Lao Gan Ma (Chinese: 老干妈; also called Laoganma) or Old Godmother is a brand of chili sauces made in China.[1][2] The product is sold in China and over 30 other countries.[2] Lao Gan Ma is credited with popularizing Chinese chili oil and chili crisp toppings in the Western world, and have inspired many Chinese-American chili-based toppings.[3][4]
History
Lao Gan Ma brand flavored tofu chili sauce
Tao Huabi is said to have invented the sauce in 1984[5] and in 1989, she set up a noodle restaurant in Guiyang, Guizhou; when she noticed the popularity of her hot sauces, she converted the restaurant into a specialty shop to sell her sauces, particularly chili oil sauce. In 1994, she borrowed two houses of the CPC Yunguan Village Committee in the Nanming District and employed 40 people to work in her new sauce factory.[2]
Difficulties with counterfeiters
Despite the brand's success upon launch, it struggled with counterfeits with similar packaging in China. They proliferated due the Chinese government turning down Lao Gan Ma's application to trademark the product.[2] After the trademark request was denied, counterfeit Lao Gan Ma came to prominence.[6] Tao countered these competitors by utilizing a branch of third-party private enterprises to target them.[2][6] In 2001, the high court of Beijing ruled that other similar products could not use the "Lao Gan Ma" name nor imitate its packaging; Tao received 400,000 RMB in compensation.[7] The trademark application was later approved in 2003 after a lengthy lawsuit against a counterfeiter based in Hunan.[2]
Tao Huabi is the owner of the company, and her son Li Guishan became the first president of the company.[2]Women of China magazine reported in January 2011 that the company's assets were 1.3 billion RMB (US$190 million) and that the company had 2,000 employees at that time.[6] The sauce is produced commercially by Laoganma Special Flavour Foodstuffs Company,[8] which was established in 1997.[2] By 2022, the condiment became more common in locations outside of China.[9]
Recipe dispute
After 2016, Lao Gan Ma's sales in China declined for two years in a row. According to reports, Lao Gan Ma's annual income reached 4.549 billion RMB in 2016, 4.447 billion RMB in 2017, and 4.389 billion RMB in 2018.[10] It was speculated that this was due to a change in the recipe in 2011,[citation needed] where after the company was taken over by Tao's son, the pepper variety was changed from Guizhou Chili to Henan Chili.
Guizhou chilies are large in size, full in body, and contain more water, making them more suitable for making hot sauce, lending the sauce an aroma other than the spicy flavor. According to some, Lao Gan Ma lost its unique flavor after the change to Henan chilies.[11][better source needed] In 2019, Tao Huabi became the manager of the company again, and Lao Gan Ma switched back to Guizhou chili.[10]
Disputes and fraud cases with Tencent
In March 2019, three scammers forged a contract with Lao Gan Ma Company and signed a false contract with Tencent to defraud Tencent of advertising fees related to video game SpeedDrifters through commercial cooperation. In this contract, Lao Gan Ma needs to pay Tencent the company's promotion fees. Tencent subsequently urged Lao Gan Ma to pay the outstanding debt many times, but was unable to obtain a response. On April 24, 2020, Tencent requested the seizure of a total of 16,240,600 RMB in assets of Lao Gan Ma Company (approximately US$2.26 million). After investigation, Laoganma discovered that someone had used the company's seal to forge contracts to defraud Tencent of promotion fees. On July 1, 2020, all three scammers were arrested and the case was solved. Lao Gan Ma and Tencent announced a settlement over the incident.[12][13]
Product
Lao Gan Ma being spooned out of a jar
A variety of flavors are produced, such as Spicy Chili Crisp, Chili Oil with Black Bean, Fried Chili in Oil, Hot Chili Sauce, and Spicy Bean Paste, among others.[14] The Lao Gan Ma products are based on traditional chili sauces found in Guizhou cuisine.
