SINGAPORE – Jason Soon was fresh out of national service when a relative asked if he was keen to start a business selling coffee powder. He was, given the booming coffee shop scene then.
In 1988, he started Kim Guan Guan Coffee, which began by supplying Singapore traditional coffee powder to food and beverage outlets.
He started by buying robusta beans from small roasters in Indonesia, grinding them to powder before selling the powder to coffee shops, hawker centres, foodcourts and canteens. As he did not have any connections, he went door to door to get sales.
But two years into the game, the business faced financial challenges and his business partner left.
Innovation, hard work and grit helped Soon, 59, take the company from a mere coffee supplier to a coffee roastery and consumer brand offering a range of drinks today.
It now supplies coffee to more than 1,500 F&B businesses primarily in Singapore, and also sells coffee products and other beverages directly to consumers on online platforms such as Shopee.
Soon says: “Those years were defined by 16-hour days. I handled everything from grinding to sales to accounting, slowly building our client base one customer at a time.
“But the challenges kept coming. I encountered inconsistent bean quality, customer complaints, lost accounts and declining revenue. It became clear that if I wanted to deliver the standard my clients deserved, I needed to control the roasting myself. The problem was, I had no knowledge of roasting.”
He adds: “We also identified a growing gap. Authentic Nanyang coffee is deeply loved, yet beyond the kopitiam, it remains less accessible in pure ground formats for consumers to easily recreate at home.”
Soon, who has an O-level certificate, decided to learn about traditional Nanyang coffee from the ground up. He managed to lay his hands on a roaster and dedicated himself to mastering the craft.
In 2021, he created a consumer-focused brand called Kim’s Duet, which features Singapore Nanyang coffee and tea in steep bag formats.
Now, Kim Guan Guan Coffee imports, roasts, packs and supplies traditional ground coffee powder and tea dust from its own certified roastery in Singapore.
“Through every stage of the journey, our focus has remained the same: craft, consistency and a genuine dedication to the people we serve,” Soon says.
He is married with four children. His son Nigel, 29, is Kim Guan Guan’s brand partnerships and growth manager and heads Kim’s Duet.
A: My investments are in property as I find that it provides stability. Real estate is a tangible asset that can generate rental income while acting as a hedge against inflation, making it a relatively resilient long-term investment.
A: Not really, but if I had the opportunity to go back in time, I would collect miniature car models. I recently became interested in collecting such car models, so if I had started early on, I would have had a wider collection by now.
A: My first exposure to investing came through the coffee business. Due to space constraints, we had to invest in a warehouse around 2010. We were fortunate to secure the warehouse at a low price, and today, its value has tripled.
A: My biggest financial mistake was not taking the business online earlier. For decades, our focus was almost entirely on the traditional food services sector, and we didn’t invest in e-commerce because it didn’t feel urgent at the time.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, everything shifted online. We had to scramble, and the delay cost us time, resources and potential revenue that we could have captured earlier.
But that difficult period also became a turning point. It pushed us to accelerate our digital efforts and eventually led to the launch and growth of our consumer brand, Kim’s Duet.
Going online opened new doors for us, allowing consumers to enjoy traditional Nanyang coffee wherever they are.
Today, Kim’s Duet has built a strong digital presence, with Shopee becoming one of our best-performing platforms.
Beyond the pandemic period, our digital growth has continued to strengthen. Working with the Shopee team has also helped us to grow tenfold from 2024 in monthly sales on the platform.
It has been very encouraging to see how a long-term commitment to modern channels paired with a strong digital strategy can help us grow exponentially.
A: Business-wise, my best financial decision has been to consistently reinvest in the business rather than extract profits too early. For my personal life, investing in properties has allowed me to have a secure flow of side income.
Nigel Soon is Kim Guan Guan’s brand partnerships and growth manager and heads Kim’s Duet.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
A: I didn’t grow up with much. Every dollar had to be earned, saved and stretched, and that shaped the way I approached life and business. There was no shortcut, no safety net. If I wanted something, I had to work for it.
Those early years taught me to respect money not for the sake of wealth, but for the stability and opportunities it could create. That mindset guided every step of my journey, especially during the toughest periods of building my business: from grinding coffee to doing deliveries myself to taking calculated risks only when I knew I could shoulder the consequences.
Whatever I have today is the result of years of persistence, discipline and refusing to give up, even when the odds were stacked against me.
A: My childhood dream was to be a car dealer because I saw that they wore nice suits while carrying briefcases and drove nice cars. Since I really love cars, I wanted to be like them.
A: When we got an HDB flat, we didn’t have enough money to pay for the minimum deposit because we didn’t have savings. This taught us the importance of financial planning and having savings in times of emergency.
A: I live comfortably in a seven-bedroom condominium.
A: My daily ride is a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
A: My perfect day is a calm, steady one. It starts with me pulling my own cup of traditional coffee – something I still enjoy doing daily – before getting into the rhythm of work.
When the business runs smoothly and the team is aligned, I’m able to settle what needs to be done without unnecessary rush.
And when I can end the day by heading home in time for a family dinner, that’s a perfect day to me. It’s the blend of good work, good coffee and time with the people who matter.
Mr Jason Soon and his son Nigel Soon. Kim Guan Guan Coffee imports, roasts, packs and supplies traditional ground coffee powder and tea dust from its own certified roastery in Singapore.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
A: I would reinvest most of it in strengthening and modernising my business operations. A key focus would be automating more of our local coffee roasting processes so we can raise consistency and efficiency without losing the craft behind traditional Nanyang coffee.
I would also invest in growing our in-house talent because people are the foundation of everything we do.
Another priority would be to improve scalable production so that Singapore coffee can build a stronger global footprint. And of course, I would set aside a portion as a reserve fund to ensure long-term stability for the company and the team.
A: I would look for someone wiser or more experienced – a mentor who can help me evaluate my strengths and weaknesses, give honest direction and point me towards my next step.
With limited resources, every decision has to be intentional, and investing in knowledge and perspective is the most powerful way to start rebuilding.
After that, it’s hard work, discipline and taking action, just like how I began my coffee company almost 40 years ago.
