Carlos Chan and his Shanghai surprise

Hi, my name is Carlos Chan... I’m the brother of Ben Chan,” a man wearing a dark coat and a kind smile approaches us at the Shanghai airport.  

What a humble way for a big man to introduce himself. “Of course I know you, everybody knows you,” I smile back at him. But I realize the man is a bit low-key in Manila, so I add, “Everybody in China knows you. Everybody in China knows Oishi.” A business newspaper’s report on his success story states that Carlos Chan knows everyone in China’s corridors of power. And yet he remains a humble and unassuming businessman.

Carlos Chan is sometimes called “Mr. Oishi,” but these days, people in the diplomatic circles call him “Mr. Ambassador” for he has been named as the Philippines’ special envoy to China. The brand Oishi, which he exported to Shanghai only in 1993, is now the biggest snack food manufacturer in China, and it has received several awards from the Chinese government.

Awards are nothing new to this Filipino who was named “Honorary Citizen of Shanghai” in 2005. And now, his family was to gather at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 to see Carlos receive yet another award — the Order of Sikatuna conferred by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the Philippine Independence Day rites at the Philippine Pavilion.

The award — perhaps a surprise for his family members who thought the trip was just another reunion — is for Carlos Chan’s pioneering success as an entrepreneur producing quality foods both in the Philippines and China, and strengthening relations between the two countries as well. The award also cites the philanthropic and cultural projects envisioned by Carlos.

“You should hear the Loboc Children’s Choir, they’re here in Shanghai to perform at our pavilion,” he adds.

The Loboc Children’s Choir are the stars in television commercials (where they hum the Oishi jingle) and print ads for Oishi in China, with Bohol’s scenic spots such as the Chocolate Hills, the Panglao white sand beaches and the centuries-old churches in the background. Going deeper than just promoting its tourist attractions, Carlos helps in the development of Bohol through projects like the installation of lighting in the province.

Lighting is part of the field of expertise of Carlos, an architecture graduate of Mapua who started Chan C. Bros in the 1970s as a lighting specialist. Before this, Carlos bought the family-owned Liwayway Marketing Corporation — which sold starch, coffee and candles — when his siblings decided to venture into their own businesses.

Liwayway was started during the war by their father, Chan Lib, and their mother See Ying. The couple’s three eldest children died during the war. “One baby was being carried by our father in his arms while escaping from the Japanese, but then the baby was shot by the Japanese, hitting my father’s left pinky finger,” narrates Ben Chan, Carlos’ more famous brother who founded Bench, the top fashion and lifestyle brand in the Philippines. “That explains why my father had only four fingers on his left hand.”

“Our father was very creative, he had an eye for what product would be marketable, while our mother was the disciplinarian,” explains Nene Lim, Ben’s partner in Bench.

When their father died in the 1980s, Carlos Chan assumed the role of patriarch for the seven Chan siblings. It was in the Eighties when Carlos set his sights on China. “He started studying the China market, going back and forth for five years before he finally decided to establish Oishi in Shanghai with two rented factories and 400 employees,” says Nene.

In the Philippines, Carlos had previously established Oishi Prawn Crackers. It was such a perfect timing, because China was then opening up to the world and starting to modernize. It was the fastest-growing world economy then, second only to the United States in purchasing power.

It was around this same time that Bench, which was established by Ben and Nene in 1987, tested the China market by opening two shops in two department stores in Shanghai.

Today, Bench Body has 60 stores in China, including those inside SM and Robinsons Department Stores, specializing in undergarments.

Oishi, on the other hand, now has 15 factories in China manufacturing candies, bread and brandy. It is also now a popular brand in Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

Ben and Nene attribute their brother’s success to creativity, hard work, patience and foresight. Yes, creative genes run in the family. “Mahusay ang kamay niya, he’s an artist, he used to paint,” Ben says of Carlos. “He got his artistic skills from our mother. As a student, he used to play football. He has endurance and patience, and he also has incredible people skills and good PR. He is a man of vision. He dreamt long ago that he would set up business in China even before China would open its doors to the world.”

Nene describes Carlos as a thoughtful and sharing brother. “Sobrang mabait siya. He brought all of us his siblings to our father’s Xiamen hometown where we saw our parents’ original home.” Today, Carlos teaches his children Carlson, Archie, Rinby, Larry, Oszen and Shera the same work ethic that he and his siblings learned from their parents.

Oishi and Bench have two parallel success stories. When you talk to the Chan siblings, each is quick to point out how one has learned from the other, and how they all started from small beginnings.

You could almost hear Ben saying: “Hi, my name is Ben Chan ... I am the brother of Carlos Chan.”

Yes, humility runs in the family.