Want Want
Privately owned company | |
Industry | Foods |
Founded | 1962 |
Headquarters | Taipei, Taiwan |
Area served | Taiwan |
Key people | Tsai Eng-Meng, Chairman and CEO |
Products | snack foods, beverages |
Website | Want Want Holdings Limited |
Want Want Holdings Limited (Want Want; Chinese: 旺旺集團有限公司; pinyin: Wàngwàng Jítuán Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) is a food manufacturer from Taiwan. It is the largest rice cake and flavored drinks maker in Taiwan. It engages in the manufacturing and trading of snack foods and beverages. It operates over 100 manufacturing plants in Mainland China, 2 in Taiwan and employs over 60,000 people.[1]
History
In 1962, Want Want began operations in the name of I Lan Foods Industrial Company Limited in Yilan County, Taiwan, which manufactured canned agricultural products. It was founded by Mr. Tsai Eng Meng's father, Jonathan Shuai Qiang Ng.
In 1983, it collaborated with Iwatsuka Confectionery Company Limited, one of the top three Japanese rice cracker makers, to develop rice cracker market in Taiwan. It was practically a charity on Iwatsuka's side, and the only payoff to Iwatsuka was a mere 5% of the common stock of the company but it is now valued at $300M (three times as large as Iwatsuka [2221.jp]'s market value as of September 2009).[2]
In 1987, it became the first Taiwanese operator to apply for the registration of the "Want Want" trademark in China. In 1992, it started its business in Mainland China.
In 1994, it commenced its first production plant in Changsha, Hunan. In 1996, it was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in the name of Want Want Holdings Pte Ltd.
In 2007, Want Want Holdings Pte Ltd was delisted from the Singapore Stock Exchange.[3] In 2008, its subsidiary, Want Want China Holdings Limited, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[4] [5]
List of products
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- QQ Jellies (旺旺QQ糖)
- Want Want Children's milk (旺仔牛奶)
- O-Pao fruit milk (旺旺O泡果奶)
- Want Want Fortune Rice Crackers
- Want Want Senbei Rice Crackers
- Want Want Superslim Rice Crackers
- Want Want Crackers
- Want Want Crunchy Rice Balls (旺旺小小酥)
- Want Want Seaweed Rice Crackers
- Want Want Shelly Senbei
- Toshitaka-Kun Shuzawa Sensei Crackers
- Mum-Mum Organic Rice Biscuits
- Crinkles Gourmet Rice Chips
Many Want Want products are well known in China for their bizarre advertisements. Ads often depict the life of a Chinese boy wanting to buy Want Want products. The logo for Want Want was created after Tsai Eng Meng's son starred in one of these advertisements.