Marie biscuits maker Lee Biscuits shutters Johor factory after 92 years

JOHOR: Longstanding biscuit maker Lee Biscuits will shutter its factory in Pontian, Johor, at the end of October, Malaysian media reported on Thursday (Oct 22). 

According to the New Straits Times, the closure is part of a restructuring exercise by its parent group, which is reportedly exiting snack manufacturing to consolidate its assets and focus on its core holdings, which include rubber and palm oil operations. 

Suppliers and customers began receiving notices regarding the halt in production last month. The factory will also lay off its employees. 

Malaysian Chinese news outlet China Press reported that about 300 employees will continue to hold their posts until the end of this month; they are mainly responsible for cleaning and related work on the factory premises and related work. 

Speaking to China Press on Thursday, the factory’s senior management said that after the factory decided to cease operations, it held numerous warehouse clearance sales over the past two weeks, and that it has sold out all of its biscuit inventory. 

A check by CNA on Friday showed that the factory's official website has been taken offline. The company's social media pages were also unavailable. 

Headquartered in Pontian, Lee Biscuits was founded by businessman and philanthropist Lee Kong Chian. The brand is known for products such as Marie biscuits, saltine crackers, iced gem biscuits and lemon sandwich biscuits. 

The brand originated in Singapore before production was moved to Tampoi in Johor Bahru in 1995. It later moved to Pontian in 2005. 

In 2023, the group closed a decades-old pineapple canning factory in Skudai as it shifted its focus to oil palm cultivation. The closure drew widespread attention, with large crowds of people queuing up to snap up its pineapple water.