Tiger Balm () is an

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

heat rub manufactured and distributed by

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an company Haw Par Healthcare. It is used for external pain relief.

History

A precursor to Tiger Balm called Ban Kin Yu ( zh, t=萬金油, l=Ten Thousand Golden Oil) was developed in the 1870s in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, during the British colonial era by the practising Chinese herbalist

Aw Chu Kin Aw Chu Kin (Chinese: 胡子钦 ? – 1908 in Rangoon, British Burma) was a Burmese Chinese herbalist. He is best known as the original inventor of Tiger Balm. Aw's father was a Chinese herbology practitioner in Xiamen and a Hakka people, Hakka ...

, son of Aw Leng Fan, a Chinese

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

herbalist in Zhongchuan,

Fujian Province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. His father had sent him to Rangoon in the 1860s to help in his uncle's herbal shop. Eventually, Aw Chu Kin himself set up a family business named Eng Aun Tong 永安堂 ("Hall of Everlasting Peace"). On his deathbed in 1908, he asked his sons

Aw Boon Haw Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882–1954), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian, China. Career Aw was a B ...

and

Aw Boon Par Aw Boon Par (; 1888–1944) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for introducing Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin.Beverland, Michael (2009) ''Building Brand Authenticity: 7 Habits of Iconic Brands'' Palgrave ...

to perfect the product. In 1918, the product was renamed "Tiger Balm" in order to gain broader appeal. By 1918, the Aw family had become one of the wealthiest families in Rangoon. By the 1920s, the brothers had turned Eng Aun Tong into a very successful business empire that produced and marketed pharmaceutical products, including the Tiger Balm medicinal ointment. Tiger Balm sold well in Burma, and was exported to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The brothers moved to Singapore in the 1920s due to problems with the colonial British government. They set up a branch first at Amoy Street, then moved to Cecil Street and finally to 89 Neil Road between 1924 and 1926, at the junction of Neil and Craig Road. The Aw family founded the

Tiger Balm Garden Tiger Balm Gardens are public gardens that existed or continue to exist in three East Asia locations. They are also known as Haw Par Villa gardens. All three Tiger Balm Garden locations were built by the Aw family (Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par). ...

s in Hong Kong in 1935, Singapore in 1937 and Fujian Province in 1946 to promote the product. Boon Haw also established newspapers in China and Singapore; his daughter said that he spent so much money on advertising that "he thought it would be cheaper to just open a few newspapers". In 2013, a lawsuit filed by Haw Par against the Indian company

Rangoon Chemical Works Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative ...

, asserting that the latter's "Flying Tiger" balm with similar branding infringed on the Tiger Balm trademark, reached the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

. As a result, Rangoon Chemical Works made changes in the branding of its product and redesigned packaging. In 2018, there were 10 products being sold under the Tiger Balm brand, in over 100 countries. Tiger Balm generated in revenues in 2015. Haw Par's revenues from Tiger Balm sales in India were in 2018. The product sold in India is manufactured in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

by Makson and marketed by

Alkem Laboratories Alkem Laboratories Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. Specialising in generics and speciality pharmaceuticals, Alkem manufactures and markets pharmaceutical generics, formulations and nutraceutic ...

. Between 1993 and 2011, it had been manufactured and marketed by Elder Pharmaceuticals. In 2024, Tiger Balm became an official regional partner of

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

for China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam for four years.

Composition

The remainder is a

petroleum jelly Petroleum jelly, petrolatum (), white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for i ...

and

paraffin Paraffin may refer to: Substances * Paraffin wax, a white or colorless soft solid (also in liquid form) that is used as a lubricant and for other applications * Liquid paraffin (drug), a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and for med ...

base. The packaging label states that the active ingredients are menthol and camphor. The camphor concentration varies by country of sale; as of Nov 2023 Tiger Balm Red and Tiger Balm White both contain 25% camphor in Singapore and Cambodia, but only 11% in Australia as an example. This is likely due to different regulatory requirements. A new product named Tiger Balm White HR uses eucalyptus oil instead of cajuput oil.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.tigerbalm.com Ointments Singaporean brands Drug brand names 1870s establishments

History

Composition

See also

References

External links