It’s No Longer About Us
“I used to think I wasn’t fit to be a CEO,” she said with disarming honesty. “I’m playful. Adventurous. But now, here I am, running a business that’s been around since 2004. It’s like capturing all my craziness in a jar.” That jar was lovingly crafted by her late mother and stepfather, who started the business to pursue a better life.
“Before she passed away, my mom told me that this business is no longer just about us. It’s about the lives of our employees, too.”
Jowin Goh, CEO, Nibou Industries
Today, Nibou Industries employs more than 20 employees. While Jowin respects the legacy her mother built, she doesn’t shy away from tough decisions—like insisting on paying employees a market-average wage, even when it puts her at odds with members of the management. “We may think that any cost saved is good for the business. It will take time, but I believe the business gains when you treat your employees well.”
A Quiet Takeover
She took complete control of the business two years ago after her mother passed. She was met with lingering doubt. “People still ask—can this girl run the business?” But Jowin’s leadership isn’t loud. It’s structured, intentional, and often backed by data and experience. Educated in business economics, entrepreneurship, and innovation, she studied for her degree at Nottingham, Malaysia, and later pursued her Master’s at Lancaster University in the UK before returning to Malaysia. And despite being the youngest among her extended family, she’s the only one involved in the business.
The transition wasn’t easy. “My mother was the soul of the company so when she passed, we had to find our bearings.” She called a company-wide meeting on her first day in a move that stunned employees. “I asked everyone to tell me what’s wrong in their departments. No one said anything. So I asked—if there are no problems, why aren’t we growing 10% yearly?” That moment marked a shift. “I had to earn my ground,” she said. “Not just because I’m the boss’s daughter—but because I needed to deliver results.”
Shifting Culture, Slowly
Jowin believes the biggest barrier to moving the needle isn’t market saturation or margin pressure—it’s people. “Are they ready?” she asked, mostly rhetorically. Coming from a background in structured corporate systems—she interned at Nestlé when she was 17—Jowin saw firsthand how global firms empower employees to solve problems. “In SMEs, the boss tells you what to do. In MNCs, you figure it out.”
This inspired her to create a “CEO task force”—a handpicked team focused on marketing and e-commerce. She doesn’t micromanage them. Instead, they present problems, brainstorm action plans, and execute them independently. “I guide, but they decide. That’s how we build ownership.”
Still, she admitted this culture shift is ongoing and challenging, particularly with older employees loyal to how things used to be done. “Some people don’t listen. Usually, it’s the seniors. I’ve learned you must understand what motivates them and when to be firm.”
Between Brand and Sales
Jowin’s insights into the FMCG world are sharp. “Sales and marketing are different. Sales are boots-on-ground—point-of-sale, stock placement, hustle. Marketing amplifies what’s already there.” As a legacy distributor without manufacturing capabilities, her company partners closely with a long-time production partner. Rather than entering the capital-intensive manufacturing game, she’s exploring mergers or acquisitions with small factories for diversification if it’s profitable.
And while traditional sales tactics built the brand over two decades, Jowin knows that’s not enough anymore. “The big boys have the budgets. If I’m doing RM1 million in sales, 2% marketing is nothing compared to 2% of RM20 million.” She’s exploring niche applications to differentiate, like supplying F&B outlets with trendy pudding-based drinks and focusing on R&D to fill gaps in the local market. Nibou’s signature? A dual-layer jelly and pudding dessert that combines two textures in one bite—a concept they’ve grown with their manufacturing partner and export, though the Malaysia distribution remains exclusive.
A Legacy, Reimagined
Jowin’s late mother, Sally Goh, had no formal education but was a force in FMCG sales, known and respected in the industry. “She could sell anything. She had this golden touch. People still remember her.” Jowin shared that living under her mother’s name has its privileges and pressures. “I want to be known for who I am,” and she’s doing that by formalising the business: budgets, forecasts, analytics, and department accountability.
“Back then, everything was in her head. She could calculate without Excel. I can’t,” Jowin enthused. “So I build the systems.” And she’s doing it while pushing the business into the digital age. Her e-commerce division has grown encouragingly in sales per year in just two years. “I’m not the expert—but I hire the right people, give them a budget, and get out of the way.”
Building a Future on Sustainable Ground
Jowin is serious about sustainability. “We’ve always been doing good things—we just never documented them.” In 2023, Nibou released its first sustainability report, and this year, they’ve brought in a team to deepen the process. “We can’t change the packaging—we tried. Plastic is still the best for shelf life. But socially, we’re strong. We focus on our people. We just need to show that on paper.”
Sustainability has even opened new market doors—but also closed a few. A UK inquiry fell through due to palm oil declarations they couldn’t confirm from upstream sources. “That made me realise—being sustainable isn’t a trend. It’s survival.”
A Message to Her Peers
To other second-generation business owners, Jowin shared, “Earn your ground. It’s not enough to want change. You need to show results. And if you fail, own it. Fix it. The second-generation journey isn’t easy. We live under legacy names, and outsiders don’t understand the pressure. But many of us work twice as hard—not for approval, but for the business, for the people, and for ourselves.”
Jowin once dreamed of a corporate job abroad, but fate brought her home. Now, with clarity beyond her years, she’s rewriting her chapter in a legacy that began with her mother’s vision and continues with her own.
