Malaysia’s café and beverage market is booming, but it’s also becoming one of the most competitive consumer sectors in the country.



With over 5,000 cafés nationwide, rising coffee consumption, and aggressive expansion from regional and Chinese brands, café operators are navigating tighter margins, higher expectations, and a more tech-driven customer base. Gen Z demand is accelerating growth, home brewing remains strong, and loyalty apps are becoming as important as latte art.



Alun Jones, Project Director of Montgomery Asia and organiser of the International Coffee & Beverage Show 2026 (ICBS), alongside Koh Wei Yang, General Manager of Barista Guild Asia, joins BFM Enterprise Explores to explore how the industry is restructuring, the role of events like ICBS, and why running a cafe is no longer just about coffee.



Learn about:




The Competitive Reset: Why Malaysia’s buoyant coffee market is also forcing operators to rethink efficiency, pricing and scale.


The Gen Z Effect: How younger consumers are driving consumption growth and shifting expectations.


Technology as a Survival Tool: Why loyalty apps, POS systems and data-driven engagement are no longer optional.


Beyond Coffee: The rapid rise of tea, kombucha and alternative beverages as differentiation strategies.


The Hard Truth for New Entrants: Why romanticising café ownership is risky and what aspiring operators need to understand before investing.

Malaysia’s café and beverage market is booming, but it’s also becoming one of the most competitive consumer sectors in the country.With over 5,000 cafés nationwide, rising coffee consumption, and aggressive expansion from regional and Chinese brands, café operators are navigating tighter margins, higher expectations, and a more tech-driven customer base. Gen Z demand is accelerating growth, home brewing remains strong, and loyalty apps are becoming as important as latte art.Alun Jones, Project Director of Montgomery Asia and organiser of the International Coffee &amp; Beverage Show 2026 (ICBS), alongside Koh Wei Yang, General Manager of Barista Guild Asia, joins BFM Enterprise Explores to explore how the industry is restructuring, the role of events like ICBS, and why running a cafe is no longer just about coffee.Learn about:<ul><li>The Competitive Reset: Why Malaysia’s buoyant coffee market is also forcing operators to rethink efficiency, pricing and scale.</li><li>The Gen Z Effect: How younger consumers are driving consumption growth and shifting expectations.</li><li>Technology as a Survival Tool: Why loyalty apps, POS systems and data-driven engagement are no longer optional.</li><li>Beyond Coffee: The rapid rise of tea, kombucha and alternative beverages as differentiation strategies.</li><li>The Hard Truth for New Entrants: Why romanticising café ownership is risky and what aspiring operators need to understand before investing.</li></ul>

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Enterprise Explores

Beyond Coffee, What’s Brewing In Beverages? 

Tariffs don’t actually protect an economy, they slowly suffocate innovation. Economies need "Creative Destruction”. Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Center For Market Education, joins BFM Enterprise to unpack the macroeconomic consequences of building economic walls.



Looking through the lens of Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of "creative destruction," Dr. Ferlito argues that tariffs distort entrepreneurial calculation, breed rent-seeking behavior, and artificially keep inefficient "zombie firms" on life support at the expense of true innovation.



Learn about:




The Illusion of Protection: Why constantly shifting tariffs erode institutional predictability, causing businesses to freeze their hiring and investment decisions.


The "Zombie Firm" Epidemic: How protectionism traps valuable capital and talent in outdated legacy businesses rather than allowing them to flow to new, better opportunities.


Invention vs. Innovation: Why an idea created in isolation is just an "invention" until it gets the scale, human capital, and financial backing to hit the market as an "innovation."


The Government's True Role: Why the state must act purely as a referee ensuring fair play and contestable markets, rather than a player trying to pick winners.


A Playbook for Malaysia: Why a highly integrated economy like Malaysia must double down on unilateral openness, genuine zero-tariff trade agreements, and protecting people (via social safety nets and reskilling) rather than protecting firms.

