Hsu Fu Chi (徐福记) is a Chinese company, based in Dongguan, China, that manufactures various confectionaries, biscuits, chocolates, jellies,

sachima Sachima is a sweet snack in Chinese cuisine made of fluffy strands of fried batter bound together with a stiff sugar syrup, and of an appearance somewhat similar to American Rice Krispies Treats. It originated in Manchuria and is now popular thr ...

, and snacks. The company is majority owned by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

, and minority owned by the Hsu family.

History

Beginnings and independent growth

In 1992, Mekey Hsu Chen founded Hsu Fu Chi in The People's Republic of China. In 1994, the brand was trademarked in the PRC. In 1997, Transpac invested in the company, and the brand became the top-selling brand in China for ten years; in 2008, they were relegated to the number 2 position, after

Mars, Inc Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...

. Hsu Fu Chi was the first company to introduce the ''"Pick and Mix"'' format in China, in which consumers can pick various kinds of confectionaries out of tubs of various confectionaries; and instead of picking only one kind, one can pick as many as they wish. In 2000, Hsu Fu Chi began to build a distribution network across China. In 2004, they created the world's first fully automated sachima plant. They were listed on a stock exchange in Singapore in 2006: the

SGX ST The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

in 2006, one of the first Chinese confectionery companies to be listed on a stock exchange, and the first to be listed on the SGX. They opened their newest factory, one in

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of ...

, China; in 2010. Over five years, from 2007 to 2012, their profits grew 17%.

Acquisition by Nestlé

In 2011, the company entered talks with several undisclosed companies for the sale of the company. On 11 July 2011, Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, paid $1.7 billion for a 60 percent stake in Hsu Fu Chi International, which is about 3.3 times the sales figures of Hsu Fu Chi for the stake. Nestlé agreed to buy 43.5 percent of Hsu Fu Chi's shares at S$4.35. If the scheme was approved by independent shareholders, Nestlé would then acquire a 16.5 percent stake from the Hsu family, which would leave them with 40 percent. On 6 December 2011, the government of the People's Republic of China, and the government of The Cayman Islands (where the company was incorporated) accepted Nestlé's bid, and allowed Nestlé to proceed in its acquisition. Currently, Nestlé owns 60% of the company, and the Hsu family currently owns 40%.

References

{{Nestlé Nestlé 1992 establishments in China Food and drink companies of China Food and drink companies established in 1992 Chinese companies established in 1992 Companies based in Dongguan