Chiun-Mau Tong started Tong Enterprises Company on August 20, 1982. He was a recent immigrant to the US with minimal fluency in English. Through hard work and business savvy, he build up the business from garage operation to a small scale business by 1986. In 1986, he purchased a small warehouse in Brisbane, CA and moved the operation from Rent-a-space. His business continued to grow and soon outgrew this warehouse. In 1988, he purchased another warehouse in Hayward, CA.
In 1991, Chiun-Mau’s oldest son, George, joined the company after completing his MBA degree. Business continued to grow as Tong Enterprises soon began to expand into areas outside of Northern California. By 1994, Chiun-Mau Tong had relocated to Southern California to continue the expansion into Southern California and other states. In 1996, George Tong decided to launch Gemini Food Corporation as a sister company to Tong Enterprises with a warehouse in City of Industry, CA. By this time, it was a father-son combination that facilitated the growth of Tong/Gemini. Chiun-Mau managed the sales while George managed the warehouse and administration. By 1998, it was obvious that Gemini Food had outgrown the space in the initial warehouse. George Tong signed a contract for a new facility to be completed in 1999. Gemini Food moved to its current facility in June 1999.
Since 2000, Tong-Gemini continue to expand into different market channels. They now serve Asian grocery stores in United States, Central America, South America, and South Pacific. They also supply the major Asian grocery focused e-commerce sites as well as mainstream retail chains and Clubs. Tong-Gemini currently has overseas manufacturer partners from Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Korea. Chiun-Mau Tong retired from active daily management of Tong-Gemini in 2012 with George assuming position of CEO.
Interview with our Founder
Mr. Chiun Mau Tong
Interview with our Founder Mr. Chiun Mau Tong
Mr. Chiun Mau Tong | Founder
So how did you get started?
I was a single parent who had just come to America while trying to raise 3 children on my own, and I only had $200 available to start the business. Someone introduced me to a pork sung factory owner looking for someone to distribute his wares in Northern California. In Taiwan, I ran a very successful electrical parts distribution business. I thought that food distribution wouldn’t be that different from distributing electrical parts, and that it would succeed with hard work.
Why import food?
Because there are very limited numbers of Chinese food produced in the United States. I knew I would have to import food from Taiwan if I wanted to grow the business, and it helped that I knew a manufacturer.
Why not electrical appliances like in Taiwan?
Because in the US, those are already done by big national chains and there wouldn’t be any place for an independent electrical parts distributor. It’d be hard to get into, so I decided to switch industries with pork sung as my start.
What was it like starting out?
The most important thing was that I started with $200 of capital. So, I had to be very careful with cash flow. I got a 45-day term from the factory, I gave a 30-day term to the retailers, and thus was able to work from the $200 capital.
How did people respond to it when you told them that’s what you were doing? Did they try to make it harder?
Never, because our products are very good. There were only two products, both types of pork sung. I helped set them up on the shelves and merchandized them, so customers were quite happy.
Did you ever feel like it wouldn’t work out?
No, failure was not an option for me. I was running this business to put my children through college, so if it failed, they would have to drop out of college. Furthermore, people do need to eat, so I was confident the demand would always there and that I would succeed through hard work.
Mr. Chiun Mau Tong | Founder
Are you happy with how things turned out? Was it worth it?
I’m very satisfied, and furthermore, I am very proud that my oldest son was able to take over and continue this business
History
1982
1986
1988
George Tong earns his MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University and joins the firm
1991
1992
The company moves to its current headquarters in Hayward
Gemini Food Corporation opens a Los Angeles facility to service customers in Southern California and other states.
1996
Present
Gemini Food Corporation and Tong Enterprises distribute over 1,200 unique Asian food items to retailers along the entire West Coast and 30 other states. The companies’ retail and warehouse distribution channel reaches 99% of the Asian food retailers in the U.S.
