1892 was a very good year for the family. Lee Beng Cheong, great grandfather and patriarch of the family, started brewing fish sauce in his native homeland of Swatow to enhance the frugal diet of his community. This was the beginning of the family company, Lee Seng Heng.

Lee Seng Heng soon flourished on the strength of its well-loved fish sauce, hailed by many in the restaurant business as one of the purest with a delicate bouquet. It gained further prominence in 1929 when this sauce won a first class award at the West Lake (Hangzhou) Exhibition. This award can still be seen on many of the company’s labels.

By now the family had decided to share its core product with a broader audience. They moved to Hong Kong to take advantage of its growing importance as a commercial center. A factory was established in the fishing village of Aberdeen. Encouraged by the laissez-faire policy of the British colonial government, the business prospered, serving the taste and demands of many local restaurants and establishing markets overseas. Around the same time the mascot of the Kingfisher was adopted to reflect the family’s desire to see the business soaring to new heights.

By the end of World War II, the Kingfisher product range had increased to include its second core product, Oyster Sauce. This was soon followed by Plum Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Taupan Sauce, Cha Siu Sauce, Spicy King Sauce and other sauces fundamental to the Chinese kitchen.