Magnolia milk (yellow cartons in the bottom left corner) at a supermarket in Hong Kong

Magnolia (branded as F&N Magnolia) is a brand of dairy products owned by Singaporean multinational conglomorate Fraser and Neave (F&N). Aside from Singapore, the product is also sold in several other countries throughout the Asia-Pacific as well as at Asian supermarkets in non-Asian countries.[1]

History

Early years

The Singaporean company Cold Storage, which was then known as the Singapore Cold Storage Company, was the main manufacturer of ice in Singapore. Taking advantage of the booming ice manufacturing and refrigeration business, Cold Storage ventured into the ice cream business. In 1923, a small factory was set up at the Borneo Wharf of the Harbourfront district to manufacture ice cream under the Paradise brand.[2]

Tropical dairy farm at Bukit Timah

In 1937, Australian Fred Heron, the managing director of Cold Storage, founded the world's first tropical dairy farm at the Bukit Timah district of Singapore, which aimed to produce fresh pasteurised milk. This farm, then known as the Singapore Dairy Farm, was situated inside what is now the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It kept as many as 800 cows. Pasteurised milk produced at the farm was packaged in pyramid-shaped cartons and sold under the brand Magnolia.[3][4][5]

That same year, a deal was reached between Cold Storage and San Miguel Brewery (now San Miguel Corporation), which owned the successful Magnolia ice cream in the Philippines established in 1925. Cold Storage Creameries Ltd. was founded with an initial capital of $100,000, to which Cold Storage owned the majority 55% and San Miguel owned the balance 45%. San Miguel provided technology for ice cream manufacturing. The success of Cold Storage's ice cream led to a legal battle with San Miguel over the ownership of the Magnolia trademark in Singapore.[2]

References

  1. "F&N on earnings recovery path". 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  2. 1 2 Boon, Goh Chor (2013-06-04). "7. Food and Singapore Cold Storage". Technology and Entrepot Colonialism in Singapore, 1819-1940. ISEAS Publishing. pp. 168–195. doi:10.1355/9789814414098-010. ISBN 978-981-4414-09-8. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  3. "S'pore was once home to the world's first successful tropical dairy farm". mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  4. "Be proud of our local brands". Home & Decor Singapore. 2017-03-29. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  5. dairyreporter.com (2 January 2019). "Paving of Singapore's original dairy farm takes away chunk of pioneering past". dairyreporter.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
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