FHA Show Daily Day 2 — April 25, 2018 | Page 19

FHA2018 SHOWDAILY 25 A pri l 2 0 18 Chee Seng returns to roots with coconut oil As long ago as in 1943, Chee Seng Oil be- gan producing coconut oil that remained its manufacturing staple until 1956, when it began producing sesame oil using tradi- tional roasting methods so that there was no bitterness left in the final product. Earlier this year, the grandson of found- er Lim Tai Tin decided to return to the company’s roots, bringing back coconut oil under the Double Pagoda brand, which has been given pride of place in the display of the company’s products at booth 6K1-11 in FHA2018. “We have been unfailingly participating in this show since its inception, and found that we get great response from both busi- ness visitors and the general public,” says Lim Kay Kheng, Chee Seng’s sales and marketing manager. Although the company was well known as manufacturers of cold-pressed, unrefined sesame oil, its customers did not associate it with coconut oil because the product had been discontinued over half a century earlier. “Now we are also using this newly launched coconut oil in a blend with sesame oil and a range of specialty oils, to make Double Pagoda, one of our three brands,” says Lim. “The other two brands, Chee Seng sesame oil and Golden Ox blended sesame oil, are well known in the market.” Indeed, Chee Seng was the first sesame oil manufacturer in Singapore to use machinery for production. The founder painstakingly designed and supervised the installation of all the machines needed in the various stages of production, placing top priority on product aroma and purity. “Over the years, we have grown from strength to strength to become a market leader, winning consumers over with our high-quality, cold-pressed, unrefined sesame oil that retains the natural goodness and flavour of its source,” says Lim. Lim points out that Chee Seng Sesame Oil was awarded gold medals by the Inter- national Monde Selection for five consecu- tive years from 1988 to 1992 for its outstand- ing product quality and packaging design. “Subsequently, Chee Seng Oil was awarded the Grand Gold Medal in 2002 and 2003 in recognition of the marked im- provement in its product quality,” he says. “In the year 2000, our company became the first among sesame oil manufacturers to receive ISO 9002 accreditation.” The company has OEM (original equip- ment manufacturer) arrangements with partners in other countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Bel- gium, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bru- nei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, India and Australia. Chee Seng’s Lim Kay Kheng: “We have been unfailingly participating in this show since its inception, and found that we get great response from both business visitors and the general public” 19