Beyond Three Generations - The Yeo Family - The Beginnings

May 6
3 min read

The start of an iconic food and beverage empire

In Asian supermarkets across the world, the Yeo’s brand can be seen on food and drinks – whether it’s the iconic Chrysanthenum tea in a box, curry in a can, or soybean milk. Their success across Singapore, Malaysia, China, and more broadly across the US, Europe and Oceania has been a powerhouse for them as a conglomerate as well as a cultural symbol for the Asian identity across the world.

But behind the scenes, the Yeo family, whose name adorns each and every one of their products, are no longer actively involved in the operations of the business. In 1992, they lost ownership of the company to a familiar character – Ng Teng Fong from the Far East Organisation – whose company now owns the majority shares in Yeo Hiap Seng. It has kept its roots in food and beverages, but the influence of FEO has pivoted activities to profitable streams of real estate development.

In this next three-part series, we dive into the Yeo family; a story of a successful, burgeoning business being stolen from right underneath the family due to a lack of cohesive vision for the business, factional infighting, and some unfortunate business decisions.

The beginnings

The first Hiap Seng shop was set up by Yeo Keng Lian in Zhangzhou, Fujian province in 1901, selling soy sauce and other sauces. Yeo Keng Lian had set up a soy sauce factory and provision shop, but in the 1930’s, he passed on the business to his son, Yeo Thian In.

Due to the Sino-Japanese war, Yeo Thian In escaped to Singapore in 1938 and established the Yeo Hiap Seng Sauce Factory. Business was difficult for the next few years, as their strategy of selling through provision shop was less effective than door-to-door soy sauce salesmen.

World War 2 came to ahead in the Pacific theatre with Japan bombing Singapore. As part of this, the Yeo Hiap Seng Sauce Factory sustained bomb damage, making it difficult to continue operating. However, the silver lining was that during the Japanese occupation, when other soy sauce factories were being raided and occupied, the YHS factory was spared. Mercifully, they were able to eke out a living and maintain production during the war, even though raw materials were being sold at black-market prices.

The golden period of Yeo Hiap Seng

Due to this, the family was able to purchase 8 acres of land in Bukit Timah to set up a new factory. Business was able to expand rapidly, producing canned food (such as their famous chicken curry, pork, pickles, seafood and vegetables) and a range of new beverages, such as Beanvit, their vitamin-fortified soy milk drink, iced tea, sugarcane juice and water chestnut. By the 1960’s, they were also pioneering new technologies such as the famous Tetra-Bik cartons, to ensure they could ramp up distribution across the world and open up new markets (e.g. in Borneo, Indonesia and New Guinea).

During this growth, Yeo Thian An decided to incorporate the company as more family members came from China (his brothers) to join its operations and ensure the wealth from the family business was shared by them all. At the time, each of the brothers had an equal share of the business and were heavily involved in all aspects of the business – management, distribution, production.

Yeo Hiap Seng flourished. The trust between them was born from family bonds, and the brothers worked hard together to achieve success together in the food and beverage business in Singapore and beyond. More family members started to join in the business as it flourished, including Yeo Keng Lian’s grandsons, who also got shares of the business.

Based on this success, in 1969, they publicly listed the company in Singapore and set up a holding company called Yeo Hiap Seng Holdings to ensure the family would retain 49% controlling interest over the company. In the same year, Alan Yeo – Yeo Thian In’s eldest son – took over as chairman and chief executive of Yeo Hiap Seng.

Little did they know that these steps, though taken in good faith, would set the stage for their downfall. In the next instalment of this series, we will see how these structures, set up based on trust alone, led to rifts within the family.

Disclaimer: General information only – none of the above constitutes legal, financial, immigration or tax advice. Please speak to a licensed professional to assess your specific circumstances.

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