Ghee Hiang

When Dato Ch’ng Huck Theng and Datuk Ooi Sian Hian inherited Ghee Hiang in 2006, they weren’t receiving a cherished family legacy—they were accepting custody of wreckage. Seven years of litigation had paralyzed Malaysia’s oldest confectionery. Four founding families had torn themselves apart in court. Heavy machinery, intended to modernize production, had ruined the pastries. Customer service had deteriorated to the point where frustrated customers left empty-handed after being chided for not ordering in advance. The 150-year-old brand was, as Ooi later admitted, “one week from collapse.”

The turnaround strategy that saved Ghee Hiang wasn’t obvious. The new leadership could have focused entirely on the tau sar pneah pastries that had defined the brand since 1856. Instead, they recognized that a product with a two-week shelf life and tourism-dependent sales couldn’t sustain a heritage brand through crises. The answer was hiding in plain sight: Ghee Hiang Baby Brand Pure Sesame Oil, introduced in the early 1900s and largely overlooked in pastry-focused narratives about the company.

Sesame oil now generates 70% of Ghee Hiang’s revenue. The Jelutong factory produces 6,000 bottles daily. Unlike pastries that depend on tourists visiting Penang, sesame oil exports to more than ten countries—including 400+ supermarkets in Hong Kong. When celebrity chef So Sze Wong called it “the best sesame seed oil in the world” on her cooking show, she wasn’t describing a century-old confectionery’s side business. She was identifying the revenue engine that had quietly become Ghee Hiang’s survival mechanism.

The diversification strategy’s value became unmistakable during COVID-19. George Town’s tourism industry collapsed—international passenger movement dropped 99.9% by Q2 2020. The UNESCO World Heritage Zone where Ghee Hiang’s Beach Street headquarters has stood since 1856 became, as one report noted, “the sun-scorched colonial backwater it was before its inscription on the 2008 UNESCO World Heritage list.” Pastry-dependent competitors struggled. Ghee Hiang’s sesame oil exports continued.

The ownership simplification proved equally critical to the turnaround. For 73 years, four families—Ch’ng, Ooi, Yeap, and Yeoh—had governed Ghee Hiang under the 1926 arrangement established when founder Teng Tou Ku’s widow sold the business. Generational tensions accumulated until 1999, when an extraordinary general meeting erupted into forced removal of directors and subsequent litigation that consumed approximately seven years. The court-ordered buyout reduced ownership to two families, eliminating the governance paralysis that had nearly destroyed the company.

Ch’ng articulates the philosophy that now guides the heritage brand: “Some things have to evolve and some things have to stay. While we have to evolve to survive, we also need to preserve and promote what we are known for. We must not change totally everything; there must be something that our forefathers had done right that gave us an opportunity to grow further.”

This evolution-without-erasure approach manifests in calculated decisions. Production returned to handmade methods for pastries—the machinery that had compromised quality was abandoned. But Ghee Hiang embraced selective automation where it doesn’t affect tradition: e-commerce platforms, delivery services, a new factory at Penang Science Park North operational in 2024. The brand launched contemporary products—DarkChoc, WhiteChoc, and ChilliChoc cookies—alongside the traditional tau sar pneah. Most significantly, Tau Sar Pneah Kurma became the first halal-friendly dates variant in the brand’s history, expanding addressable markets while maintaining core offerings.

The Beach Street boutique, which survived Japanese bombing during World War II, has been restored to late 19th/early 20th century aesthetic with viewing decks and museum elements. Ch’ng’s concurrent roles as Chairman of the Association of Tourism Attractions Penang (ATAP) and President of the Penang Art Society position Ghee Hiang’s survival as civic responsibility: “Without the history, the culture and the heritage, then it will be a state without a soul. You can build a nice and big building with good infrastructure, but you just have a nice body; you don’t have a soul.”

The competitive landscape remains fragmented. Datuk Ooi estimates approximately 40 tau sar pneah makers operate in Malaysia. Him Heang, founded 1948 by a former Ghee Hiang baker, maintains only one outlet but commands intense local loyalty. Ban Heang dominates mass-market distribution with 8+ outlets including Penang International Airport. Ghee Hiang differentiates through heritage pedigree (168 years), product diversification (pastries plus sesame oil), traditional authenticity (lard-based recipes maintaining original taste), and experiential retail (factory tours, Teels Heritage Cafe, museum-style Beach Street outlet).

The non-halal pastry positioning limits appeal to Malaysia’s Muslim-majority population but preserves authenticity. Meanwhile, halal-certified sesame oil and coffee products expand addressable markets. This dual approach—tradition where it matters, adaptation where it enables growth—defines how heritage brands survive not just market disruptions but internal implosions.

Ghee Hiang’s 168-year persistence confirms that heritage creates both asset and obligation. The family feud that nearly destroyed the brand also forced the strategic clarity that saved it. Without the crisis, the sesame oil export business might have remained an afterthought. Without the court-ordered ownership simplification, governance paralysis might have continued indefinitely. The reluctant heirs who inherited wreckage discovered that turnaround required acknowledging an uncomfortable truth: sometimes the business your ancestors built isn’t the business that will survive.

Last updated: January 15, 2026