru, 19 Starbucks Reserve and a sign-language store); FY2025 plan was 3–5 new drive-thrus plus new technology (Extract Chilling) and merchandise.

Other brands

Kenny Rogers ROASTERS: 70 restaurants, revenue MYR 55.7M (−19.7%), pre-tax loss MYR 15.8M (widened), opening 2 and closing 12 weak stores. The plant-based and Joybean lines are small (sub-MYR 2M each) and mostly loss-making but growing in distribution; Paris Baguette Philippines opened its first store (SM Mall of Asia, April 2024) with three more planned for 2025.

The operator takeaway: a licensee concentrated in one premium brand and one market carries outsized exposure to local sentiment shocks; BFood's diversification (plant-based, Paris Baguette, Nordics) is early and not yet a profit buffer. Figures are FY2024 and historical; forward plans are as stated at end-2024.