The unique sounding moniker came about after a youth from Slim River, Perak, decided to dress up as the superhero to sell petai.
A unique approach to business
According to Malay Mail, Selvakumar K. Tharmalingam decided to sell petai because it used to be an old family business.
Besides, the 22-year-old, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, now has ample of time to kill as most of his classes are conducted online due to the pandemic.
Selvakumar told the news portal that he started selling petai two months ago as no one took over the business from his grandfather after he stopped selling it.
However, he did not want to be just an ordinary petai seller, so he decided to turn himself into a superhero.
“I didn’t want to be just another petai seller. So, I came up with the idea to wear a Spider-Man suit to attract customers,” he was quoted as saying.
With such a creative way to sell petai, his business started gaining attention.
After all, it is not everyday people get to see Spider-Man standing by the road side selling petai.
“People are attracted to Spider-Man, and then they buy the petai from me. So, my marketing strategy actually works. It proves to me that one must not only work hard but smart as well,” he said, adding that people would stop by to take pictures with him and some even end up buying his petai.
And here's the heart-warming bit: with the income he's generating, he's using it to help the orang asli community in Perak because he sources his petai from them.
The youth aspires to be a policeman one day and is currently supporting himself and his grandmother as his parents are divorced.
If you're looking for some fresh petai, you can support Selvakumar’s business by contacting him on Instagram (@spiderman_petai) or via Whatsapp at 010-382 7169.
We do need more people like Selvakumar in this world, don't you think?