Ahmad’s Fried Chicken began with an ordinary moment at home.
On a Saturday afternoon in 2024, Lailatul Sarahjana Mohd Ismail found herself facing a familiar parenting dilemma. Her children were asking, once again, to go to McDonald’s. Like many Malaysians at the time, Lailatul had chosen to boycott certain international fast-food brands in solidarity with Palestinians. The decision was rooted in values.
The craving for fried chicken, however, was immediate and unmistakably human.
So she cooked.
That simple act, carried out in a home kitchen, became the starting point of Ahmad’s Fried Chicken, now one of Malaysia’s fastest-growing local fast-food brands.
Before Ahmad’s Fried Chicken, There Was Survival
Long before Ahmad’s Fried Chicken existed, Lailatul and her husband Mohd Taufik Khairuddin were already navigating the realities of entrepreneurship.
The couple met while studying at UiTM Seri Iskandar, Perak. She studied accounting. He came from a creative and graphic background. Business, however, was always their shared language.
In 2018, Lailatul made a life-changing decision.
“I made the decision to resign after giving birth to my first child. I did not want to send my child to a babysitter, so we decided to work from home. I started a small bakery business, while my husband handled the marketing,” she said.
The home bakery became their main source of income. Then Covid-19 arrived.
Lockdowns, operational disruptions, and uncertainty hit the business hard.
“During the lockdown period, we completely broke down. The bakery business was badly affected. We were still young and had no family background in business,” she recalled.
At one point, the pressure became overwhelming. To keep the business afloat, the couple sold their car.
For many entrepreneurs, that moment would have marked the end. For them, it became the beginning of something new.
Ahmad’s Fried Chicken: An Idea That Started Small and Personal
Ahmad’s Fried Chicken was never conceived as a bold plan to challenge multinational giants.
It began quietly, at home.
“We love fried chicken, so when various issues arose, we decided it was better to just make it ourselves,” Lailatul said.
When they began selling fried chicken at a small stall in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, the response surprised them.
“Once we started selling in Senawang, the response was overwhelming. Alhamdulillah, some people even approached us to become business partners. That was when the idea to expand the business emerged,” she shared.
This was not driven by sentiment alone. It was driven by demand.
Customers returned. Word spread. The queues spoke louder than any marketing campaign.
Building Ahmad’s Fried Chicken Under Scrutiny
In December 2024, the couple invested RM700,000 to open their first physical outlet. Growth followed quickly, and so did criticism.
Rather than slowing down, they focused on systems, consistency, and branding.
The menu was intentionally familiar. Fried chicken, burgers, porridge, fries. Not to imitate global brands, but to meet customer expectations while delivering a distinctly local identity.
The brand name itself carried meaning. Ahmad was Mohd Taufik’s childhood nickname, given by his father, anchoring the business in something deeply personal and Malaysian.
Entrepreneurship Inside a Marriage
Running a fast-growing business with your spouse is rarely smooth.
Lailatul oversees finance. Taufik leads marketing under their company, Mad Bean Holdings Sdn Bhd. Disagreements were inevitable.
“Honestly, there were many marketing budgets I did not approve because marketers will do anything to promote a product, but we have our own financial limits,” she admitted.
This tension, between conserving cash and investing in growth, is one of the hardest realities of entrepreneurship.
Over time, understanding followed.
“Eventually, my husband explained the importance of branding, and I began to understand that building a brand requires significant investment. We were still very new, so people needed to know why they should support our product,” she said.
Growth That Changed the Conversation
In less than a year, Ahmad’s Fried Chicken expanded to over 30 outlets, including full restaurants, mini outlets, and kiosks across Malaysia.
One milestone outlet in Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur, was officiated by Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza.
By 2025, the brand had grown to more than 35 outlets, generating approximately RM3 million in monthly sales. The target is to reach 110 outlets by the end of 2026.
Lailatul is pragmatic about the ambition.
“The fast-food market in Malaysia is huge, estimated at over RM10 billion. Even capturing one percent of that market is enough for us to grow,” she said.
This was never about defeating multinational brands. It was about building a sustainable local presence.
The boycott of international brands may have accelerated attention, but Ahmad’s founders insist it was never the foundation of their success.
“The boycott may have attracted attention, but ultimately, quality is what determines success,” Lailatul said.
The Hardest Chapter Is Still Ahead
With more than 1,000 licence applications reportedly received, Ahmad’s now faces its most critical phase. Not growth, but control.
Rapid expansion tests quality, operations, training, supply chains, and brand consistency. Many fast-growing food brands fail at this stage.
That is why the couple is thinking beyond outlets. Plans are underway for Ahmad’s Kitchen and Ahmad’s Bakery as centralised production and quality-control hubs. They have also spoken about expansion to Makkah and Madinah, and even a long-term IPO ambition.
“We want Malaysians to feel proud. One day, when people overseas recognise Ahmad’s, they will know it comes from Malaysia,” Lailatul said.
A Malaysian Entrepreneurship Story at Its Core
Ahmad’s Fried Chicken is not just a boycott story. In one of its outlets in Shah Alam, Selangor, a customer told Bloomberg that there was no going back to international brands.
“The local ones are just as good,” he said.
Behind that sentiment is a business built on hard decisions and disciplined execution. A journey marked by failure, financial sacrifice, careful pivoting, and the challenge of scaling under scrutiny.
What started as a simple home-cooked solution has grown into a brand with national ambition. A signal that local businesses can compete on quality. A reflection of confidence in Malaysian entrepreneurs. And a reminder that sustainable growth is earned, not given.
Sources: 1| 2| 3| 4
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