Nien-Yen Chairman Chen Fei-lung. Photo credit: Wang Jien-dong
Namchow, a leading baking oils manufacturer with annual revenues exceeding 20 billion, saw another 10% growth last year. Not only is its ice cream, manufactured for FamilyMart, soon to be listed on the emerging stock market, but its baby rice crackers have also conquered the global market. How has this 70-year-old giant continuously achieved excellence across multiple fields?
Oils and fats giant Nanqiao (1702) Executive Vice President Chen Zhengwen stated yesterday (17th) that he is optimistic about the high-speed growth period for baking oils and fats in mainland China. This year, the company is "attacking from both sides," having established trading companies in Hong Kong and Singapore to leverage mainland China's tax incentives and export its baking oils and fats to Hong Kong, Macau, and ASEAN markets. Analysts estimate that Nanqiao's revenue could reach NT$30 billion in three years.
"No matter what others do, I will win," declared the 86-year-old Nanqiao Chairman, Chen Feilong, with powerful confidence. Under his leadership for half a century, the Nanqiao Group, with businesses spanning soaps, ice cream, frozen dough, and Michelin-starred restaurants, has taken the lead in every field.
In 2022, Nan Chiao’s revenue surpassed the 20 billion mark, and last year it grew by another 10.75%. In addition to the detergent business—which had surged during the pandemic—returning to normal levels last year, all business segments saw growth.Over the past four years, the revenue structure of this leading baking fats and oils company has also been quietly shifting: compared to 2019, the share of fats and oils in Nan Chiao’s total revenue decreased from 62.1% to 57.1%,while ice cream and frozen dough have grown rapidly, rising from 5% to 8% and 11%, respectively.
[Brief Profile] Namchow Group
Established / 1952
President/Chen Feilong
President / Li Kanwen
Report Card / 2023 Revenue 22.68 billion, Profit 1.042 billion
Key to victory
Smart Diversification: Ice cream and flash-frozen noodles, overlapping logistics and customer channels, creating synergy.
Leverage regional strengths: Produce high-value-added rice-based foods in Thailand and export them globally
Ice cream market challenges for market domination
The Nanqiao product most familiar to Taiwanese people is no longer Crystal Soap, but ice cream and noodles. Royal Chiao Hsiang, which had a revenue of 2.2 billion last year, is the "big money-maker" Chen Feilong mentioned.
