About Us
“nothing is comparable to the
soy sauce awith a natural taste
of beans”
Kong Cheong Food Industries was launched by Mr. Chan Seng in 1944, which mainly produced soy sauce. He always told his children, “nothing is comparable to the soy sauce with a natural taste of beans”. People nowadays might not understand the perspective of Mr. Chan Seng. However, just imagine you were to live in the era of World War II, where food was scarce let alone condiment, you might have a grasp on Seng’s insight. A pot of porridge with a few drops of soy sauce would be the best meal for Mr. Chan Seng and his family during that period of time. This experience eventually aspired Mr. Chan Seng’s to pursue his life goal – that every household would own a bottle of aromatic soy sauce.
Soy sauce factory
In 1942, Mr. Chan Seng and his eldest son, Mr. Chan Yong Lam, spent two years working as disciples in a soy sauce factory. In 1944, Mr. Chan Seng and Mr. Chan Yong Lam established their soy sauce factory, which was an exciting news for the whole family. However, the journey to success was not entirely smooth. Notwithstanding the success of producing decent soy sauce, they lacked transport to deliver their products beyond the neighbourhood. The demand for soy sauce from the nearby areas started to decrease after a few months. This undoubtedly became the first crisis of the factory. Upon realizing the issue, together with his siblings, Mr. Chan Yong Lam decided to deliver soy sauce by bikes. It sounds ridiculous to envisage that one travelled by bike for 20 miles (about 32 km) just to deliver a dozen of soy sauce, but that was what Chan’s family actually did for years.
Marketing strategy
In 1981, two of Mr. Chan Yong Lam’s sons, Mr. Chan Meng Kong and Mr. Chan Eng Kong, took charge of the family business.
By virtue of their far-sighted marketing strategies, Kong Cheong Soy Sauce slowly made its way into the markets of Peninsula Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. The eldest brother, Mr. Chan Meng Kong, was an expert in networking; whereas Mr. Chan Eng Kong was gifted with a logical and scientific mindset. The former dealt with external business while the latter managed internal matters. For example, Mr. Chan Meng Kong and other siblings had to promote and market the brand. At the same time, Mr. Chan Eng Kong was responsible for scheduling the factory expansion in order to further improve the quality of soy sauce and to develop unique recipes for different condiments. The effort of Chan’s family in advancing the quality of soy sauce isrecognized under the certification of Halal and Mesti (link to Certification) issued by the Malaysian government.
Product Description and Advantage
Malaysia is located at the equator, which ensures sufficient sunlight and optimal temperature for the fermentation of soy beans. Soy sauce produced by Kong Cheong Food Industries is fermented under the sun for 4-6 months, which is more than the standard timeframe of 3 months. As a result, the products have a richer and mellower flavor than the ordinary soy sauce. In addition, Kong Cheong Food Industries used non- Genetically Modified Organism (non-GMO) soy beans as the primary ingredients. Therefore, this enables the soy beans to retain its natural flavor in the product.