Estudio cinético

UP WITH

In 1908, Great Eastern Life’s founder AH Fair invited three prominent Chinese businessmen to help him form Singapore’s first assurance company. As insurance was then alien to the population, they had to be educated about its importance. This was not easy. By 1978 only 8% of Singaporeans had been insured. Today, however, Singaporeans are no strangers to insurance.

Singapore’s oldest and largest insurance company has evolved from being just a traditional life insurer offering protection for families, to a company that aspires to do its part for the betterment of the community and the country.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 54 BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 55

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 54

Khong Guan reminds many of us of teatime during childhood. The joy of a warm drink and our favourite biscuit from a tin with a generous assortment can be a source of comfort and nostalgia. Khong Guan began as a humble operation in 1947 selling hand-made biscuits. Its big break came when it created a semi-automated biscuit production line, improvised with the use of bicycle chains and scraps of war-damaged biscuit-making machines. Today, Khong Guan’s red and white logo is present in over 40 countries around the world, including North America and the Middle East.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 55

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 56

Raffles Hotel is the grand old dame that bridges Singapore’s past and present.

The hotel started as a 10-room bungalow-style building in 1887. Various redevelopments culminated in a recognisably colonial-style building that is today one of our city centre’s most distinctive and beautiful. Even 128 years after its founding, the Raffles has retained its status as a charming and elegant old-world oriental hotel. The home of the Singapore Sling and host to many internationally-renowned writers and other famous guests, Raffles Hotel is still the pride of Singaporeans and a place of fond memories for many.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 57

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 56 BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 57

First published in 1845 as a weekly for British colonials as the privately owned Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce, The Straits Times is now read by 1.37 million daily, making it Singapore’s most-circulated newspaper.

The newspaper has seen Singapore through The Great Depression, Japanese Occupation, race riots, and even its independence. Through it all, The Straits Times has survived and thrived to tell the stories. Be it in traditional print or now on smartphone, The Straits Times continues to be companion to our morning kopi and commutes.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 58

The name Swan and Maclaren may not be familiar to most Singaporeans. The same, however, cannot be said of the famous buildings built by this 123- year-old architectural firm, which was once Singapore’s largest. Its architectural gems include Raffles Hotel (1899), Teutonia Club (1900; now Goodwood Park Hotel), Victoria Memorial Hall (1905), Singapore Cricket Club (1907), Tao Nan School (1912; now the Peranakan Museum), Sultan Mosque (1928), the Singapore Railway Station at Keppel Road (1937) and Ocean Building (1970).

Many of these buildings are now permanent icons of Singapore’s landscape as well as gazetted National Monuments.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 59

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 58 BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 59

Amidst Orchard Road’s ever-changing landscape, the green-tiled roof, firecracker-red columns and oriental palace-inspired structure of TANGS at Tang Plaza remain familiar sights. This iconic store is the cornerstone of Singapore shopping. Its founder CK Tang arrived in this country in 1923, and sold lace and linen door-to-door till he opened his first River Valley store in 1932. In 1958, the store relocated to Orchard Road. The new store became the first retail presence in what is now one of the world’s busiest shopping streets. Despite its present contemporary Asian identity, shopping at TANGS is nostalgically etched in the memories of many Singaporeans!

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 60

The Aw brothers first sold Tiger Balm in Singapore in 1923. When the popularity of the ointment surged, they built the Eng Aun Tong factory, with its original façade featuring the brand’s signature ‘springing tiger’. To advertise the ointment, co-founder Aw Boon Haw frequently drove his unforgettable Tiger Balm Car around Singapore. Today, Singaporeans continue to use the balm as a cure-all for headaches, pains and muscle strains. In fact, Tiger Balm is now used by millions, both young and old, in more than 100 countries. Be it on traditional ointment, muscle rubs, plasters or sprays, the Tiger Balm brand is still a common sight in our medicine cabinets.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 61

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 60 BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 61

Projects by construction company Woh Hup (WH) mirror Singapore’s economic journey. In the industrialising 1960s, WH built public infrastructure. In the 1970s, with rising affluence among the population, the company was involved in building many of today’s iconic shopping complexes. With our economy looking outwards in the 1980s, WH took on projects in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. In the 1990s, landmarks like the SAFTI Military Institute and Tuas Checkpoint were constructed. In 2000, following the drive to acquire foreign technology and expertise, WH sought foreign partners for public projects like the MRT Circle Line. The brand is integral to modern Singapore’s growth.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 62

Most youths are familiar with Polar’s original Sugar Roll – a Swiss roll coated with fine sugar. However, older patrons remember its fusion curry puff – a French pastry with an Asian flavour – of which Polar sells eight million annually.

Many of them also remember Polar Café at 51 High Street, a favourite amongst professionals working nearby. The café was started in 1926 by Chan Hinky, who had earlier arrived in Singapore with little money. Having served quality pastries for three generations, this home-grown brand is today Singapore’s longest-surviving cake chain and also one of her biggest.

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 63

BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 62 BRANDS WE GREW UP WITH 63

Established by Yeo Keng Lian in 1900, Yeo Hiap Seng first established itself as a producer of quality soya sauces. In 1953, the company experimented with bottled soya bean drinks, under the Yeo’s brand. They were a hit with consumers and this led to the bottling of chrysanthemum tea, another popular local drink. In the 1960s, the company replaced glass bottles with lightweight Tetra Brik containers. This compact and convenient format has become a mainstay, and Yeo’s drinks, personal favourites of many.

50 BRANDS THAT MADE

A DIFFERENCE

BRANDS

THAT MARKED