Keejays is a genuine family business started by Mr Kee Wah Lee and his son, Sammy Lee. Mr Kee Wah Lee first arrived in the U.K. in 1957 from his family home in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Kee Wah was involved in the catering trade as a chef, very soon after his arrival to his “New World”. In 1962 he opened, together with relatives and friends, the first Chinese Restaurant in Clacton-on-Sea. They then expa
nded to Ipswich, opening up a further two restaurants and a take-away. A further take-away was opened in 1974 in the market town of Hadleigh, Suffolk. In 1985 father and son saw a business opportunity in supplying Chinese supermarkets with curry sauce mixes for Chinese kitchens. Firstly the products where cooked and packed in the kitchen of the family Chinese take-away in Hadleigh. The demand for the products grew nationwide and we quickly expanded to bigger premises. The first production line was set up in a small unit on the industrial estate of the town, with the first goods being despatched in May 1987. Keejays received enquiries from both longstanding and new customers, for the more popular Chinese sauces such as Sweet and Sour and Black-Bean. A second son, Ming, joined the business to help develop production processes for the new products. This was seen as a great opportunity to expand the product portfolio to a much wider range of oriental sauces and pastes, servicing a large scope of customers ranging from small distributors to major supermarkets and ready meal manufacturers. Keejays continued to manufacture at these premises until further growth meant that the family had to look for bigger premises.Industrial land was purchased in Hadleigh to build a brand new factory to enable continued growth.Since 2005 the company has operated from a purpose built, freehold factory with full BRC Accreditation. Together with a committed, long standing team, which includes the two sisters Lin and Wendy, Keejays can provide a consistent high quality, authentic range of oriental sauces and pastes and in more recent times sauces from around the world including an Indian and European range.
