Operating in the Interest of Others

WELL-KNOWN worldwide as the company to invent oyster sauce, the Hong Kong-headquartered Lee Kum Kee Group is also one of the leaders in food safety in Asia. Lee Kum Sheung - grandfather to the present chairman of the company, Lee Man Tat, established Lee Kum Kee in 1888 in Nanshui of Guangdong Province in China. For many years thereafter, the business was operating as a primitive oyster sauce factory with a single product for sale. It was only in the early 1970s that modern business and marketing practices were applied and state-of-the-art processing facilities set up, and the company has since developed from a small and medium sized enterprise into a multi-national corporation that it is today. The "Lee Kum Kee" brand is now one of the indigenous Hong Kong brands whose products are exported worldwide and recognised internationally. With its corporate core value of "Pragmatism, Integrity and Constant Entrepreneurship", the Group has been grown into a global brand with more than 220 sauces and condiments, which are marketed to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide.

The Group is also committed to "100-1=0" concept to assure product quality. The concept is based on the principle that "the interaction and interdependence of a number of components with specific functions is combined into an organic whole." Ringier editors were recently able to speak with TSENG QINGHONG, chief operating officer of Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd, about the company's strict and efficient quality management system and its impact on the growth of the LKK brand.

FPMJ: It has been over a century since Lee Kun Kee was established. What's the secret of the company's vitality and longevity?

Since its establishment, Lee Kum Kee has evolved over decades of hard work, perseverance and, above all, dedication to excellence in product safety and quality, into a world-renowned international corporation. The company substantiates its core corporate value of "considering others' interests" in every aspect of its business operations. Lee Kum Kee has also lived by the principles of "pragmatism, integrity and constant entrepreneurship", and placed the safety of food as a priority and only provides safe and high quality products to its consumers. This has lead to consumer trust in the "Lee Kum Kee" brand and its products in more than 100 countries around the world. It is this trust that has marked Lee Kum Kee through 122 years.

FPMJ: Speaking of 'considering others' interests', it is well known in the industry that your food safety management system, '100-1 = 0', is based on this core value. How does this system operate, and how do you implement the concept through the entire production chain to ensure food safety?

This absolutely error-free quality management principle advocated by Lee Kum Kee was introduced to the company by one of our directors, Mr Li Huimin. The idea behind '100-1 = 0' is that any and every part of the food production chain is important, and a small mistake can lead to serious food safety problems.

For food enterprises, food safety is no doubt the cornerstone of the business. Food safety is far more important than any short-term and long-term interests. We all know that to build a brand reputation will take decades of effort, but even the slightest mistake can lead to decades of hard work ruined.

All personnel, regardless of position, adhere to the 100-1 = 0 philosophy. This principle has become the corporate core value for all of us. Lee Kum Kee always strives to meet global food safety standard and is committed to 100-1=0 concept. This is explains why Lee Kun Kee was selected as the seasoning supplier for Shanghai World Expo.

Today, the company's distribution network spans over 100 countries in five continents. TKD VIII Elite High