Just one year after its debut in Malaysia, HWC Coffee Malaysia, the country's leading specialty coffee chain, has enlisted the help of renowned local artists Jack Tan and Natasha Sass as HWC Friends. This unprecedented link between the coffee industry and the arts marks a significant step in promoting specialty coffee.

Tan, 32, was formerly a member of local pop band Thomas & Jack. In recent years, he has successfully transitioned from singer to actor and has appeared in several feature films. He is also an outdoorsman, a drifter, a climber and a runner.

Natasha Muhammad Salihin Sass, known professionally as Natasha Sass, is a 22-year-old Malaysian-German mix singer. At the age of 13, she was invited to the United States by producer Nick Trevisick to record music. At the age of 15, she started arranging and composing music. She has performed with local music queen SITI NURHALIZA and was a guest artist at Bruno Mars' Malaysian concert in 2014.

To celebrate this historic occasion, HWC Coffee has organised a trip for the two newly appointed HWC Friends, the media and a group of Business partners  to visit the coffee plantation in Alishan, Taiwan, as well as the HWC factory in Taiwan, so that everyone can get a better insight into the whole process. The unveiling of HWC Friend and the seasonal coffee beans to be sold in Malaysia held at the Teofahza Coffee Farm. 

Participants included Founder of HWC Coffee (Malaysia) Hoe Kian Choon, Founder of HWC Coffee (Taiwan)Penny Lin, Chief Strategy Officer Saturn , Global Business Manager Rain, HWC Marketing Consultant Sam Mak, Palaterium Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Zenda Ng, Chief Operating Officer Penny Chan and Marketing Director Edmund Lai.

Apart from their healthy and energetic image, Jack Tan and Natasha Sass place great importance on quality of life, similar to HWC Coffee's insistence since its inception on prioritising quality coffee and offering only high quality specialty coffees to the public.

"HWC is a relatively new specialty coffee chain in Malaysia. With the appointment of Jack Tan and Natasha Sass as HWC Friends, we can lean on them to further penetrate the young target audience, create a better brand image and generate more engagement for the group," said Zenda Ng.

Commenting on his appointment, Jack Tan said: "As a coffee aficionado, I am honoured to work with HWC. HWC Coffee is a well-regarded coffee brand and I am excited to work with them and be a part of their journey."

Natasha Sass, who is also a coffee lover, has become a brand ambassador for a coffee chain for the first time in her life. For her, coffee is as important as music and she is looking forward to working with HWC Coffee.

The first HWC flagship store and Coffee Academy in Klang valley and is scheduled to be operational in May, said Zenda Ng. In conjunction with the new opening, HWC will launch two new coffee beans, 

The two collections are HWC Taiwan Alishan Honey Roasted Coffee Bean and HWC Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Roasted Coffee Bean, with Halal certification from Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association.

HWC Taiwan Alishan Honey Roasted Coffee Bean is a high-quality specialty coffee bean co-produced by HWC Coffee and Teofahza Specialty Coffee Studio, which will be sold exclusively in flagship stores. While HWC HWC Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Roasted Specialty Coffee Bean will be available in August at every brand store.``Having achieved its shop opening target last year, HWC Coffee Malaysia aims to open another 40 specialty coffee brand stores across Malaysia by 2023. In April, the coffee chain will open brand stores in Penang and pursue expansion opportunities in major cities, Zenda said.

"Opening physical stores, flagship stores, and a coffee academy is just the beginning," Zenda Ng said. "Our ultimate goal is to expand beyond Malaysia," she added, announcing that HWC is looking at the potential of several major cities in Southeast Asia to expand the company's presence.

During the event, she announced that HWC's first overseas flagship store in Brunei will open in mid-April.

As Malaysia's first specialty coffee chain, she stressed that HWC Coffee Malaysia takes the quality and service of every cup of coffee seriously and aims to offer every coffee enthusiast a cup of coffee that suits their taste."