Bee Cheng Hiang 美珍香When Chinese migrants arrived in their host society, they brought with them the food culture of their hometown. Consumption of traditional food items connected migrants with their home and reinforced a sense of cultural time marked by festivals and special celebrations. Many businesses were established to serve the needs of migrant population and one of the products offered was Bakkwa, 肉干, (barbecued meat). In 1933, an enterprising migrant developed an idea that would revolutionalize the bakkwa industry. Instead of waiting for customers, he offered bakkwa at customer’s doorstep by peddling his product along streets of Chinatown. This approach created visibility for his bakkwa and proved to be highly successful especially during festive periods when bakkwa was consumed as a special delicacy or used as a gift. This innovation led to the founding of Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, one of the most iconic brands in the Singapore foodscape. Many Singapore adults would probably remember enjoying Bee Cheng Hiang bakkwa as a child during special occasions like Chinese New Year or Mid Autumn Festival. Through this process, bakkwa and Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, were weaved into a generation’s social memories. Bee Cheng Hiang’s iconic status is best reflected during Chinese New Year when loyal customers are willing to wait in a long queue to buy boxes of Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, bakkwa for home consumption or as gifts. To these consumers, any other types or brands of bakkwa are simply not good enough! Apart from its iconic brand status, Bee Cheng Hiang’s success is also the product of continuous research, quality ingredients and meticulous attention to details. For example, the cooking oil used for the production of Mini Floss Roll is is sourced from Sime Darby Edible Products, the only edible oil refinery in Singapore. The company has continued to innovate and to introduce new products. As a result, a chain of Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, specialty shops can be found all over Singapore offering traditional and innovative food products as well as festive foods like the Chinese New Year Cookies and pastries during the Chinese New Year and the moon cakes during Mid Autumn Festival. Meanwhile, Bee Cheng Hiang has also embarked on regional expansion of their signature products to new markets including non traditional ones. Through their expansion process, Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, becomes a cultural agent in the globalization of bakkwa, transforming a traditional food product into a part of the globalized foodscape. Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香，now has 30 outlets in Singapore, and 108 outlets abroad, spreading across China, Taiwan, Hong kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. In 2008, Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香, celebrates 75th anniversary of its founding in 1933. So if you are looking for a food product or a gift that embodies social memories and its transcendence into the global foodscape, Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香 is your answer. Bee Cheng Hiang, 美珍香 website: www.bch.com.sg
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