Tastes of home: how Yuet Wo Soy Sauce has kept up its 80-year legacy

Soy sauce is a staple of Hong Kong home cooking.  

To Jack Pong, it’s also a livelihood. His family has run condiment manufacturer Yuet Wo for 80 years, and having succeeded the business in 2016, Pong is now on a mission to refresh the brand’s image and navigate a new era while staying true to its traditions.  

Three generations of growth  

Yuet Wo was established by Pong’s grandfather, Yiu Pong, in the 1930s. After setting up in Tsuen Wan, he moved operations to Sheung Shui in the 1960s. Now, due to new development projects in the northeast New Territories, Yuet Wo will need to relocate again – though Pong vows it’ll be business as usual. “We will stay in Hong Kong and keep on producing soy sauce on home soil,” he says. 

The family has met its share of tough calls: in the 1980s, when many Hong Kong manufacturers migrated to the Chinese Mainland due to lower costs, Yiu Pong chose to stay put. This is a decision his grandson is grateful for, as it means Yuet Wo is now one of the few remaining made-in-Hong Kong soy sauce brands. 

Yuet Wo soy sauce is naturally brewed; a complex and space-intensive process that involves fermenting air-dried soybeans. It’s also more environmentally friendly than producing soy sauce by machine, as it involves fewer greenhouse gas emissions. This adherence to both tradition and green practices earned Yuet Wo accreditation as a “sustainable product supplier” by the Business Environment Council in 2018, and Pong’s goal is to step up the company’s sustainability efforts with more efficient wastewater solutions. 

Old brand, new face 

Despite his respect for tradition, Pong understands the importance of keeping the brand relevant among a new generation of customers. The company has its own Facebook and Instagram pages, where tongue-in-cheek memes put a sauce-based spin on trending news. “Instead of traditional TV adverts, we’re reaching out to the younger generation through social media,” Pong says. 

“Netizens crave creative and playful content, so we present an ironic take on hot topics as part of Yuet Wo’s branding.” 

Pong has also driven the development of new products that meet modern consumers’ needs, such as an organic and gluten-free range, and a Japanese-inspired series that includes a marinated chilli seasoning made with locally sourced chillis and Yuet Wo’s rice wine. He oversees the packaging of these new lines too: Chinese calligraphy on a white background contrasts with the more colourful designs of the main product line. The label of Yuet Wo’s coriander-infused soy sauce even features a caricature of Pong himself in a “coriander hat” – a play on the Cantonese name of the product and reference to a character in the classic martial arts comedy Kung Fu Hustle. “I want to project a creative image that echoes our product innovation,” says Pong. 

Homegrown flavours 

Yuet Wo’s balance of tradition and innovation is also reaching a new customer base by inspiring other Hong Kong businesses. Noodle restaurant Lotmee , which opened in Kwai Fong in March, pairs traditional cooking with influences from other cuisines and uses Yuet Wo sauces and seasonings in its pan-Asian dishes, which include slow-cooked chicken and duck in a chicken broth seasoned with hua diao wine and goji berries.  

Yuet Wo products are sold in the brand’s Tsuen Wan shop and by online retailers and smaller grocers throughout the city, though Pong aspires for his family’s flavours to go worldwide – even if that’s via one suitcase at a time: “It’d be a dream come true if visitors thought of Yuet Wo, tried our noodles, or bought our sauces as souvenirs when they come to Hong Kong.”   

Yuet Wo Shop, G/F, 33 Market Street, Tsuen Wan, 2490 7821 
Lotmee, Shop 270, 2/F, Metroplaza, 223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Fong, 5978 2846

Top products from Yuet Wo 

Yuet Wo makes nearly 70 products. Here are some of the most famous: 

Most innovative 

The Marinated Chili Seasoning is inspired by chilli-infused wine from Okinawa. It’s made with Yuet Wo’s own rice wine and locally grown red chillis and has a strong, spicy kick. 

Most nostalgic 

One of Pong’s favourites is the Sweetened Vinegar. A customer once told him that their family had used this Yuet Wo staple as a postnatal supplement for three generations. 

Most iconic  

Yuet Wo Soy Sauce is rich in taste and depth, with the unique aroma of fermented soybeans. It’s perfect for marinades or as a dipping sauce. 

Most recognised 

Yuet Wo is the only sauce manufacturer with a distillery and brewery licence; its Hua Diao wine has the sweet aroma of glutinous rice.