Borneo chilli sauce for the world
Published on: Saturday, October 01, 2022
The Real Thing – A1 Tok Sai Sauce.
Kota Kinabalu: While the saying “all men are equal” may be true, not all chilli sauces are created equal.The demand for profit in a world where the good natural ingredients are becoming increasingly scarce and costly coupled with advances in food technology and increasing use of genetically modified (GMO) plants have driven most global food producers to increase the use of artificial flavourings and enhancers in most fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).
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The availability of generic chilli sauces in the market today is not exempted.
Ever since the inception of the “Sabasco” brand, the use of Sabah’s indigenous natural non-GMO chilli was a point of no compromise for the Borneo Oil group that own the worldwide SugarBun and Sabasco brands.
Based in Borneo and involved in processing and manufacturing food products, the Borneo Oil Group have long known that Borneo produces many unique indigenous products with tremendous global potential.
The idea to create Sabah’s own chilli sauce was the brainchild of Borneo Oil’s Managing Director, Datuk Joseph Ambrose Lee who enjoyed this particular blend of authentic chilli sauce as a child growing up in Sabah.
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The name Sabasco was coined as an acronym for the “Sabah’s Chilli Company” to reflect a dream and vision to introduce the world to the real taste of Sabah.
Tapping into the global market is not just a dream for Sabasco, after all, Malaysia has already given the world one of the top selling chilli sauces, that is Lingham’s chilli sauce, which is available in more than 20 countries.
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Ambrose reminisced the days when thick spicy chilli sauces using generous amounts of Sabah’s indigenous chillis were easily available around the State and would accompany most coffee shop dishes.
He shared that the Momporok Chilli from Kunak and Lahad Datu were widely available then and well known for their unique aroma and memorable spiciness.
Over time, and fuelled by commercial agriculture practices, these indigenous chilli species became increasingly scarce as other hybrid chilli species overtook the indigenous chillis as preferred planting material.
Convinced that Sabah’s own indigenous chillis are superior in taste and aroma, the Borneo Oil embarked on a mission to ensure that indigenous breeds of chilli such as Sabah’s “Momporok Chili” do not go extinct.
With this in mind, Borneo Oil created the Sabasco brand which uses “Momporok Chillis’ peppers in abundance to recreate the original taste of Sabah’s best coffee shop table quintessential chilli sauce.
Borneo Oil procures all its chilies from Sabah and is supporting local smallholders and community farmers by providing a stable off take platform to encourage the planting of local indigenous chilli species specially “Momporok Chili”.
All produce used in making the Sabasco chilli sauces are planted using regenerative agriculture methods with emphasis on reducing the group’s overall carbon footprint and moving towards large scale carbon farming which could turn Borneo into the world’s largest carbon sequestered in the future.
Borneo Oil aspires to boost the local agricultural industry in Kunak, Lahad Datu and the surrounding districts and turn Sabah into a major producer of chillies. The worldwide market for chilli is approximately US$5 billion and Sabah could benefit greatly if it positions itself correctly.
Joining the hot chilli sauce market, Sabasco is proud to introduce its latest product, “The Real Real Thing- A1 Tok Sai Sauce”.
“A1 Tok Sai” is the latest addition to the Sabasco range of Chilli sauces which is made with real fresh homegrown “Momporok Chilli” in generous proportions to give this exquisite thick sauce a rich distinctive taste which is tangy, sweet, and spicy but at the same time does not dominate the flavor of accompanying dishes.
The name “A1 Tok Sai” speaks for itself to describe an indescribably delicious spicy taste which means, in the old Hakka dialect - “A 1 “– Number One “1” and Tok Sai (TOP), simply put “The best in the world”.
Sabasco will host a series of roadshows around East Malaysia to launch this amazing latest chili sauce made with 100 per cent real chilli with the real taste of Sabah Borneo. Stay tuned to Sabasco’s official social media page for more information.
A1 Tok Sai is now available for purchase at all SugarBun and Pezzo Outlets and selected stores. For more information or online purchase, visit the official webstore at www.sabasco.com
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