The story of Ayam Brand, set up in Singapore by a Frenchman, and how it got its name
Still French-owned, the company started out selling tinned sardines with Clouet, the name of its founder, on the cans along with a rooster, symbol of France. That led Malays to dub it ‘chop ayam’ – the chicken brand. The rest is history
Ayam Brand products are a staple in kitchens throughout Southeast Asia, but few of the people who grew up being nourished by the contents of the company’s colourful cans bearing a proud red rooster will be aware of its connections to France.
One in every two homes in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei has Ayam products in its kitchen at any given time, according to Denis Group, the family-run enterprise that took over the Singaporean company in 1954.
And the home cooks who rely on the company’s affordable foodstuffs have a Frenchman named Alfred Clouet to thank for all those canned sardines, tuna, mackerel, baked beans, coconut milk and so much more.
Little was known about the history of Ayam Brand, the current name of a company originally founded in Singapore in 1892, or the life of Clouet, thought to have served as an army officer, until his story was uncovered by historians Danièle Weiler and Jean Bourienne as they studied the history of the French in Singapore.
Clouet was born in 1866 in the northern French port of Le Havre, but never actually served in the army, the historians found. He was an adventurer and intrepid entrepreneur.
In 1889, at the age of 23, the son of a tailor left France to join his pregnant future wife in New York. Few details are known about Clouet’s life in the United States, apart from the fact that his wife died while he was there, but records show that he arrived in Singapore in 1891.
