Snacking is a favorite pastime of Singaporeans. For many, the traditional snacks they grew up with are the ones that come to the place.
While snacks have been increasingly innovative these days, the iconic “butterfly crackers” and “potato wheels” are classics of our childhood that Singaporeans can fall back on.
Fortunately, most snacks are still available in stores and specialty stores, so we don’t have to rely on nostalgia.
One of these specialty stores is the third generation own brand KrackerKing.
Perfecting Singapore snacks since 1955
At the head of KrackerKing is 31-year-old Ko Yu Quan, who is also the representative of the third generation of brand owners.
Yu Quan told Vulcan Post that his father died when he was in his first year at Nanyang Technology University. It was then that he decided to take over the Ko family business by becoming the sole breadwinner of the family.
The business was not going well at the time. They struggled to keep up with competitive demands and KrackerKing was about to close.
With no prior experience, the then Business Analytics student had to learn everything from scratch and remodeled what was once a food import company into a snack manufacturing company.
“Little by little, we cleared our debts and began our journey to build our roots in Singapore, with the dream of branching out and becoming an international snack brand,” Yu Quan said.
KrackerKing was first founded in 1955 by Yu Quan’s grandfather, who began making “love letters” and frying cookies at home, selling mainly in the neighborhood.
Snacks were well received, and in the 1960s his grandfather began expanding his product range to tapioca chips, plums, and other types of snacks, such as coconut cookies.
They were an instant hit among the local community and had a strong following across the country.
When demand began to grow, he decided to move to a manufacturing factory. KrackerKing first established its presence in the region in the late 1970s as exports to Sabah and Sarawak skyrocketed and subsequently expanded to Batam and Brunei in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, when the country was transformed from a manufacturing-based industry into engineering and technology, his grandfather decided to end the manufacturing part of the business as they had difficulty relocating.
They also faced labor issues and a drop in export sales as the Singapore dollar strengthened against the Malaysian ringgit.
The company began purchasing snacks from all over Asia and distributing them in Singapore.
Refining the old tradition
Although the business stopped making snacks, Yu Quan’s grandfather’s recipes were well-kept and he often made cookies for family and friends during the holiday season.
But after Yu Quan managed to eliminate most of the old business debts, he decided to venture into food manufacturing to share his grandfather’s recipe with the world.
According to Yu Quan, KrackerKing snacks are guided by traditional recipes and inspired by cosmopolitan palates.
Snacks are made with fresh, locally sourced produce from farms throughout Southeast Asia. These raw ingredients are harvested in time for production, to avoid pre-cooking anything just for stock preservation purposes.
With the minimum possible storage time, KrackerKing ensures that your snacks reach crispy, fresh and delicious customers.
It also invests in technology that makes healthier snacks. A special part of their production process is degreasing, where the crackers are transferred to a centrifugal degreasing system after frying and rotated for 30 to 45 seconds.
This technique removes excess oil from crackers, creating healthier snacks for customers.
Become the leading supplier of ‘keropok’
KrackerKing now supplies more than 200 major retailers and distributors in Singapore, including supermarkets such as FairPrice, Sheng Shiong and Prime Supermarket.
Still, the road to where it is today has not been easy. Yu Quan said there have been many challenges in trying to create a brand identity in such a large market.
While traditional snacks are popular, Yu Quan believes they have not received enough recognition in recent decades.
However, Yu Quan’s success comes in the form of “satisfied comments and kind praises from customers.”
“It could be the taste of our food or the design of the containers and of the own mark. We love to make people happy with our snacks, ”he said.
That’s why the brand has stepped up its efforts to attract younger audiences, as it aims to become “The Asian snack in which the world makes an appetizer”.
Featured Image Credit: KrackerKing
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