Fortune Coconut Whan Neng still makes freshly pressed coconut milk, uses TikTok to market business
The third-generation successor, a basketball coach, plans to take over the stall from his dad, who starts work at 4.30am daily, pressing 300 coconuts for their sweet, preservative-free milk.
Fortune Coconut Whan Neng continues to handcraft freshly squeezed coconut milk, leveraging TikTok to promote its family-run business. Situated in MacPherson Market & Food Centre, the stall is operated by third-generation successor Lee Zhao Yuan, who plans to take over from his father, who starts work at 4.30am daily. Lee explains that, before packaged coconut milk dominated supermarkets, home cooks would often make their own santan by buying freshly grated coconut and wringing it through a muslin cloth.
Today, fortune coconut milk is increasingly scarce in Singapore due to the labor and perishable nature of the product. Fortune Coconut Whan Neng does all the heavy lifting, making it worthwhile to visit for its fresh product. The business processes 300 coconuts daily, yielding up to 100 liters of coconut milk. Lee emphasizes the difference between fresh and pasteurized coconut milk, noting that the fragrance is stronger with the latter.
He uses two old-school electric graters to reduce coconut slices to tiny pieces and a hydraulic press to extract every drop of milk. Fortune Coconut's products are sold at S$7.50 per liter, with smaller quantities also available. The stall's customers are mainly middle-aged and elderly home cooks, who use the milk for various dishes and desserts.
Fortune Coconut's marketing efforts have attracted new customers, expanding the business beyond regulars.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
