Kawan Food Berhad is Malaysia’s largest Asian frozen food delicacies manufacturer and a world pioneer in the auto production of paratha and capati. The group markets its produce under five brands - Kawan, KG Pastry, Veat, PassionBake and Aman, of which Kawan remains its key brand. Its signature products of frozen paratha and chapati is a major contributor (60%) to the group’s revenue of over RM200 million. The man behind its success is Gan Thiam Chai who started business in the late 1970s by supplying traditional and homemade pastry products such as “Kuih Bakul” – Chinese New Year Gold Cake and “kulit Popiah” – spring roll pastry to local groceries and supermarkets. He has come a long way indeed.

Kawan Food moved into its new RM200 million state of the art factory at Pulau Indah in July 2018 and closed down two of its operating factories in Shah Alam, Selangor. The new factory will triple the production of its old factories and also produce innovated products like low- glycemic index (GI) flatbreads or roti canai for export and the domestic market. Kawan Food has tied up with Australia’s listed Holista CollTech Ltd, a biotech research firm to collaborate on this new range of GI breads. Kawan Food has another factory in Nantong, China.

Founder of Kawan Food, Gan Thiam Chai, is Executive Chairman of Kawan Food Bhd. His nephew, Timothy Tan Heng Han is the Managing Director of the group while his wife Kwan Soy Kay and brother, Gan Thiam Hock are on the EXCO of the listed company. The Gan family is still collectively the single largest shareholder with a combined stake of over 30%. Another substantial shareholder is Goshenite Ltd (20%).

Read more:

1. www.valueinvestasia.com 25 June 2018. Ian Tai. 9 key things to know about Kawan Food Berhad.
2. The Sun Daily. 16 January 2019. Wan Ilaika Mohd Zakaria Kawan Food : Earnings to remain under pressure. www.thesundaily.my
3. Central Spectrum. 18 December 2019. World Industry Pioneer now based at Pulau Indah. www.centralspectrum.com.my
4. The Edge Markets. 12 May 2015. Jeffrey Tan. Major shareholders trim stakes in Kawan Food www.theedgemarkets.com
5. Marketscreener. Kawan Food Berhad. Shareholders. www.marketscreener.com
6. Kawan Food Berhad. Our History. www.kawanfood.com