Zaobao | Janice Wong: Incorporating Nanyang Flavours into Chocolate Innovation

This is translated from the Zaobao Article (Mandarin) to English.

Incorporating Nanyang flavor into chocolate innovation

The heroine in the classic love movie "Chocolat" once said, "You can't say no to chocolate, just like you can't say no to love." Yes, who would say "Say No" to sweet chocolate?

While major brands are competing on packaging, the well-known local dessert master Janice Wong (40 years old) integrates artistic creation into chocolate, combined with the unique taste of Nanyang, to create a candy brand Janice Wong that embodies her love for art and local customs. It quickly became an instant hit in the fierce market competition.

Taste freshly picked strawberries at an Australian farm, a life-changing encounter

Janice Wong studied economics in Australia as an undergraduate. A freshly picked strawberry she tasted at a farm while driving on a weekend became a wonderful encounter that changed her life. She said that although you could buy fruits and vegetables directly from the farm in supermarkets in Singapore before, when you really taste the taste of fruits that have just been separated from the stems and leaves, you have a different understanding of "freshness".

After graduation, based on her love for desserts, Janice Wong went to Paris, France, to further her studies despite her family's objections. Later, she worked in many well-known restaurants, exploring the unique creativity and cooking skills of desserts in practice.

Janice Wong said: "The first year when I started working as a chef was very difficult. I would leave early and come home late every day. My family didn't understand me at first. They thought I was working too hard. After a year or two, I made some small achievements. They realized that I was really serious about becoming a chef, and then they slowly started to support me.”

Janice Wong said that 10 years ago, chocolate packaging was slightly conservative, focusing on branding and classic elements and tastes. There are many unique flavors in Nanyang, such as laksa, ginger flower, banana, etc. These flavors may exist in other desserts, but will not be integrated into chocolate. After discovering this gap in the market, she founded her own eponymous candy brand, Janice Wong, in 2014. Before that, she also founded a dessert restaurant, 2am: dessertbar. At that time, this restaurant had already become a top tier local dessert restaurant with its beautiful and surprising food and art works.

Janice Wong admitted that she was only in her 20s when she first started her business, so her experience, connections, capital and other aspects were naturally incomparable to businessmen who had been in the shopping mall for decades. But what I had that most entrepreneurs lacked that time was a sincere love for desserts and the courage to not be afraid of failure.​

She said: "I was quite young at the time, and the belief in my mind was 'I must succeed.' Even if I didn't succeed, I could start over again when I was young. After all, the cost of trial and error for young people is relatively low."

Cooperating with schools to plant cocoa trees to let local students understand the source of food

Singapore lacks arable land and relies on imports for most of its food. Many people, especially children, believe that they have rarely seen how the food on the table sprouts, blooms and bears fruit. The local hot and rainy climate is suitable for the growth of cocoa beans, one of the raw materials for chocolate. Therefore, Janice Wong collaborated with schools, Gardens by the Bay, etc. to plant about 500 cocoa trees locally.

Janice Wong said that if a person can witness the growth process of food at a very young age, his or her understanding of food may be different. Only by understanding the origin of food can we know how to cherish it, not waste it, and achieve the sustainability of the food supply chain.

She said: "We plant cocoa trees in schools, and students need to take care of the cocoa trees. On the one hand, it allows them to learn the process of 'taking care of', and on the other hand, it also allows students to understand how the food they eat comes from. "

When asked what advice she would give to other young people who want to start a business, Janice Wong said that to start a business, you must first find a direction you love, and secondly, maintain the habit of "lifelong learning."

She said: "I have never stopped for more than 10 years. I am learning new things every year, whether it is making desserts or doing business."

Janice Wong outlets:

• 2am: dessertbar is located at 21A Lor Liput, Singapore 277733
• Pure Imagination is located at Great World, B1-K119.

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