Three of Hong Kong’s most ubiquitous and enduring food and beverage empires—Vitasoy, Café de Coral, and Fairwood—share an improbable origin story, having been founded by brothers from the same lineage, the industrious Lo family. What began with a humble background evolved into a fierce, yet inspiring, sibling rivalry and a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, fundamentally shaping Hong Kong’s culinary and business landscape through innovation in fast food and nutritious drinks.
The remarkable transformation of the Lo family dynasty began not in Hong Kong, but in late Qing Dynasty Guangdong. The family patriarch, Lo Chun-hing, a Hakka from Meixian, initially sought better fortune working in Malaysia. His opportunity came through a relationship with his employer, Aw Boon Haw (founder of Eu Yan Sang), who sponsored Lo’s seven sons to attend the University of Hong Kong. This pivotal educational investment positioned the sons to become architects of modern Hong Kong enterprise.
Vitasoy: A Foundation in Health
The first major venture was pioneered by Lo Kwee-seong, the eldest son and the family’s first university graduate. Driven by a lecture he attended in Shanghai in 1936 about soybeans, he envisioned creating an affordable, nutritious beverage for the malnourished population of wartime Hong Kong. In 1940, Lo Kwee-seong founded the Hong Kong Soya Bean Product Company, the precursor to Vitasoy. The company quickly established itself as a producer of healthy drinks, providing a stable foundation for the family’s future success.
The family’s foray into the booming quick-service restaurant industry began decades later. Lo Tung-seong, who had previously worked within the Soya Bean Company, departed in 1968 to found Café de Coral. Establishing its first location in Causeway Bay, Café de Coral quickly redefined local dining by introducing the self-service model.
Innovation and Sibling Rivalry
Before Café de Coral, local dining settings, such as tea houses and dai pai dongs, traditionally featured table service. Lo Tung-seong’s concept required customers to queue, purchase their meals, and retrieve items on a tray—a swift, efficient format perfectly suited for the city’s rapidly expanding white-collar workforce. This pioneering approach solidified Café de Coral as a leader and, subsequently, the first catering group from Hong Kong to become publicly listed.
The success of Café de Coral was quickly followed by a competitive response. Four years later, Lo Fong-seong, who had worked alongside his brother at the Soya Bean Company for nearly three decades, founded rival chain Fairwood in 1972. Much like his brother, Lo Fong-seong adopted and refined industry best practices, extending operating hours, increasing staffing efficiency, and establishing a central food processing facility.
While both chains thrived, Fairwood encountered significant turbulence in the early 1990s. The chain struggled to adapt to evolving customer tastes and faced issues with food quality, leading to five consecutive years of losses and a near-bankrupt status. However, a major corporate rebranding and extensive image overhaul—including changes to its logo and store interiors around 2003—successfully revitalized the company, attracting a younger customer base and dramatically boosting sales.
Building Legacies, Not Inheriting Wealth
Despite the fierce market competition between the two quick-service giants, the founding brothers maintained a complex relationship marked by respect. Lo Tung-seong, discussing the simultaneous public listing of the three companies, likened it to proudly managing separate sports teams, each striving for excellence. He emphasized that the success of Café de Coral and Fairwood was solely the result of their own efforts, stating that aside from a shared entrepreneurial mindset and way of life, they inherited nothing monetary from their elder brother or the Vitasoy business.
Today, these three corporations remain integral to Hong Kong’s identity, demonstrating how vision, tenacity, and a touch of sibling rivalry can transform a humble family background into a diversified, multi-industry food and beverage powerhouse, defining the essential flavors of the city.