Alumni spotlight: A driven graduate with a brain for business and a nose for cheese

Since opening two delis at Melbourne’s iconic Queen Victoria Market, award-winning cheesemonger Hakim Halim has hit one success after another.

One of his delis, RIPE Cheese, specialises in Australian-made cheeses and thanks to its popularity, Hakim is now known as one of Australia’s premier cheese experts.

It’s not exactly the career path he predicted while studying RMIT’s Bachelor of Business (Marketing) – now known as the Bachelor of Business – but Hakim said his degree has proven to be invaluable.

“It gave me the foundations and a structure on how to start and build a business,” he said.

“I think a lot of entrepreneurs are very frantic – they want to do everything at once.

“If there's one thing [the course] really taught me, it was the structure that helps to just line up your thoughts to make you work in a more efficient manner.”

Hakim Halim slicing cheese on the counter

Going against the grain

Business and marketing has always interested Hakim, but he felt restricted by cultural expectations. After graduating, he pursued a career path he found wasn’t right for him.

“After RMIT, I went into working in corporate for a few years. I really found that the culture of the corporate world was just not suited for who I am as a person.”

Instead of embarking on a whole new career, Hakim found a way to combine his education in business and marketing with his passion for food.

“My holidays revolve around food; my life revolves around food. Full stop. But coming from an Asian background, whereby a chef wasn't seen as a practical career, I did the next best thing because I guess I had a gift for gab and marketing was the thing that fit me.

“But that passion for food never really left my soul. Even though I was working in an office in marketing, I did a side business where I cooked and hosted dinner parties for people.”

Building a business

Cheese may not have been the obvious direction for a Singaporean, given it’s rarely eaten in the country. But soon after arriving in Australia, Hakim discovered he loved cheese – so much so, that he soon became lactose intolerant.

“My first ever cheese platter was 13 years ago when I moved here and it was the Coon's cheddar with IXL jam and Jatz crackers from [a] North Melbourne 7-Eleven service station,” he said.

“That changed my life in terms of dairy.”

Hakim began working at the Queen Victoria Market deli he would eventually purchase. In his role as cheesemonger there, he sold international cheeses and soon realised there was a gap in the market.

“A lot of my customers were asking why it was easier to find European cheese in Australia as compared to Australian cheese in Australia,” he said.

“Every single shop in the country sells a large number of European produce, cheese specifically. I did my research and I found all these amazing small artisanal producers coming from Australia.

“I thought, ‘Great, this is an idea. Let's explore it’.”

Hakim purchased his first deli at the market in 2017 and the second, which was to become RIPE Cheese, in 2019.

RIPE offers more than 50 varieties of Australian cheese and during winter it does a roaring trade on its truffle cheese toasties.

Overcoming challenges

Hakim is now an Australian national cheese judge and has built firm relationships with cheese producers and farmers across Australia.

RIPE picked up Australian Good Food Guide Reader's Choice Awards in 2022 and in August 2023, it won the City of Melbourne Small Business of the Year award.

These rewards have been hard-earned, with Hakim dealing with some difficult challenges in his journey as a business owner.

“Someone told me once, ‘Why are you selling cheese? You should be selling Pad Thai’. Look, it affected me. Initially, it always stinks, but now I've created a profile, I'm considered one of the experts of cheese in the country.

Hakim advises migrants who want to set up their own businesses to master their English skills, embrace the challenges and immerse themselves in the local culture.

“Definitely have a thick skin – that's the first and foremost – and the other advice would be to really be able to understand the locals,” he said.

“I do find that a lot of migrants tend to speak amongst themselves in a little bubble. “When I first came to Melbourne, I told myself I will not do that, because if I do that, I will not be able to understand and learn how the locals live, how they talk, how they react, what the culture is.

“I think I've been successful so far because I have a better understanding of how Aussies live.”

Story: Kate Jones

RIPE Cheese is one of hundreds of alumni-owned businesses and services on the RMIT Alumni Business Directory. Hakim is offering 10% off full priced products at RIPE's Melbourne store.

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