Bottling freshly made, preservative-free Chinese medicinal herbal tea in plastic has revolutionised this traditional beverage trade.
'The introduction of this technology helped turn around our business,' said Ricky Szeto Wing-fu, executive director of Hung Fook Tong Holdings, which pioneered the herbal tea production and bottling technology in 1999. 'It enabled us to have unlimited expansion by bringing the medicinal herbal tea out of the shops and selling it in many different retail outlets, such as supermarkets.' The process makes use of advanced technology which ensures the preservative-free herbal tea stays fresh in the plastic bottles for up to 12 months.
Mr Szeto was invited to join Hung Fook Tong by its owners, Wong Ching-fat and Tse Po-tat, when the company was at a critical juncture 10 years ago, caused by over-expansion through franchising, he said.
'There were three wholly-owned shops, while 27 outlets were operated by franchisees. Quality control became a problem. Some franchisees sold their own products and some even sold cigarettes. This damaged the image of the brand. I was brought in to help revamp the operation.'
The invitation from Hung Fook Tong brought a drastic change in Mr Szeto's career. Prior to joining the herbal tea retailer, he was the deputy general manager of a financial institution owned by a mainland company. 'The business never recovered from the Asian financial crisis and I was the one responsible for winding it up in 1999,' he said.
Hung Fook Tong started as a single-outlet herbal tea retailer in 1986. Its present operation includes more than 80 outlets, two factories in Hong Kong and the mainland, with distribution networks on the mainland and North America, employing more than 800 staff. Its range of products has gone beyond herbal tea to cover Chinese-style desserts, soups and fruit juices.