Lee Kum Kee's oyster sauce was a burnt pot of soup — it became a global condiment empire

In 1888, Lee Kum Sheung ran a small restaurant in Nanshui, Guangdong, serving cooked oysters. He was boiling a pot of oyster soup when he left it unattended. The liquid boiled down to a thick, brown, intensely concentrated sauce. The mistake turned a ruined meal into a new product.

Lee tasted the sauce and found it delicious. He began bottling and selling it as 'oyster sauce' from his restaurant. The product was unlike anything else on the market — a savory, umami-rich condiment. Word spread, and the sauce became popular across the region.

Lee Kum Kee grew from a small restaurant into a condiment company. By the 21st century, it was a global brand sold in over 100 countries, with products including soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, and oyster sauce. A pot of burnt soup became the foundation of a billion-dollar company.