Would you pay S$10,000 for a vat of customised soya sauce? This Singapore maker has a waiting list of over 2 years
Forget whisky casks. At Nanyang Sauce, customers can commission their own vat of soya sauce, customised down to the salt and water used.
Nanyang Sauce, a Singaporean maker of customised soya sauce, offers a bespoke service where customers can commission their own vat, tailored to their individual preferences. This service comes with a hefty price tag, ranging from S$10,000 to S$20,000 per vat, with elaborate orders costing up to S$20,000. Owner Ken Koh, a third-generation family member, explained that customers can customise various aspects of the sauce, including its flavour, ingredients, and even the water used in the brewing process.
The idea for bespoke soya sauce emerged during the pandemic, when a Hong Kong businesswoman asked if Koh could create a vat bearing her family’s name. Initially hesitant, he ultimately agreed when a customer offered to pay upfront, which would help ease his cash flow. The process begins with customers rating their preferences across eight taste characteristics, allowing Nanyang to develop a custom recipe.
Customers can also choose specific ingredients, such as French or Himalayan salt. After producing a trial batch for tasting, the full vat is brewed using traditional sun fermentation, a process that already takes nine months. Adjustments can be made up to three times before the final production. Koh's boutique production method sets his soya sauce apart from the mass-produced versions, with only around 10% of the factory's earthenware vats used for bespoke orders. Despite the high cost, the labour-intensive process is deemed "very hard-earned money" by Koh.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
