SINGAPORE – Food Empire’s MacCoffee is a favorite of Russians looking for a quick cup of joe.
In fact, the Singaporean company is a leading brand for sugar and creamer-mixed instant coffee in places like Russia and Ukraine.
Food Empire’s big Eastern European presence owes to the experience Executive Chairman Tan Wang Cheow gained as a globe-crossing businessman before he founded the food and beverage company in 1992.
Starting in the 1980s, Tan worked for a business that exported electronics to the old Soviet Union. He brought instant coffee with him on trips to the frosty northern country and discovered that associates there loved the stuff. This convinced Tan, now 57, to move into the food-exporting business.
Economically stagnant Eastern Europe was a tough place for foreign companies in the first half of the 1990s, and many pulled out. But Tan decided to stay, sure that a massive consumer market could be developed once the economy picked up.
The decision paid off, and his company’s products now enjoy solid support from consumers in places like Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Many people must assume that the company’s brands are local, Tan says with a smile.
Food Empire listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2000. Last year, sales rose 11% to $263 million, more than half generated in Russia.
Read more: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/The-Singaporean-instant-coffee-maker-that-warmed-Russia-s-heart
