From a Lone Stall to International Success
Background
Ya Kun products, including its famous toast
(Photo: Hajime Nakano)
Looking for an opportunity for a better life, fifteen year old Loi Ah Koon left his home of Hainan Island and jumped on an old Chinese ship bound for the teeming port of Singapore. Arriving to an uncertain future and without knowing anyone in Singapore, Ah Koon gravitated towards the local Hainanese community and soon landed himself a job as an assistant in a coffee stall. Quickly picking up the tricks of the trade, Ah Koon used his ambition, entrepreneurial spirit and savings to open up his own coffee stall with two partners a few years later. Opening his stall under the “Ya Kun” name (a phonetic Romanization of his name), Ah Koon sold coffee, tea, eggs and toast in the bustling Telok Ayer Basin region of downtown Singapore. From money lenders to police, Ah Koon’s stall quickly built up a loyal customer base, which continued even after his partners left him to fend for himself.