RAVI SINGARAM
One family’s undying love for its pet parrots led to the birth of not just a home-based but also a pet-based baking business.
Noi Poi Cookies, named after the family’s pair of three-year-old pet cockatiels (a species of parrots) Noi Noi and Poi Poi, was started by baking enthusiast Sophia Rathi in November last year.
“The idea came from a dream where our parrots flew to me, holding cookies on their beaks and dropping them on me,” said Ms Sophia, 34, with a laugh.
The dream was the catalyst for Ms Sophia, who has been baking since her teens and has long toyed with the idea of selling cookies commercially.
She currently advertises and sells her cookie creations on Carousell, Instagram (@noipoicookies) and WhatsApp.
Her business, she said, also offered her the opportunity to cement her parrots’ legacy.
“When I was in my early 20s, I had another cockatiel named Munna but he passed away. While he lives on in our hearts, I would sometimes wish his name could have lived on in other ways as well,” said the former early childhood educator.
“When we got these two cockatiels, I wanted their names to be etched not just in our hearts but in something tangible. Naming our business after them is a testament to our love and belief that they will bring us luck,” said Ms Sophia, whose fondness for birds runs in the family. Her father, she explained, is a “bird whisperer” who can make any bird warm up to him.
Ms Sophia has not been short of support in her business endeavours.
Her husband Guru Jaya, 33, and sister Sally Rubeni, 30, assist her in making deliveries, leaving her with enough time to bake and market her creations.
The cockatiels play their part too, she said. “Poi Poi is always whistling, singing and dancing as I bake, making the whole experience more enjoyable.”
Ms Sophia introduces new cookie flavours on special occasions. For Christmas, she focused on four flavours – chocolate chip, Moo (chocolate-vanilla), midnight cookies (for dark chocolate lovers) and Reese cookies (for peanut butter lovers).
She has already introduced a Moo In Red flavour for Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day next month.
She often hands out “mood stickers” along with the cookies, for customers to soak in the festive spirit. “I am a very DIY person, so I wanted to design my own stickers and brand logo.”
From time to time, she also harnesses the power of generative AI to create images of her parrots for her marketing collateral.
For the new year, she plans to write a children’s book on the theme of her parrots and cookies.
Publishing a book, Ms Sophia said, would be a childhood dream come true.
“When I was studying business and digital marketing at Lithan Academy, I pitched the idea of publishing a book to my mentor, but I did not have strong content for it.,” she said. “So, I turned to blogging instead.”
She believes that children would relate to her parrots in the book, especially with its attractive AI-generated images.
Ms Sophia feels that through her cookie business, she has come into her own.
“After starting my cookie business, I’m doing the things I like to do,” she said.
Her sister said she always had faith that Sophia would be a successful baker.
“I believe we can show the world how a parrot’s love can have a positive impact on someone’s life journey,” Ms Sally added.
