Read Also: How Two Lawyers Stirred Up Malaysian\u2019s \u201cTasteBudds\u201d Through Meal Replacements<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy first real experience with business was helping a friend launch a Japanese ramen restaurant,\u201d Eeyong recalls. \u201cI thought I\u2019d learn entrepreneurship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What she took away was a much bigger lesson, \u201cInstead, I learned how gruelling F&B can be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many in the food industry, she faced endless operational headaches. Long hours, high dependence on human labour, and relentless customer demands. \u201cI was working 12 to 16 hours a day, six days a week,\u201d she says. \u201cEventually I got completely burned out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But amid the exhaustion, she started thinking, whether there\u2019s a way to succeed in the F&B industry without the punishing lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eeyong began examining F&B from a systems perspective by training. \u201cThe two biggest costs in F&B are rent and human resources,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf I could automate those, I could lower costs, improve consistency, and scale faster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a self-confessed coffee addict, she honed in on the idea of making quality coffee accessible and affordable through automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She started researching coffee vending machines, but was disappointed by what was available in the market: expensive machines producing subpar coffee. Determined to improve this, she took a leap of faith by importing her first coffee vending machine from China without ever having seen it in person. \u201cI just bought it after video calls with the supplier,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That first machine arrived in pieces, literally and figuratively. For six months, Eeyong tinkered with it outside her house, figuring out how it worked and how to customise it to Malaysian tastebuds. \u201cI\u2019d come home from my F&B job and spend the night testing the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pouring her whole heart into the venture, she sold cups of coffee to her neighbours each day at affordable prices, even offering free deliveries to collect genuine, firsthand feedback. She used their insights to refine her recipes and soon began scouting for commercial locations to expand her business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once she was satisfied with the reliability of the machine and quality of the coffee, Eeyong launched her brand. But she wanted something that made vending machines feel fun and approachable rather than cold and industrial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI went to the zoo,\u201d she says. \u201cI watched otters play together, so lively and engaging. That\u2019s how I wanted the brand to feel, fun, interactive, and memorable.\u201d Thus, the name \u201cOtter Barista<\/a>\u201d was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otter Barista\u2019s business model resembles a traditional cafe, but without human baristas or high rents. Eeyong rents small spaces, sometimes as little as one square meter, in locations like hospitals, offices, and universities. Instead of building a typical cafe, she places her coffee vending machines there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A key technological advantage is that the machines are fully IoT-enabled. Eeyong can monitor everything remotely: from the level of coffee beans to sales, and even dispense a cup for someone at a particular vending machine if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCorporate Burn-Out To F&B Burn-Out<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Relying On Hands & Legs That Never Gets Tired<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Otter-Baritsa-coffee-vending-machine.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBuilding Otter Barista Into A Robotic Coffee Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n