How Yung Kee and other Hong Kong heritage brands innovate to thrive in challenging times

How Yung Kee and other Hong Kong heritage brands innovate to thrive in challenging times From charcoal-roasted goose to toys to construction, owners of venerated local businesses explain their stewardship strategies From franchising to diversification, Hong Kong’s heritage brands and long-running family businesses are looking for ways to navigate challenging times amid changing consumption patterns and soaring costs. Second- and third-generation stewards of three local brands – charcoal-roasted goose restaurant Yung Kee, toy manufacturer Kader Holdings and construction group Asia Allied Infrastructure – are using different strategies to adapt to the changing times, they explained recently in an interview organised by Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Hong Kong in connection with its 30th anniversary this year. Yvonne Kam, the third-generation owner and chief finance officer of Yung Kee, spearheaded the launch of Yung’s Bistro, a more modern take on the restaurant’s revered family recipes for its famous charcoal-roasted goose. The group’s flagship is in Central, while the two Yung’s Bistro outlets are located in K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui and Taikoo Place in Taikoo Shing. Like many food and drink operators in the city, the group has had several difficult years, Kam said, as tourists reduced their spending while residents travelled north of the border to dine and shop in Shenzhen. “It’s tough,” she said. “We lost money, to be very honest, but then we quickly pivoted to a way that we are now breaking even.” Now, Kam is looking into ways to spread the Yung Kee name further.