1982
Mr. Chiun Mau Tong, a Taiwanese immigrant to the San Francisco area, founded a food distribution company in his garage. His dream of success was far bigger than his $200 in working capital.
1986
The company soon outgrew Mr. Tong’s garage and moved to a public rental storage facility and then to their first office/warehouse facility
1988
1991
George Tong earns his MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University and joins the firm
1992
The company moves to its current headquarters in Hayward
1996
Gemini Food Corporation opens a Los Angeles facility to service customers in Southern California and other states.
Present
Gemini Food Corporation and Tong Enterprises distribute over 1,200 unique Asian food items to retailers along the entire West Coast and 30 other states. The companies’ retail and warehouse distribution channel reaches 99% of the Asian food retailers in the U.S.
Social Commitments
THE TONG FAMILY AND THE EMPLOYEES OF OUR COMPANIES OWE MUCH OF THEIR SUCCESS TO THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE DO BUSINESS.
TONG ENTERPRISES IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE RECENT INSTALLATION OF ROOFTOP SOLAR PANELS IN COLLABORATION WITH TESLA SOLAR.
As part of our commitment to more sustainable business practices, these panels will allow us to reduce our reliance on the state power grid and our overall carbon footprint.
More Recently
OUR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT EFFORTS HAVE INCLUDED:
Donations to Ecole d’Hotellerie et de Tourisme, giving young Cambodians training and qualifications to contribute towards sustainable tourism in Cambodia
Financial contributions to Hoa Sua School of Economics and Tourism, providing culinary and hospitality training to at-risk and disadvantaged Vietnamese youth
Donations to the Orange County Food Bank, which distributes nearly 20 million pounds of food annually
Contributions to the Philippine Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts
During Hurricane Katrina we donated goods and food to our customer who was sheltering people in their community.
Low cost sourcing to supply rice and cooking oil to Care Mission USA's project of feeding local unhoused communities.
Donations to the Orange County Food Bank, which distributes nearly 20 million pounds of food annually
Donations of food to the Food Bank of Southern California, and through them to organizations such as Hearts of Compassion, the East Wind Youth Foundation, and City of Hope.
Donations of food to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in Pasadena, serving families in the area dealing with food shortages.
Financial donations to Water1st, an NGO specializing in building water infrastructure across the world.
Our People
They extend to our employees and corporate culture as well. We value the knowledge, enthusiasm, and contributions our staff and sales representatives bring to our business. We hold our employees in the highest regard and continually work to foster a culture of respect and integrity. Our employees reflect the melting pot modern society has become. With expertise in global foods from many locales.
Gemini Food Corporation is dedicated to protecting our planet and its resources. We have implemented a modern Warehouse Management System that cuts down on paper used in our processes. Our warehouse has natural skylights to provide lighting and reduce electricity usage as well as a full array of solar panels. We will be installing solar panels in our Hayward warehouse and aim to be carbon neutral by 2040 or sooner as technology allows. We partner with our manufacturers to reduce packaging and fill containers completely avoiding wasted space and fuel. We encourage our partners to practice clean water treatments in their manufacturing to protect their local communities. We continue to evolve our procedures to modernize and improve our carbon footprint by using clean and renewable energy sources.
Interview with Mario Garcia Distribution Warehouse Manager
Mario Garcia | Distribution Warehouse Manager
What were things like when you started out?
It was interesting, because with my prior employers I had, I was a number; here, I had a name. So George has always been honest and fair with me and he’s treated me like family. I like that I had the opportunity to utilize my knowledge and skills, and bring them into this company and upgrade things.
What’s your advice to the new hires?
Our goal is to make you successful. Our goal is to make you achieve your goals and what is required of you to perform your daily activities or go do these responsibilities. We want you to succeed, we never want you to fail. We don’t just hire someone just to fill in the spot, we want them to fill in the spot with knowledge and skills that they can help us, that they bring to the table as well. That’s what I tell them.