Our History and Heritage
In 1938, Mr. Oh Kim An established Oh Aik Guan, Singapore's oldest sesame oil manufacturer. Our founding father was born in the Fujian province of An Xi, which is located in the southern part of China. He hoped for a better life in Singapore due to the widespread poverty in China as a result of the Chinese Civil War, which occurred from 1927 to 1947. Due to a scarcity of food and economic opportunities in China, he reportedly informed his only son, Oh Hock Hai, that his family had no option but to eat tree bark to survive. This led to Mr. Oh Kim An making a definitive decision, and he traveled from China to Singapore in the 1920s on a coolie ship. He had relatives who were experienced in sesame oil production, and when he arrived, they taught him how to make sesame oil.