Fragrance - Established Brands Winner

ALTHOUGH the secret recipe behind Fragrance barbecue meat goes back many decades, its philosophy has remained the same through the years.

In 1969 when the Tan family set up their first barbecue meat stall, its founder, Mrs Tan, believed in touching people's hearts.

"She constantly reminded us and repeated it," says her son Tan Tiong Hwa (below), who is now Fragrance Foodstuff's managing director and brand champion.

"We deliver full customer satisfaction with value-added experience," he says.

Fragrance has evolved into a prosperous chain of 21 outlets in Singapore and five outlets in Malaysia.

Mr Tan says the company believes in the importance of letting people understand and realise that the company's "communication, whether through an internal or external channel, must be able to touch people's hearts".

One of the elements that go into the branding of Fragrance is to understand people.

"As the brand champion, I have recognised the importance of developing the brand," says Mr Tan.

"People recognise brands. They are always on people's minds, be it subconsciously or unconsciously, and they remain an integral part of the decision-making process."

But a strong branding requires honesty and market intelligence, adds Mr Tan.

"You must be honest to yourself and be very clear about your commitment to the customers to find your brands or products in this marketplace."

Mr Tan says that an integrated IT system at Fragrance allows the company to analyse data pertaining to the market.

"It will also help us to make effective decisions and also corporate direction plans, and it will bring us further in line with our market development," he says.

Mr Tan acknowledges that building a good brand takes time while it takes a moment to destroy it.

"But we believe in brand building that focuses greatly on communication with honesty and conscience," he says.

"The essence of the brand needs to promise customers reliability."

This year, Fragrance won the Singapore Prestige Brand Award in the Established Brands category.

"Our participation in the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards 2007 has allowed our company to understand the importance of brand positioning in defining the future business development and corporate direction planning," says Mr Tan.

"I feel that the redefining and restructuring of our brand and strategies has allowed us to provide better services and other positives to our valuable loyal customers."

Mr Tan is confident that through its brand management strategies and brand development, Fragrance will see an increase in future market share and a revenue growth of about 15 to 18 per cent.