Founding Asia’s Gardenia Breads Brand<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US styled Sliced Sandwich Bread Loaf was first introduced to S.E. Asia in 1966 by Wong Tze-Fatt and retailed as an in-store brand in his Tong-Hing Supermarket at 55 Gaya Street, Kota-Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1967 Borneo Airways who were Tze-Fatt\u2019s first passenger airline customer at Sabah Malaysia’s Kota-Kinabalu International Airport specified Gardenia Bread Sandwiches supplied by Gardenia In-Store Bakery at Tong Hing Supermarket Kota Kinabalu and uplifted by Gardenia Airport Cafe and served as in-flight meals on board their passenger air services routes within Sabah (former British North Borneo).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 1970 Gardenia In-Flight Catering Services was registered as a company, providing In-Flight Kitchen Services to Malaysia Singapore Airlines (later its clients included MAS, SIA, Royal Brunei Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Dragon Air, and Philippines Airlines). By the end of the year, Tze-Fatt\u2019s Tong-Hing Supermarket\u2019s in-store bakery was operating at full capacity. To cope with the growing demands of Gardenia In-Flight Kitchen business and to meet his contractual obligations, Tze-Fatt approached the Trade Consul at the U.S Embassy in Singapore to find a U.S Master Baker with a view to start-up the first Gardenia Brand Wholesale Bakery production in Kota-Kinabalu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1971 Tze-Fatt engaged Mr Sye Slocum of Birmingham Alabama USA on a 3 year contract as Master Baker to start-up Kota-Kinabalu\u2019s first modern Gardenia Brand wholesale bakery. Sye Slocum and Tze-Fatt setup the foundational product quality specifications, values, principles, recipes and processes for the bakery operations of production marketing and branding of Gardenia Breads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of 1971 Sye Slocum had trained Gardenia Bakery\u2019s first set of bakers and started up the first Gardenia Wholesale Bakery production line at the back of Tong-Hing Supermarket 55 Gaya Street, Kota-Kinabalu, Sabah. During his 3 years contract Sye Slocum adapted his Uncle Slocum\u2019s \u201cOriginal\u201d Recipe for a continental North American style enriched Sliced Sandwich Bread to cope with the demands of baking in Sabah\u2019s difficult tropical working environment. (In 1974 Sye Slocum finally retired with over 60 years experience and commitment to his career in the North American baking-industry and returned home to the United States).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1974, Gardenia In-Flight Catering Services was invited by Royal Brunei Airlines to extend its in-flight and in-airport catering services provider operations to Negara Brunei Darussalam International Airport at Bandar Seri Begawan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1975 Tze-Fatt incorporated Gardenia Food Industries (GFI) bakery companies in both Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. GFI bakery wholesale bread production and distribution began operations in Berakas town to support GFI in-flight and in-airport catering services operations at Brunei Darussalam International Airport. (In 1990 GFI bakery operations was relocated from Berakas to Gadong (Yong Siong-Hai building); and in 2006 GFI bakery operations moved into its present modern bakery plant at Beribi Light Industries Complex).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1978 Tze-Fatt incorporated Gardenia International (S) Pte Ltd in Singapore and the company set-up Gardenia Brand in-store bakery business at Bukit-Timah Shopping Mall along the Bukit-Timah Road operating alongside Gardenia\u2019s Happy-Kappy Ice-Cream Parlour and Wishbone Coffeehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1981 Tze-Fatt re-engaged Sye Slocum on a three year contract to setup and relocate Gardenia Wholesale Bakery production operations from Bukit-Timah Plaza to a new bakery plant constructed at Pandan-Loop, Singapore and begin the wholesale distribution of Gardenia Uncle Slocum Loaf bread to supermarkets, convenience stores, groceries and food retail shops throughout Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1983 Tze-Fatt incorporated Gardenia International Pte Ltd to develop the Gardenia Breads Brand and Bakery Franchise throughout S.E. Asia. In that same year Olive Investment Pte Ltd was incorporated and a joint venture formed with QAF Holdings (S) Pte Ltd for the corporate business management of Gardenia Foods (S) Pte Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1984 Tze-Fatt sold his remaining shares in Gardenia Foods Pte Ltd (S) to QAF (S) Pte Ltd. In that same year Gardenia International Pte Ltd (S) incorporated its subsidiary Gardenia Foods (M) Sdn Bhd to develop the Gardenia Breads Brand for the West Malaysia market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1990 Gardenia International Pty Ltd formed the first co-venture with QAF Pty Ltd and extended bakeries production to Kuala Lumpur Peninsular Malaysia which marked the beginning of today\u2019s group of highly successful Gardenia Wholesale Bakeries, widely recognised as S.E. Asia\u2019s leading Food Brand for quality and halal certified bread, pastries and cakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However certain Gardenia franchise territories and bakery operations including Gardenia Foods Sdn Bhd bakery franchise for West Malaysia were delineated and Gardenia Breads Brand for these territories \u201cdevolved\u201d to QAF (S) PLC while Tze-Fatt\u2019s Tong Hing Holdings Sdn Bhd maintained ownership of the Gardenia Brand & Bakeries in East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2004 Tze-Fatt’s Tong-Hing Holdings and its subsidiary Gardenia Food Industries Sdn Bhd was acquired by JWPK Holdings Sdn Bhd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From its early beginnings in Kota-Kinabalu Sabah, Malaysia and Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam; Gardenia Brand\u2019s franchised bakeries are now represented throughout South East Asia and the Far East. The Gardenia family of franchisees is enjoined in a common heritage committed to quality baking and in keeping the finest Gardenia original recipe and employing the best marketing practices for the distribution of Gardenia Breads Brand’s USA style sliced sandwich loaf & variety breads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Founding Asia’s Gardenia Breads Brand US styled Sliced Sandwich Bread Loaf was first introduced to S.E. Asia in 1966 by Wong Tze-Fatt and retailed as an in-store brand in his Tong-Hing Supermarket at 55 Gaya Street, Kota-Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. In 1967 Borneo Airways who were Tze-Fatt\u2019s first passenger airline customer at Sabah Malaysia’s Kota-Kinabalu International…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-57","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t