Franchise & Licensing Asia 2008 Part II

As I was walking around the exhition I was suddenly struck by the number of Singaporean companies who appeared not to be represented. The first one I thought of was “Old Chang Kee“, the iconic purveyour of curry puffs in Singapore. If you haven’t tried a curry puff yet, you should do something about it quick!
I don’t really know where the “puff” part comes from but they consist of pastry (not puff pastry) folded over a curried potato, pieces of boiled egg and chicken filling and then deep fried. Best with an ice cold Tiger beer.
Old Chang Kee is a Singaporean as Chicken Rice. It is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and has over 50 outlets in Asia.
As it turned out Old Cheng Kee WAS there, but they were promoting their new franchise. It is called “Pie Kia“.The concept consists of selling pies, salads, soups and drinks from outlets in food courts. They have done a good job of the branding.Pie Kia is characterised as a boy drawn in the Anime style. Here is his story, lifted from their brochure:
”When friends discovered this shy young man had a passion for cooking, their first reaction was to snigger at his ‘unmanly’ exploits. But just one bite later, they dubbed him ‘Pie Kia’ – an affectionate moniker acclaiming his gift for creating the most delicious pies they ever tasted!”
As I was beginning to get used used to in this exhibition, there were no samples to try, so until I manage to hunt down an outlet somewhere, I will just have to take their word that their pies are delicious.I wish them luck and with the energy and experience of Old Cang Kee behind them and the snazzy branding, they will probably do well.