Fighting off a headache or back pain? Just take a sniff of White Flower, and you’ll be good to go!

The Malaysian White Flower oil has stood the test of time. People of all generations use it for any problem–from colds to heat stroke to a stuffy nose!    

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But we wouldn’t have had it if not for Geok-Eng Gang’s family and friends. Originally, the oil was just for them to use. But it worked so well, they convinced him to open a factory in Penang.

In 2023, Hoe Hin Pak Fah Yeow (White Flower) made $331.6M (MYR 156.2M) in revenue, with a profit of $13.4M (MYR 63.2M).

This is the story of the White Flower oil that’s been curing Asian illnesses for generations.

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🇲🇾 Humble beginnings

Geok-Eng Gan was born to a doctor of Chinese medicine in Fujian, China.

At the age of 7, he moved to Singapore. He started off as a peddler and laborer.

Eventually, he moved to Penang, Malaysia. There, he started a candy factory and a rubber business. But these businesses were destroyed by the First World War.

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🧪 The right recipe  

But Geok-Eng Gan was determined to succeed.

In the 1920s, many people were living in poor sanitary conditions. They often got sick because of mosquitoes or got heat strokes.

Geok-Eng wanted to put his father’s Chinese medicine training to good use. In 1927, he came up with an oil. The recipe mixed mint, camphor, lavender, and eucalyptus extract.

He called it White Flower oil after his favorite Narcissus daffodil.

He distributed the White Flower oil among family and friends. They instantly loved it! It helped them with their headaches, mosquito bites, and heat stroke.

It worked so well, they convinced him to open a factory for his invention!

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🎯 Hitting the target

Geok-Eng opened the first company in Penang, Malaysia. In 1935, they registered their trademark in Singapore.

But they really became successful when they entered the Hong Kong market in 1951. Their target was the Chinese laborers.

This was a smart move–many laborers complained of pain in their joints and back. White Flower oil provided instant relief!

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📽️ Spreading the word

White Flower spread even further as the decades went on.

In the 1960s, Geok-Eng would give samples of White Flower oil to Chinese opera actors. He was good friends with movie directors, who would show the white flower oil in their films!

This product placement made people curious to try the product themselves.

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👪 Relief for all ages

Now, White Flower stays popular by appealing to different generations.

“From their grandparents to their parents, the love and trust for White Flower has been passed on,” says Stephan Gan, the founder’s son and the company’s executive director.

They also approach each generation differently. For young children, they have catchy commercials on TV. For college students, they help relieve stress from studying. And for the elderly, they give them relief from joint pain.

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🌟 Don’t mess with success  

They also focus on perfecting a small range of products.

At first, Stephen Gan wanted to branch out from White Flower oil. But none of the products were successful.

He realized that the brand was popular because it had a long history of creating the reliable White Flower oil and ointment.

They also built credibility by putting their products through clinical exams at the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This proved that White Flower oil can hold up under scientific study, too!

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😌 Here and now

White Flower knows it best: scents can transport you. As White Flower oil heals our aches and pains, its strong minty scent returns us to our childhood, too!

White Flower oil is definitely a trusty companion through all the phases of life.

It’s amazing to see how consistency is key in producing an excellent product—that will keep it stocked in our households for years to come.