After 66 years as Hong Kong's hidden supplier, Kau Kee finally opens to the public

Kau Kee Food Factory has opened its first direct-to-customer shop in Mong Kok after more than six decades of operating exclusively as a wholesale supplier to Hong Kong's street-food industry.

The company launched the retail store in December, marking a historic shift for a manufacturer that has spent 66 years supplying fish balls to nearly 1,000 eateries and snack stalls across the city without public-facing branding. Second-generation owner Anita Lee Yan-kwan said the move brings the product directly to consumers who have likely tasted it without knowing its origin.

"Before opening the retail shop, if you were to ask people about Kau Kee on the street, they would probably not know about it," Lee said. "Yet it's likely almost every Hongkonger has eaten our fish balls".

Pandemic forced business pivot

The 30-year-old politics graduate and former civil servant took charge of the family business during the Covid-19 pandemic, a period that threatened Kau Kee's wholesale-only model. Mask mandates and social distancing rules devastated the street food scene, causing orders from food stalls to drop drastically and leaving the company in a precarious position.

"Our business took a really big hit and was severely affected. Since everyone was wearing masks, they stopped eating fish balls on the street. With the economy being so poor, people were spending less money overall," Lee said.

Lee grew up around the traditional business that supplied fish balls to Hong Kong's street food stalls and eateries before deciding to modernise operations and open direct sales channels. The retail expansion allows customers to purchase products that were previously available only to industry operators.

Source: South China Morning Post