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Mamee Founder Datuk Pang Chin Hin Dies at 96YO; Has Founded the Company 51 Years Ago

2022-11-07 , 5:29 pm

Remember the childhood snack in primary school, in which we will pour the seasoning out and shake the plastic wrapper until it explodes?

Mamee, along with some other childhood snacks, has been such an iconic item of our childhood.

Unfortunately, the founder, Datuk Pang Chin Hin, passed on at the ripe old age of 96 on 5 November 2022 at 6.03 am.

Mamee & Double-Decker Founder Dies at 96YO; Has Founded the Company 51 Years Ago

When Mr Pang started out in 1971 at Malaysia, he founded an instant noodle manufacturing company called Pacific Food. Before the venture, he was a secondhand car dealer.

They started making instant noodles called Lucky Instant Noodles and Vermicelli in 1972. He also prepared his son, Datuk Wira Pang Tee Chew to join the business.

However, this brand did not succeed as the competition was stiff. That was not all as they ran into financial difficulties and were cheated by their business partner.

Despite these setbacks, they did not give up.

The Creation of Mamee

Pang Tee Chew went abroad to Japan for his studies and continued to help his father after he came back. He decided to focus his market on rural parts and sundry shops while his father focused on the factory operation.

Tee Chew noticed that rubber tappers in rural areas ate uncooked noodles straight from the packaging due to the lack of gas stove or heat.

When they saw the demand and opportunity, they decide to revamp their instant noodle as a convenient snack instead or a whole meal.

Hence, the iconic blue fuzzy monster mascot was born in 1974, along with the rebranded Mamee.

In case this is not obvious, “Mamee” was actually derived from the word “mommy”, and it is not just a pun. It represents having a strong connection with one’s mother, and the target market was kids.

And oh, just to add, you can indeed eat raw instant noodles. Watch this video to know more about instant noodles:

Started Out Other Popular Snacks including Double-Decker

Apart from Mamee, they continued to venture out to make other snacks including Double Deckers in 1980 and Mister Potato in 1992.

Yes, that Double Deckers.

In 2012, they rekindled the idea of making instant noodles again and started Mamee Chef, with the help of specially formulated Mi Tarik technology.

In 2015, the Mamee Jonker House was opened and became a tourist hotspot. You can get your favourite Mamee products there as well as cute merchandise, and you can even make your own snacks and cup noodles.

In the blink of an eye, more than 50 years have passed and today they make over 50 products and export them to the world.

With Chin Hin’s grandson, Pierre Pang, being the director of sales and marketing, he knew that he had to think outside the box to drive more sales.

As such, he came up with the Mamee Daebak Ghost Pepper noodles, in collaboration with a South Korean partner in 2019. It was sold in limited quantities, with the #GhostPepperChallenge hashtag.

“My grandfather and father would never launch products that the kids in our family wouldn’t eat,” said Pierre Pang.

“That was how I came to understand that Mamee is a family business. We even talked about it at the dinner table ..the business has created a strong family bond between us,” he added.

Other Key Achievements of Mamee

After five decades in the business, Mamee was many significant achievements including a partnership with Manchester United Football Club and the opening of a free kidney dialysis centre in Malacca for underprivileged locals.

They also clinched the Frost & Sullivan Award for Best Home-Grown Packages Food Company in 2014.

In the same year, they received the Putra Brand Award under Foodstuff Category and Mamee Chef was among the Top 10 Best Instant Noodles in the World.

Mamee has also recently clinched the Aeon’s Most Celebrated partner 2022 award.

We hope that Mr Pang Chin Hin’s legacy will be carried on in this iconic line of childhood snacks.