Kota Kinabalu: MessengerCo Co-founder cum Chief Executive Officer Heaster Andrea Hilary called for a stronger “Made in Sabah” brand, pointing out that Sabah artisans sell handmade products 70 to 80 per cent cheaper than West Malaysian sellers.
“We source handmade items from Sabahan and Sarawakian entrepreneurs for our corporate clients through an impact procurement section on our platform and I find local prices running well below similar products from West Malaysia,” said Heaster, who runs the corporate gifting and merchandise platform MessengerCo based in Kuala Lumpur,“Our (Sabah) price is 70 to 80 per cent cheaper than artisans in Kuala Lumpur and yet somehow we bear higher logistics costs. Langkawi sells similar handmade items at 70 to 80 per cent higher prices than ours.
“We keep focusing on producing in volume and competing with China on speed, when actually the value is in the handmade quality itself, in the culture, in the pace and rhythm of what we do. We need a ‘Made in Sabah’ brand so we can raise our prices in West Malaysia and further afield,” she said.
She made the point at the CEO Masterclass Podcast Live, themed “Conversations that Matter,” held at the Sabah International Convention Centre in conjunction with the CEO Masterclass Sabah 2026.
The event was organised by the Sabah Young Business and Industry Leaders (Sybil) in collaboration with the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sabah, and supported by the State Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport Ministry.
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She said branding matters for every business, not only for products competing on price.
“Branding is how people perceive you, how they associate you, what they associate you with. MessengerCo must also be associated with the best service, the most creative gifting and merchandise, and a premium option as well.
“Those are the positions that we set early on in our marketing to make sure everything communicates this value. It is not just for simple, traditional businesses, it is everything that you do. Your branding is important,” she said.
Additionally, she said MessengerCo is an AI-powered corporate gifting and merchandise platform that has shipped more than 250,000 gifts to 19 countries since it began as an accidental side project during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she sent a gift to a friend undergoing chemotherapy and later began receiving corporate orders after posting about it on Instagram.
She said the traditional gifting industry is cash rich but slow to innovate and largely run by owners in their 50s preparing to hand the business to a second generation.
She also spoke about resilience in the face of setbacks, recalling a period after raising significant funding when she lost more than a million ringgit and had to rebuild.
“That was a humbling period for me, but it was also very important in building the character and the person I am today. Go all in when you find it is the one, whether it is a person, a job or a business and when the bad times come, just be present and face it,” she said.
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