From Popiah Skin To Paratha In Paris, Kawan Food's 40-Year Journey Is Just The Beginning
Today, Kawan Food is a household name in Malaysia and beyond.
By Gowri Chitra — 23 Aug 2024, 05:28 PM
You probably know Kawan Food for its line of yummy frozen food products — paratha, puff pastries, pau, and more — providing hungry Malaysians with easy ways to whip up their fave dishes at home
Having started more than 40 years ago, the brand has come a long way. From its first factory in Old Klang Road, it now does all its manufacturing at a state-of-the-art factory in Pulau Indah, Klang.
Despite the changes over the years, one thing that hasn't changed is the great pride Kawan Food takes in all its products, baking and packing food items with love and care.
Today, the company is highly successful, having won various awards and earned multiple accreditations. It also proudly sells Malaysian products worldwide, including in the US, Canada, the UK, the Middle East, and France.
In a 2021 interview with The Edge, executive chairman Gan Thiam Chai shared the incredible story of how Kawan Food came to be, with the story going all the way back to his childhood
Hailing from Seremban, Gan's family moved to KL in the 1960s. Growing up watching his parents work hard to support the family inspired young Gan to do the same, leading him to start selling nasi lemak to his schoolmates.
His nasi lemak sold so well that it resulted in his school canteen's profits dropping by 50%, causing the headmaster to step in and put a stop to his early days of entrepreneurship. Gan credits this experience with teaching him valuable lessons about franchising and distribution, which would come in handy later.
Fast forward to 1976, when Gan started Kawan Food's first iteration — Kian Guan Trading, a company that supplied traditional pastry products to local grocers and supermarkets. One of their star products was popiah skin.
"Popiah skin was something I had the ingredients for and it did not require a lot of capital, so that was how we started. We worked very long hours, but we felt very content as we enjoyed what we did. In one month, I made more than my full year's salary at my previous company," Gan shared in his interview with The Edge.
As the business continued to grow and expand, despite the challenges that came with the recession of the mid-1980s, Gan started to consider expanding overseas, as well as coming up with a new name
"I felt that I needed a name that was more memorable. Kawan sounded nice, a good meaning in Bahasa Malaysia, and the characters in Mandarin look like two leaves — it was green, and also environmentally and consumer friendly.
"At that time, I was already planning for future products to include frozen vegetables and vegetarian food, so the name made a lot of sense," Gan explained to The Edge.
Eventually, the launch of frozen parathas is what would make Kawan Food known all around Malaysia.
It was Gan himself who kickstarted the launch of the popular product. He sought help from the people who made roti canai at his favourite mamak shops, froze their roti canai, and sent it to the UK.
The profits earned from sales were re-invested into the company, particularly to ensure they had the best automation technology available in order to improve their production process. In fact, some of these processes remain unique to Kawan Food, even till today.
The company soon soared to great heights, becoming so much more than a family business.
Today, Kawan Food is a household name in Malaysia and beyond, selling various delicacies under five brands — Kawan, KG Pastry, Passion Bake, Veat, and Aman
This includes everything from frozen vegetables and finger food to pastry sheets and desserts, and of course, its signature parathas and chapathis. It even has its own line of plant-based food products now, keeping up with global food trends. Kawan Food's range of products truly has something for everyone, even vegetarians and those looking for healthier alternatives.
The brand found that their products were especially popular during the Movement Control Order (MCO) a few years ago, when everyone was stocking up on food to eat at home.
Even now, Gan remains involved in coming up with new products and ideas to improve the ones already on sale.
"The culture behind Kawan is to encourage everyone to innovate and be creative. We have a large range of products now, but we still feel there is space to grow by creating new, unique foods.
"I use my home kitchen as a testing ground for recipes, and I share it with my R&D team so they can see if it is possible to introduce them to the market. No matter what, if it’s a product that we don’t like, it won’t go out to the market," said Gan in the 2021 interview.
As for what in store for Kawan Food's future, word from Gan is that the company is looking into more vegetarian and plant-based products, as well as creating more ethnic and fusion foods that represent Malaysia's eclectic food culture.
