Tohtonku (Singapore) Pte Ltd

What began as one man’s vision of how consumer goods should be marketed has grown into one of Malaysia’s most well-known local brands - Tohtonku. Tohtonku Sdn Bhd was started in 1964 by entrepreneur Lim Joi Him, who saw huge opportunities in the consumer market of the ’60s.

Instead of plying his goods through retail outlets, Lim directed his sales force to engage in the door-to-door, personalized sales concept. This avenue of sales proved to be a huge success in the years prior to widespread television advertising and social media branding. Within a short period of time, Tohtonku had attracted the attention of international investors keen to expand to a fresh new market such as Malaysia.

Among the investors was Earth Chemical Co Ltd from Japan, which quickly appointed Tohtonku as their sole distributor in Singapore and Malaysia. Tohtonku’s role at the time was to bring in and distribute the product known as King Kong Rat Killer in both countries. The partnership proved to be a definitive milestone for Tohtonku as it signalled the beginning of Tohtonku as an international player. Meanwhile, on the home front, Lim soon became known as ‘King Kong Lim’ to his fellow Penangites.

A few short years after its inception, Tohtonku Trading Company made the transition to Tohtonku Sdn Bhd, a name it keeps to this day. With the growth that came to Penang during the ’80s, Tohtonku ventured beyond trading and into creating its own in-house products, starting with Follow Me.