Jakarta –
Biskuit Khong Guan is one of the biscuits whose image is closely associated with the Eid al-Fitr holiday. For decades, these canned biscuits have become a familiar sight when victory day arrives.
In fact, it is so famous that the image on the Khong Guan biscuit packaging is very iconic. Often the picture of a woman sitting at the dining table with 2 small children is created by netizens into funny memes.
Even though they are very famous in Indonesia, it turns out that Khong Guan biscuits do not come from Indonesia but from Singapore. Khong Guan itself has been established since 1947 with its first factory on Jalan 18 Howard, Singapore.
Quoting the official khongguan.com page, the origins of the founding of Khong Guan began with Chew Choo Keng and Chew Choo Han, two immigrant brothers from Fujian, China who moved to Singapore in 1935. Subsequently, they both worked in a local biscuit factory.
However, in 1940, Japan invaded Singapore so they both had to flee to Perak, Malaysia. There, they sold biscuits until sugar and flour supplies became scarce. Finally, they changed their profession to selling salt and soap.
In 1945, after the Japanese left Singapore, the two brothers moved back to Singapore. With family support, they finally returned to selling biscuits.
Their big break came when Chew Choo Han discovered some old and war-damaged biscuit making machines that were being sold as scrap from the old factory where they worked. He immediately bought it and repaired it. He installed a semi-automatic biscuit production line using bicycle chains to move the biscuits on a conveyor system through a brick oven.
Until finally in 1947 Khong Guan Biscuit Factory (Singapore) Pte Ltd was officially established. Around 1950 to 1960, Khong Guan expanded to Malaysia.
The factory in Singapore produces 10,000 tins of biscuits every day and has around 200 employees. Meanwhile, in Malaysia Khong Guan produces 40,000 tins of biscuits every day and has 1000 employees. Around 70% of Khong Guan products are sold in Singapore and Malaysia while the rest are sold to various countries such as Indonesia, Hong Kong, Africa and the Middle East.
In 1970, the factory in Singapore moved to a larger location due to high consumer demand. The factory was moved to Jurong, Singapore. Then around the 1980s, Khong Guan export to other countries such as Japan and the United States. Since then, this company has exported its products to more than 40 countries.
However, in 2001, Chew Choo Keng died at the age of 86. By the time of his death, the biscuit factory he founded had become a multinational concern with factories and associated companies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, China and the United States.
In January 2007, Chew Choo Han decided to retire. He died in November 2007. However, to this day Khong Guan remains committed to providing quality biscuits.
(the the)
2024-03-31 20:30:03
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