Jenjarom’s Traditional Peanut Candy Reborn Under Heritaste Brand

By Muhamad Amir Aiman Azlan

SHAH ALAM, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- What began as a backyard, pounded peanut candy business without a brand in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, now stands as a testament to the resilience of a family legacy.

Founded in 1984 by Tan Hook Heeng, the business initially operated on a small scale using traditional methods to produce two main products, kacang tumbuk (pounded peanut candy) and kacang pipang (peanut candy).

At the time, almost the entire process was done manually, peanuts were pounded using a large wooden mortar, flattened with a wooden roller and cut individually by hand before being packed simply in clear plastic without any branding.

Relying solely on wholesale, the family’s traditional snack managed to penetrate the Singapore market despite lacking a commercial identity. However, operations nearly came to a halt in the early 2000s as production declined due to a shortage of manpower.

According to Jennifer Tan Siew Lee, 37, who now leads the family business, her father was over 60 at the time and they had only two permanent workers.

“I once considered closing the business because things were becoming increasingly difficult, but my parents thought about the fate of our two long-serving employees. If we closed, where would they go?” she told Bernama.

Jennifer said she was then working in the pharmaceutical industry in Kuala Lumpur, but decided to resign to continue her family’s legacy.

She said the turning point came in 2013 during a family trip to Taiwan, when she realised the true potential of their products.

“I often brought our kacang tumbuk to work or during my studies, and many praised its fresh and delicious taste. However, they did not know where to buy it, and that was when I realised there was still a market for it.

“While travelling in Taiwan, I noticed how souvenirs were attractively packaged. I realised our weakness was in branding and packaging. Previously, our products were wrapped in simple plastic and distributed through middlemen without a clear identity or brand,” she said.

With renewed determination, she returned to Jenjarom in 2014 to work alongside her brother to restructure operations and adopt modern machinery to speed up production and meet growing demand.

Within eight months, they rebuilt their local workforce before relocating operations in 2015 to a shop lot near the Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen temple, a site that attracts tourists during Chinese New Year celebrations.

“Every year, many tourists visit the temple, but souvenir options were limited. We saw great potential for our peanut candy to fill that gap,” she said.

Jennifer said at that time, they only had two master craftsmen, but they later rehired former part-time workers and managed to assemble a team of 18 local youths aged between 16 and 18 within eight months.

From an unbranded product, the business has since grown under the Heritaste brand, expanding through online sales and the business-to-business (B2B) segment.

Previously wrapped only in simple plastic, the products now come in modern designs with neat, attractive boxes suitable for gifts,

The kacang tumbuk has also caught the attention of Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who selected it as an official souvenir, further boosting the product’s rebranding efforts.

Jennifer, a statistics graduate, said sales have increased by nearly 100 per cent since she took over management.

While maintaining the traditional recipe, Heritaste has introduced new flavours such as Oreo and coconut, as well as a reduced-sugar version. The company also produces pumpkin seed crackers for customers with peanut allergies.

“For us, the product is merely a medium. We use natural ingredients and preserve the authentic taste. Most importantly, when people enjoy simple snacks like this with family or friends over tea, they can truly appreciate those moments of togetherness,” she said.

-- BERNAMA