Guardians of the Future

Building a legacy is more than just growing an empire – it’s the preservation of values that these two families strive for.

- Koh Yuen Lin

TAI SUN

Han Yew Lang, 80, matriarch Sandy Lim, 59, daughter Esther Loo, 34, granddaughter (daughter of Lim)

From a small snack business operating out of a home kitchen, Singaporean snack brand Tai Sun has grown into an empire with an international reach, including the US, Middle East and China – all within just 50 years. Still, the family members are modest about their success, and seem to approach everything they do in a matter-of-fact manner.

It probably is a quality passed down from 80-year-old Han Yew Lang who built the company ground up with her husband, the late Lim Jit Syong. Responsible for producing the snacks – everything from roasted peanuts and ikan bilis to keropok that her husband distributed to bars and restaurants – and bringing up three children at the same time, her days started at 4am and ended around midnight. She even once singed her eyebrow and burnt her forehead in a kitchen accident, only to resume roasting peanuts as if nothing had happened.

With a tough-as-nails matriarch, it is little wonder that the future generations also have a quiet gung-ho spirit in them. You see it in the soft-spoken demeanour of Han’s eldest child, which belies a steely resilience. The 59-year old director, Sandy Lim, witnessed the hardship endured by the pioneer generation, and personally saw the company through various economic crises and development challenges. Her two siblings, Winston, 58, and Lawrence, 55, are also involved in the business.