Axe Brand Universal Oil (Minyak Angin Cap Kapak) & Tiger Balm by Noor Mohamed

Axe Brand Universal Oil manufactured by Leung Kai Fook Company, is made from a unique formula and has been used throughout the world for over 80 years. The origins of the Axe Brand Oil began in 1928 when founder Leung Yun Chee emigrated from Shunde, China to Singapore. In Singapore, he met a German physician, Dr. Schmeidler, who shared with him the formula for a medicated oil. Shortly after, the Leung Kai Fook Medical Company was set up. It is reported that Axe Brand Oil contains a blend of camphor, menthol, and mineral oil. The product includes other essential oils such as eucalyptus, lavender, and wintergreen.

Tiger Balm has risen from the ancient courts of Chinese emperors to worldwide prominence. It all began when Aw Chu Kin, a Chinese herbalist working in the Emperor’s court, left China and set up a small medicine shop called Eng Aun Tong in Rangoon in the late 1870s, where he would make and sell his special balm that was effective in relieving all kinds of aches and pains.

When Aw Chu Kin died in 1908, he left his business to his two sons Aw Boon Haw (meaning ‘gentle tiger’) and Aw Boon Par (meaning ‘gentle leopard’).  They took the business to Singapore and successfully sold their balm to surrounding countries like Malaya, Hong Kong, Batavia, Siam, and various cities in China. Aw Boon Haw was the marketing genius who named the product Tiger Balm. Tiger Balm has since been immortalized as one of the world’s best-known pain-relieving formulations. The rest as they said, was history.