pre-tax loss of $15.1 million (RM67.09 million), compared to the previous year’s revenue of $104.3  (RM461.09 million) and a pre-tax loss of $2.6 million (RM11.49 million). Berjaya Food attributed its financial challenges to multiple factors, including seasonal fluctuations, tourism patterns, increasing raw material costs, rising staff expenses, and evolving consumer perceptions. Following boycotts of brands perceived as pro-Israeli, Starbucks temporarily closed 50 stores across Malaysia last year. This movement affected operations throughout the country and gained traction in the wider international community. “While the Starbucks brand faces challenges, the group remains committed to growth and diversification by expanding its brand portfolio and leveraging opportunities locally and internationally,” said the company.   In addition to operating Starbucks in Malaysia and Brunei, the group operates Kenny Rogers Roasters in Malaysia and Paris Baguette stores in the Philippines. Despite the challenges, Berjaya Food maintains an optimistic outlook for the future. According to founder Vincent Tan, public sentiment towards Starbucks has begun to improve as consumers adopt more nuanced views regarding the US coffee chain’s position on Middle East issues. “Starbucks needs to double down on what they as a brand stand for,” Catherine Bautista, partner at Flying Fish Lab, told Inside Retail.  She added that communication activities may include issuing empathetic statements to address consumer frustrations without politicisation and acknowledge the concerns. Companies should be transparent and clarify the separation between global corporate actions and local operations. Humanising the brand by letting Malaysian executives or employees speak for the company is also effective. Additionally, proactively addressing misinformation and highlighting local contributions and commitment (e.g., jobs created, local suppliers) can help rebuild trust. Before Starbucks, global brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Coca-Cola have faced boycotts in Malaysia and other Muslim-majority markets over perceived connections to geopolitical conflicts, particularly regarding Israel-Palestine issues. Bautista said these companies typically respond with three main strategies: emphasising their local ownership (McDonald’s Malaysia, for instance, stresses that its franchises are locally operated to separate themselves from global parent company policies); maintaining political neutrality through statements that affirm non-involvement in conflicts while highlighting their commitment to serving local communities; and strengthening community ties through corporate social responsibility initiatives, including donations to local charities and disaster relief efforts. Global franchises operating in politically sensitive markets According to the expert, in some cases, neutrality or localisation is the wiser path, especially when the issue is hyper-polarised with no clear moral consensus (like Taiwan’s sovereignty), when the brand lacks historical credibility on the cause (such as a fast-food chain suddenly advocating for Gaza aid), or when local laws or cultural norms criminalise dissent (as with LGBTQ+ advocacy in Gulf states). This does not mean global brands cannot take stands on causes they believe in. Success, however, depends on proportionality of the scale of advocacy to the brand’s historical commitment to the cause, and being prepared for a fallout (such as market exits or boycotts), having contingency plans and ensuring stakeholders understand the trade-offs. “For Starbucks in Malaysia, doubling down on US-linked geopolitical positions would likely exacerbate losses,” Bautista said. “Instead, a ‘glocalised’ approach – advocating for universally accepted values (e.g., peace) while letting its Malaysian franchisee lead community-focused initiatives – may strike the right balance. “In the long run, the most resilient brands are those that blend principled clarity with operational flexibility, ensuring they’re neither seen as opportunistic chameleons nor tone-deaf imperialists,” she added.   What brands should do? For Starbucks to rebuild trust in Malaysia, Bautista recommended highlighting that Starbucks Malaysia operates under local franchise Berjaya Food Berhad, employs Malaysian workers, and utilises locally sourced ingredients. Additionally, partnering with culturally relevant local influencers could help authentically reconnect with Malaysian consumers while avoiding further controversy. “Increasing CSR initiatives and sudden menu adaptations must be approached with care. These can backfire if perceived as opportunistic, superficial, or disconnected from a brand’s core values,” Bautista said.  “In Malaysia, where consumers are increasingly socially conscious and attuned to ‘woke-washing’ or insincere corporate activism, Starbucks must approach these strategies with nuance, transparency, and long-term commitment to avoid accusations of performativity.” She added several global brands have effectively navigated comparable challenges. McDonald’s in the Middle East localised menus, emphasised charity work, and distanced itself from global political stances, while Coca-Cola during the 1960s Arab Boycott focused on hyper-local marketing and community projects. Nike, following the Colin Kaepernick controversy, stood by its core values while engaging stakeholders through dialogue.  In Malaysia specifically, McDonald’s successfully localised its menu with items like Nasi Lemak Burger and emphasised halal certification, though this credibility was built over decades rather than as a crisis response. Similarly, Unilever’s “Sapu” Campaign in Indonesia rebranded Sunlight dish soap as “Sapu Bersih” (Clean Sweep) to resonate with local idioms, demonstrating deep cultural insight rather than surface-level adaptation. According to Bautista, international franchises should implement proactive monitoring by tracking geopolitical trends and social sentiment to anticipate risks, build goodwill reserves through visible, long-term CSR programs to create a buffer during crises, prepare rapid response protocols for boycotts with pre-drafted communications and stakeholder maps, and invest in strong community ties and local partnerships to weather potential conflicts. Further reading: Starbucks bets on simplicity to reverse decline.