Tariffs don’t actually protect an economy, they slowly suffocate innovation. Economies need "Creative Destruction”. Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Center For Market Education, joins BFM Enterprise to unpack the macroeconomic consequences of building economic walls.Looking through the lens of Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of "creative destruction," Dr. Ferlito argues that tariffs distort entrepreneurial calculation, breed rent-seeking behavior, and artificially keep inefficient "zombie firms" on life support at the expense of true innovation.Learn about:<ul><li>The Illusion of Protection: Why constantly shifting tariffs erode institutional predictability, causing businesses to freeze their hiring and investment decisions.</li><li>The "Zombie Firm" Epidemic: How protectionism traps valuable capital and talent in outdated legacy businesses rather than allowing them to flow to new, better opportunities.</li><li>Invention vs. Innovation: Why an idea created in isolation is just an "invention" until it gets the scale, human capital, and financial backing to hit the market as an "innovation."</li><li>The Government's True Role: Why the state must act purely as a referee ensuring fair play and contestable markets, rather than a player trying to pick winners.</li><li>A Playbook for Malaysia: Why a highly integrated economy like Malaysia must double down on unilateral openness, genuine zero-tariff trade agreements, and protecting people (via social safety nets and reskilling) rather than protecting firms.</li></ul>

Why Tariffs And Protectionism Kill Innovation

Global headlines have once again put powerful individuals under scrutiny, raising broader questions about accountability at the very top.



In this episode, we explore CEO misconduct in Malaysia, from legal duties and fiduciary responsibilities to the operational and cultural impact on organisations. Are chief executives overly shielded by their status? Do public listed companies face stricter oversight than private firms? And what protections exist for employees when misconduct happens at the leadership level?



Joining us for this conversation is Sheba Gumis, Partner at Skrine, to give us a sense of the legal safeguards, governance frameworks, and whether Malaysia’s system is robust enough to keep power in check.

Global headlines have once again put powerful individuals under scrutiny, raising broader questions about accountability at the very top.In this episode, we explore CEO misconduct in Malaysia, from legal duties and fiduciary responsibilities to the operational and cultural impact on organisations. Are chief executives overly shielded by their status? Do public listed companies face stricter oversight than private firms? And what protections exist for employees when misconduct happens at the leadership level?Joining us for this conversation is Sheba Gumis, Partner at Skrine, to give us a sense of the legal safeguards, governance frameworks, and whether Malaysia’s system is robust enough to keep power in check.

Are Your Bosses Really Untouchable?

If a cyber breach can happen in 25 minutes but it takes days to contain, are organisations already too late?



New cloud security findings from Palo Alto Networks point to a stark reality: attackers are now operating at machine speed, fuelled by AI. Nearly every organisation surveyed reported at least one attack on its AI systems in the past year. APIs are becoming key entry points. Identity weaknesses are driving incidents. And security teams are still juggling an average of 17 tools while trying to respond in real time.



As companies race to deploy faster using AI and automated development tools, they may be expanding their exposure just as quickly. Prevention remains critical. But resilience and response speed are fast becoming the true differentiators.



Elad Koren, Vice President of Product Management for Cortex Cloud at Palo Alto Networks, joins us to examine what breaks first under machine-speed attacks and what needs to change to keep up.



We explore:


Why the shift from prevention to response speed is becoming the new baseline.


What AI poisoning really means, and how intentional sabotage of AI systems could play out.


Why APIs have become both the connective tissue and a growing vulnerability in modern cloud environments.


The identity challenge in cloud and AI systems, and why identity now functions as the last line of defence.


Why manual data reviews are becoming a liability at cloud scale.


Whether the traditional separation between cloud security and the SOC still makes sense in the AI era.



This is not just about stronger tools. It is about whether organisational design, security workflows, and accountability structures are built for threats that now move at machine speed.

If a cyber breach can happen in 25 minutes but it takes days to contain, are organisations already too late?New cloud security findings from Palo Alto Networks point to a stark reality: attackers are now operating at machine speed, fuelled by AI. Nearly every organisation surveyed reported at least one attack on its AI systems in the past year. APIs are becoming key entry points. Identity weaknesses are driving incidents. And security teams are still juggling an average of 17 tools while trying to respond in real time.As companies race to deploy faster using AI and automated development tools, they may be expanding their exposure just as quickly. Prevention remains critical. But resilience and response speed are fast becoming the true differentiators.Elad Koren, Vice President of Product Management for Cortex Cloud at Palo Alto Networks, joins us to examine what breaks first under machine-speed attacks and what needs to change to keep up.We explore:<ul><li>Why the shift from prevention to response speed is becoming the new baseline.</li><li>What AI poisoning really means, and how intentional sabotage of AI systems could play out.</li><li>Why APIs have become both the connective tissue and a growing vulnerability in modern cloud environments.</li><li>The identity challenge in cloud and AI systems, and why identity now functions as the last line of defence.</li><li>Why manual data reviews are becoming a liability at cloud scale.</li><li>Whether the traditional separation between cloud security and the SOC still makes sense in the AI era.</li></ul>This is not just about stronger tools. It is about whether organisational design, security workflows, and accountability structures are built for threats that now move at machine speed.

Beyond Coffee, What’s Brewing In Beverages?

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