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| The vintage 1930s Ayam Brand Green Peas can label. |
Ayam Brand is rooted in Malaysia from colonial times, with products
that have been a well-loved household staple for five generations or
more. Most Malaysians have fond memories of the brand, summing it up as
“I grew up with it”.
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| Chronological timeline of Ayam Brand in Malaysia for 126 years. |
Ayam Brand was founded in Malaya in 1892 as a trading business for
luxury products imported from France. The now iconic logo featured a
rooster and the name of the founder, Alfred Clouet. Locals simply called
it ‘Ayam Brand’ or ‘Cap Ayam’ from the image of the rooster. The local
nickname stuck and a few decades later the Alfred Clouet brand was
officially renamed Ayam Brand, that has grown into a global brand with a
pronounced Malaysian character.
At the time of Malaysian
independence, the name of the company, “Clouet Malaya” ceased to exist. A
new company called A.Clouet and Co.(KL) Sdn Bhd was established in 1957
in Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur. A member of the Negeri Sembilan royal
family, the late Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed Tunku Besar Burhanuddin was
originally one of the main shareholders. Today, his son Dato Mu'tamir
Bin Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed is still one of the the main shareholders of
the company, very much in keeping with Ayam Brand’s values of heritage
and continuity.
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| Children enjoying their can of Ayam Brand Mackerel and Sardines in tomato sauce - photographer Stefen Chow |
While the Ayam rooster has barely changed over the years, the
story behind the iconic red and yellow colours of Ayam Brand sardines
and mackerel in tomato sauce are known to very few. These colours were
introduced in 1960 to highlight the products’ superior quality, as Ayam
Brand began to source premium sardines from Japan. The packaging became a
symbol of the region with consumers identifying Ayam Brand Sardines by
the brand’s colours of red and yellow.
Beginning in 1975, Ayam
Brand began implementing more stringent controls on the product quality
of its sardines, investing in a factory in Taiping, Perak. Today, with
1,200 Malaysian employees it is the biggest sardine cannery in South
East Asia. All Ayam Brand sardines that are available in more than 30
countries internationally are proudly canned in Taiping.
Quality as the main concern
Ayam
Brand factories hold the highest certification with respect to quality,
cleanliness and hygiene. The brand is among a select few to be
authorized to export to the United States of America and Europe. One of
the most important in Malaysia is JAKIM certification, which covers not
only religious requirements but also certifies the quality and hygiene
of production. Ayam Brand features on JAKIM’s ‘white list’ of the most
reliable food companies.
Ayam Brand is renowned for its quality.
The production processes are still very manual as special care is
required. Besides stringent fish selection, more than 1,000 qualified Malaysian
workers cut, gut and wash the sardines by hand. The sardines are also
gently placed in cans by hand so that the fish remains in perfect
condition. Quality is the basis for all Ayam Brand products, with 120
staff employed in the quality department to ensure that the highest
standards are not only maintained but constantly improved.
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| simple meal we can cooked with Ayam Brand sardines, with onion and red chili. |
Ayam
Brand sardines originate from cold seas. They differ from local sardines
in that they are fattier, juicer and therefore tastier.
Despite
being a staple, Ayam Brand sardines are perceived to be higher priced
compared to fresh fish. The truth is that after fresh fish is prepared
(gut head and tail removed), it loses close to half its weight, which
will then be further reduced by an additional 10 to 20% while cooking.
Compare this to quality canned sardines where the full weight of the
fish can be consumed, quickly and conveniently with no mess in the
kitchen, and no clean up after. This explains why canned sardines remain
an affordable source of fish meat. For more information on Ayam
Brand™, please visit www.ayambrand.com.my or
https://www.facebook.com/AyamBrand.Recipes.
Talking of Ayam Brand, sharing with you my simple healthy lunch for today. It's Salad with Cili Tuna Light 2. Yeah yummy as I also add on salad sauce in it. Just quick lunch for me before I go out again to fetch my eldest son from school and send him to another tuition centre.
