Elizabeth Marini On Building A Brand Legacy With A Spouse
The vice president of The Marini’s Group helped turn the brand into a fixture of Kuala Lumpur with six outlets within 14 years.
The Marini’s Group has a strong foothold in Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. With coveted addresses such as Marini’s on 57, Marble 8, and Mesa on 51, the group has set the standard for panoramic dining. From contemporary Italian cuisine to premium dry-aged steaks and vibrant Spanish flavours, each restaurant is paired with a rooftop bar that overlooks the city’s landmarks—always ready to capture the spectacular fireworks during the New Year’s or National Day celebrations.
The woman behind this iconic brand carries more than just a shared name. For 14 years, Elizabeth Marini, alongside her husband Cavaliere Modesto Marini—an Italian chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur—has built the group from the ground up, maintaining its legendary status and unrivalled by any competitor. But Elizabeth herself isn’t a chef and didn’t start out in the luxury hospitality industry. Instead, she began her career in branding and, with that expertise, helped to propel The Marini’s Group to where it is positioned today.
“It took me almost 10 years to recognise that the business belonged to me as well. I always called it my husband’s business because his name is on the group. Women tend to play themselves down to support their husbands. The wake-up call came three to five years ago, when a friend pointed out that it was my business too.
“Journalism was my first degree, and my master’s was in advertising and communications. I spent a year in San Francisco with McCann Erickson, so I was geared up for advertising. When I returned to Malaysia, I started with L’Oréal, still working in branding, and then moved on to LVMH, which I felt was really my forte. I loved it because I was surrounded by beautiful things every day.
“But I guess the divine always has a plan for you. When my husband created this space, he said he needed me to help him. He’s very good at networking, managing the kitchen, and the operations, but he needed somebody to oversee the business on a different level. Everything to do with marketing and putting the brand out there was heavily supported by me and, of course, I had a good team as well. I knew I wanted to build The Marini’s Group as a lifestyle brand, not a food and beverage brand. If it was only a food and beverage brand, we would just be another restaurant.
“I came from the corporate world, from multinational companies. I was a brand manager, so people listened to me and I felt very empowered. But the moment I worked with my husband, that empowerment went away. Because I wasn’t from the food and beverage industry, he felt like I didn’t understand it. But I don’t see the difference. I see it as marketing and branding. I don’t care about the product. I’ve marketed lipsticks and skincare, watches and jewellery, and even tires. I just had to make him understand that I wasn’t seeing the brand as just a food place; I was seeing it as a product. It took a lot of arguments and debates for us to finally understand each other.
“It’s never easy being a husband-and-wife team. You’re each other’s best friend and each other’s worst enemy. I look at the small stuff; he looks at the big picture. For example, we fought over cutlery for six months, but I finally got my Christofle cutlery in Marini’s on 57. I’m proud to say that we’re the one and only restaurant in Malaysia that uses Christofle. Just two nights ago, we were dining with an esteemed guest. He looked at our dining ware and said, “Wow, good cutlery.” I felt very validated. In a team, it’s very important to know when to lead and when to step back. I need to choose my battles; I can’t fight for everything.
“What really keeps us going is passion. If there’s no passion and if you don’t believe in your business, you won’t move forward. We don’t stop. My husband is there every night in his outlets. I’ve seen many operators who think they can put in the money and let others run it. It’s tough. I wouldn’t want to dine in a place where I don’t see the owners eating there themselves.
“The team and I feel that Malaysia should be promoting high-value tourism. I think we are the best place to start because we’ve done this for the past 14 years and done it well. The Malaysian market is now on the radar. We are still one of the most competitive in the region in terms of real estate, hotel rates, and jewellery. In the past, celebrities visiting would come to us, but today, many tourists only come for the street food. It’s very challenging to convince people that Malaysia is high-end too. Come to Malaysia and enjoy luxury for less.”
Photography by Anna-Rina
This story is part of Robb Report Malaysia’s special series on Women in F&B.
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