A Malaysian man has hit upon a novel idea to boost sales for his mother's nasi lemak business - dress up as Spider-Man.

Mr Zawawi Ghazali, who hails from Kelantan's capital of Kota Baru, told the New Straits Times he had wanted to do something "out of the ordinary" to draw customers.

Photos of the 29-year-old clad in the Marvel superhero's iconic red and blue costume while selling boxes of nasi lemak outside the Kedai RM2 shopping mall went viral last week.

The overnight success led to Mr Zawawai setting up a dedicated Facebook page, called Nasi Lemak Spiderman, to promote the business.

Mr Zawawi, who runs his own construction company, shared that his 53-year-old mother had previously operated a makeshift stall near their home in Kampung Kemubu, Ketereh, for nearly eight years.

While the stall would find it difficult to sell 130 boxes of nasi lemak daily in the past, the new marketing gimmick has boosted sales to 500 boxes a day, Mr Zawawi claimed.

The father of two said he had first conceived the idea two years and finally put his plan into action recently when he bought the costume from China via an online portal.

It cost RM500 (S$168).

"I chose the Spider-Man outfit as he is seen as a saviour to many and with that in mind, I hope the younger generation will take up similar strategies to improve their livelihood," Mr Zawawi explained.

He also roped in two of his cousins - Mohd Irfan Shukri, 20, and Mohd Nablan Shukri, 18 - to fill in as the masked wall crawler when he is busy.

The stall currently does not have a fixed location, with Mr Zawawi opting for a roving strategy. He is planning to expand the concept to other districts in Kelantan.