Laoganma (Chinese: 老干妈, pinyin: Lǎo Gān Mā) is a Chinese brand of chili sauces and related condiments, produced in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province. It is named after its founder, Tao Huabi; the name is commonly translated as "Old Godmother," a nickname that refers to Tao herself. Its best-known product is a fermented black bean chili sauce, and the brand has become one of the most recognizable food products in China and among overseas Chinese communities.
Origins
Accounts of the brand's founding differ in their dates. One widely repeated account says Tao first made the sauce in 1984, when she used a special frying technique to produce a seasoning with an unusual flavor that most customers enjoyed. The company's own materials date the start of the business to 1984 as well, describing Tao as an ordinary woman who introduced the sauce that year. Chinese reference sources typically place the earliest commercial steps later. According to the Baidu encyclopedia, in 1986 Tao used salvaged materials to build a small eatery beside a geological bureau in Guiyang, offering cold noodles and jelly, and she made a fermented bean chili sauce to go with them. A separate Baidu entry records that in 1989 Tao operated the Shihui Restaurant in Guiyang, where her homemade chili sauce gained popularity for its unique flavor.
Industrial production followed later. In 1996, she established a factory in Longdongbao, Guiyang, to produce the Laoganma sauce, and in 1997, "Guiyang Nanming Lao Gan Ma Flavor Food Co., Ltd." was established. The company is now the operating entity behind the brand. Early production was labor-intensive: the first factory reportedly had about 40 workers and no production line, and Tao had to find a reliable supplier of glass bottles.
Tao's early life is often cited as part of the brand's story. She was born in a poverty-stricken village in Meitan County, Guizhou, in January 1947, and accounts of her youth describe hardship during the post-war and famine years, when she experimented with wild plants and simple seasonings to make food more palatable.
Products
The company's product range extends beyond its original sauce. According to Baidu's listing, its main products include flavor fermented black bean oil chili, oil chili, flavor fermented tofu, vegetable oil hot pot base, and spicy pickled vegetables. The flagship sauce uses chili peppers as its primary ingredient, supplemented with fermented black beans. Company accounts state that the recipe created by Tao remains the formula used for Laoganma to this day.
Laoganma is also credited with popularizing a family of chili-based toppings outside China. It is credited with popularizing Chinese chili oil and chili crisp toppings in the Western world, and it has inspired other Chinese-American chili-based toppings. It remains the largest chili crisp company, with annual sales reaching $835.6 million USD in 2020, according to figures cited in a Wikipedia article on the topic. The packaging is also distinctive: the red label carries a small portrait of an austere-looking older Chinese woman. A 2020s academic study by researchers at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies argued that this image helps attract curiosity among foreign buyers.
Corporate development and finances
The operating company, Guiyang Nanming Laoganma Special Flavour Foodstuffs Co., Ltd., has been headquartered in the Nanming District of Guiyang. Tao's son Li Guishan became the company's first president in 1997. In 2014, control passed to the younger generation: Li Miaoxing held a 51% stake, becoming the actual controller of Lao Gan Ma, while Li Guishan held 49%, and Tao herself stepped back from frontline management.
The company's reported scale grew substantially in the 2010s. In January 2011, Women of China magazine reported that the company had 1.3 billion yuan in assets and 2,000 employees. Revenue later peaked around 2020, and then declined: brand revenue began to decline year-on-year starting in 2016, dropping to 4.3 billion yuan in 2018. More recent figures show recovery. According to a 2026 report, the company produces about 3 million bottles of chilli sauce every day, according to the 2025 Top 100 Enterprises in Guizhou list. Revenue was 5.39 billion yuan in 2024, a slight increase from 5.38 billion yuan in 2023.
International market
Laoganma is sold abroad through importers and retailers, and it has a presence in many countries. The brand is sold in over 30 countries. Early overseas steps included Hong Kong: the products entered supermarkets in Hong Kong in 1999. In 2001, it obtained registration from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and its products entered the Japanese market in the same year. A separate record indicates that it passed an inspection by the U.S. FDA in 2014, so the two entries should be read as different milestones rather than duplicates. Commentators have observed that in contrast to many food brands expanding abroad, Lao Gan Ma has not altered its flavour for local markets.
Trademark and counterfeiting
Laoganma's success attracted imitators early on. Despite the brand's success upon launch, it struggled with counterfeits with similar packaging in China, who proliferated due to the government rejecting Lao Gan Ma's application for a trademark. Tao responded with legal action. In 2001, the high court of Beijing ruled that similar products could not use the "Lao Gan Ma" name nor imitate its packaging, and Tao received 400,000 yuan in compensation. The brand's protective measures continued afterward. The U.S. record for the mark shows registration on 21 September 2004 in the Principal Register, with first use in commerce recorded as 25 December 2001. Other sources give 2003 as the date of the official trademark, reflecting how the Chinese registration timeline is described differently across references.
Management changes and recipe controversy
The period after 2014 has been the most debated in the brand's history. After Tao Huabi handed over management, her son reportedly switched to chili peppers from Henan to reduce costs, sparking public debate and claims that the taste had deteriorated. Sales declined over the following years, and the reasons were disputed: some observers attributed the decline to the ingredient change, while others pointed to competition and management issues. In 2019, Tao Huabi returned to manage the company, and Lao Gan Ma switched back to Guizhou chilies, restoring the original taste, according to a summary of the episode. Reporting in 2020 described the company's effort to stop the decline. The company's ownership details during this period have also been reported inconsistently, and some press accounts about shareholding changes were denied by the company's representatives.
Trade secrets have also been a concern. The company has described its formula as confidential and has pursued cases involving former staff. In one case, the company reported to police that significant trade secrets were suspected to have been stolen. An earlier Baidu entry describes a former employee who had signed a confidentiality and non-competition agreement and who was later accused of using knowledge gained at the company in another food business.
Cultural significance
Laoganma has become a common reference point in Chinese popular culture and food writing. The company's leadership continues to emphasize tradition: in 2024, Li Miaoxing, the general manager and Tao's son, told the state news agency Xinhua that the sauce is made with traditional techniques and remains the heart of the brand and the product that started it all. The brand's image has also appeared in international media, music, and fashion, which reflects its status as a household name in China and a recognizable export.
References
- Lao Gan Ma or Tao Huabi (老干妈 or 陶华碧) - Chinese Food Wikichinesefoodwiki.org
- Tao Huabi - Founder of Lao Gan Ma spicy saucebaike.baidu.com
- Lao Gan Ma（A Chinese brand of chili-based condiments.）_Baiduwikibaike.baidu.com
- Tao Huabien.wikipedia.org
- Lao Gan Maen.wikipedia.org
- Chili crispen.wikipedia.org
- Chinese Cinderella Story: The Story Behind Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauceblogs.transparent.com
- One Recipe, 160 Countries: The Enduring Appeal of Lao Gan Machinaminutes.com
- LAO GAN MA Trademarktrademarkia.com
- Lao Gan Ma facts for kidskids.kiddle.co
- Aboutlaoganmausa.com