Malaysia’s coffee landscape is booming. New chains, rapid openings, and rising customer expectations. In this environment, scaling isn’t just about great coffee. It requires speed, operational consistency, and cross-store alignment.

Gigi Coffee understood this firsthand. Founded in 2019, they scaled rapidly to more than 160 outlets — but with that growth came operational complexity.

The Turning Point: Unifying the Workspace

Scaling fast meant their tools didn’t scale with them. The HQ team worked on Microsoft Workspace, while frontline staff coordinated through WhatsApp. To plug operational gaps, the team built additional Power Apps. What started as a workaround quickly became a maze of scattered information, delayed visibility into store performance, and employees switching between too many systems to complete simple tasks.

Instead of layering on more operational apps to improve alignment, Gigi Coffee made a bold decision: simplify. With Lark as their central operating platform, they unified communication, gained real-time visibility on store performance, and transformed daily workflows into a seamless, motivating routine.

1. Streamlined Communication

Before Lark, distributing information to store managers was slow and inconsistent. Messages had to pass through multiple channels, making it difficult to ensure updates were clear and timely.

With Lark’s powerful integration capabilities, all communication now flows through a single, connected platform. Announcements, updates, and alerts instantly reach the right people at the right time, ensuring every store manager is aligned and informed.

2. Real-Time Sales Performance Tracking

Gigi Coffee turned sales performance into a real-time, team-driven experience through Lark’s automation and integration features:

Sales figures are sent every 4 hours to the relevant teams.

A daily pre-opening report summarises month-to-date achievements.

Every 3 hours, the number of cups sold and total sales are broadcast to the group.

This transparency has created a culture of collaboration and pride. Peer visibility fosters healthy competition, motivating teams to hit their targets while celebrating daily wins.

3. One-Click Daily SOP Checks

Previously, staff had to log into different systems to complete standard daily tasks. Lark changed this with a custom mini app that brings the entire daily SOP checklist into one place:

• Opening checks

• AM coffee machine calibration

• PM coffee machine calibration

• Closing checks

Now, staff simply open the form in Lark, select the checklist, and complete their tasks. No switching between apps or platforms.

Beyond SOPs: A Central Hub for All Operations

With Lark’s open platform capabilities, Gigi Coffee integrated multiple business-critical systems into a single workspace. Within one quarter, their development team successfully integrated:

• Worksy HR workflows

• Digital name card mini app

• HRMS for staff onboarding/offboarding

• Custom admin console for account creation/termination

• Opsify for operations tracking

• General Base to consolidate Excel files with advanced permissions

• Automation of paper checklists into Lark Forms

• R&D surveys and MOMOS integration

Impact: Instead of switching between tools, employees can now search, access, and use all these apps directly within Lark, turning it into a true one-stop hub for seamless collaboration.

The Results

• Communication: Faster, clearer, and fully connected

• Operations: From paper-based and manual to fully digital workflows

• Motivation: Increased team engagement and accountability through performance visibility

• Efficiency: All essential tools and data in a single platform

From communication to compliance, Lark has become Gigi Coffee’s all-in-one operational backbone, enabling them to scale faster while keeping every store connected and motivated.

Gigi Coffee’s meteoric expansion underscores that the capability to scale operations isn’t optional, but essential. By consolidating fragmented systems into one centralised workspace, the brand not only supports its growth, but lays the foundation for the next phase of innovation.