Blast from the Past - Ipoh Parade - Next Food Avenue Launch - Orchan Consulting

Ipoh is known for being a melting pot of various delectable local dishes that get Malaysians from all over the country to come and savour the flavours. This state capital’s uniqueness was something that Ipoh Parade (IPM) chose to realise in launching Next Food Avenue (NFA), the mall’s unique food court concept.

Offering a wide-range of mouth-watering dishes, the food court takes pride in cooking up Ipoh’s best cuisine under one roof. This is where shoppers are given the option to have their favourite local food in comfort without having to bath in the warm sun. They can rely on the fact that the food quality and taste are maintained, as the hawkers at NFA are the very people owning the original favourite stalls.

The food court gained popularity due to its commitment to cater to all ethnicities wanting to get their food fix. It implemented a dual concept approach; separating pork-free and non-halal sections. This unique feature made the food court entirely different from the rest where more often than not, they are either pork-free or non-halal, but not both. One can notice the distinction between the two sections based on the stalls’ architectural design and ambience.

As part of IPM’s refurbishment effort, the food court re-opened with a new concept and a new operator to garner more visitors to the mall. While Orchan was working with the mall on a retainer basis, the launch of NFA was initiated to support the overall direction of IPM’s development.

The food court’s key operator, the mall management team, and Orchan hosted two (2) groups of media for a food tasting session. Attended by local journalists and bloggers, the sessions were for them to savour the various dishes offered by the vendors, alongside to experience the cosy food court domain. All of the vendors were given the opportunity to shine; each supplying a dish of their specialities for the media to relish.

Orchan pitched in an idea to accommodate the media who weren’t able to make it for the sessions; that is by sending them NFA’s food voucher. This was so that they can pop by the mall at their convenient time to enjoy what the food court has to offer, thus increase chances of coverage. And it worked! Over the subsequent weeks, several out of town bloggers came to IPM to experience NFA plus share with their followers what they loved about the place.