The Singapore government, encouraging foreign investment for its industrialisation programme, awarded our late founder Mr. Cheng Tsang Man the project to set up Singapore’s first flour mill. This heralded in the beginning of locally-milled wheat flour replacing imported flour.

Being a part of the first batch of pioneer industries, Prima was awarded the EDB Pioneer Certificate No. 12. Today, only a few pioneer companies are still in operation.

"I was a 12-year-old boy and I still recalled that there was nothing much to Singapore at that time. There was just one public lift, and that was in the Asia Insurance Building. My father was also telling us that our initial investment at about $5 million was considered a huge sum"

– Primus Cheng, Chairman and CEO, Prima, at the 50th Anniversary in 2011.

Prima flour mill commenced operations on 18th August 1963, with a daily milling capacity of 230 tonnes of wheat and a silo capacity of 20,000 tonnes.

At that time, the late founder had decided to anchor his business and family in Singapore as he was quick to recognise the strategic importance, stable political situation, and sound economic policies of the then newly independent country.

"Within a year, Prima tripled its production capacity. With sufficient flour for domestic market, Prima begin to export regionally.

The industrial climate at that time was volatile. Strikes were frequent and Prima’s new mill was not spared. A few months after commencing operation, communist elements in the trade union instigated a strike, coupled with some sabotage of machinery. Fortunately, the National Trade Union Council (NTUC) helped to mediate and the strike was called off.

We also battled unfounded beliefs that locally milled flour was inferior to imported flour. To counter this resistance, there were recommendations that we should change the Prima brand name. However, this was not accepted by our late founder as he firmly believed that the quality of Prima flour would in time lead to its market acceptance.

Opened in 1977, Prima Tower is perched 60 metres above ground, and is today an iconic landmark of Singapore. The entire restaurant completes a full turn in about 2 hours and offers a 360 degree view of Mount Faber, Vivo City, Sentosa, PSA and the lights of the passing ships at night and as far as Malaysia and the islands of Indonesia.

Sadly, Prima Tower had to close its door in August 2020 due to the economic repurcussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its closure, many Singaporeans still hold fond memories of their first and repeated visits to the restaurant with their families as special treats on outings.

During the period when Singapore initiated the development of science parks and encouraged investment in local research & development (R&D), Prima established an in-house R&D centre of excellence. Prima R&D seeks applicable knowledge from the latest advances in food as well as nutrition and life sciences. Working across Prima, it creates commercially viable products, and is responsible for product innovation and quality assurance.

Since our founding, Prima has recognised its staff as an invaluable asset. It is why the Group extends the strong bonds we have with our long-standing employees to their family members, so that they too can grow with us as one Prima family. To commemorate the milestone, Prima started offering the Prima 25th Anniversary Scholarship Fund for our employees’ children residing in Singapore, Sri Lanka, and China.

PrimaDeli, Singapore’s first homegrown bakery franchise was launched under the auspices of National Productivity Board (NPB, now Enterprise Singapore) in 1992. Its mission is to transform the bakery and confectionery industry by adopting modern production and management techniques, information technology and strong branding.

In 1993, in another collaboration with NPB, Baking Industry Training Centre (BITC) was launched to train and upskill the local baking practitioners. Having fulfilled our mission, Prima divested BITC in 2018.

Prima Taste is Prima Group’s flagship consumer brand and was launched in 1998. It was the culmination of our passion to preserve the heritage and tradition of Singapore food, and to offer authentic, easy-to-make Singapore cuisine to the world, without compromise.

From supplying our own restaurants to providing food service and consumer packs, Prima Taste offers a wide range of gourmet Singapore dishes through its Best Singapore Favourites meal sauce kits, Authentic Asia cooking sauces and pastes, LaMians and Ready Meals. Prima Taste products are widely distributed to major supermarkets and online stores in more than 40 global markets.

Being self-reliant is central to the Cheng family’s philosophy and that of the Prima Group. Over the years, Prima has chosen to support the cause of education. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Prima pledged $5 million to support the endowment funds of Singapore’s state-funded universities, namely, NTU, NUS, SMU and SUTD.

To make way for the Great Southern Waterfront project, Prima flour mill will move out of Keppel in a few years’ time. Our new mill will be in another port area where our Singapore story will continue for generations to come.

“For our diamond anniversary this year, we want to commemorate this milestone in a more impactful manner by supporting both universities’ education and research efforts in food science and technology which would in turn improve food quality and nutritional value as well as enhance the safety of food for societies at large. The enabling effect of education can only be maximised if people can also have adequate, safe, and nutritious food. As a food conglomerate, it is our hope that our gift will provide more synergistic impact.”

– Mr. Primus Cheng, Chairman and CEO of Prima Group.