Historic Hong Kong brands

Brands like Lee Kum Kee and Chow Tai Fuk reflect the city’s ability to create products that resonate on a global scale. Today, as a new breed of companies take on the challenge of appealing both locally and to customers around the world, they need a supportive ecosystem.

Casetify, the popular phone case brand founded by Wesley Ng, and Edison Chen’s streetwear label Clot are both big in the US, while denim brand Unspun and sneaker company Lane Eight are making inroads.

Watsons today is Asia’s leading retail health and beauty chain. It’s an empire that was built on selling opium and opiates in colonial Hong Kong, writes Patrick Chiu in this excerpt from a forthcoming book.

Multizen Asia, a Hong Kong-based contract manufacturer for Hershey and Mars in mainland China, has forayed into mooncakes and is on track to make 1 million pieces this year.

Lee Man-tat is credited with turning Lee Kum Kee into a household name in Hong Kong, with the company’s products now sold in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Vitasoy shares plunged 10 per cent last week in the aftermath of a leaked internal memo and a backlash by consumers in mainland China. Can the firm behind the city’s venerable brand tame the crisis?

Star Industrial’s Red A Plastic products are in many a Hong Kong household, and its plastic cups were made famous by Chow Yun-fat film Prison on Fire. These days, its customers include food businesses and hospitals.

More than 4,000 worldwide

Opened in 1858, the A.S. Watson dispensary is Hong Kong's oldest business

Old lady perfume

A tiny 40 square feet

The company founder accidentally overcooked some oysters

Cure-all pills

Hamburgers

Because the animal can survive long period without water

The poor condition of Chinese miners in Malaysia

Plastic

Malnutrition among refugees fleeing China's civil war