Asia-Pacific Power List 2025: Ronald Wong, Tam Jai International

Ronald Wong

Chief marketing officer
Tam Jai International
Hong Kong
Member since 2022

As an astute marketer, Ronald Wong knows that a new remit doesn’t always mean chasing reinvention for the sake of it. At Hong Kong-based fast-casual restaurant company Tam Jai, Wong has kept busy over the past year, revitalising, reimagining, and refreshing their most powerful asset—their brands’ grassroots and colloquial brand personality—without losing their core essence as the restaurants reach out to new markets and audiences beyond Hong Kong. 

Two of Tam Jai’s iconic noodle and soup bowl restaurant variants, ‘TamJai Yunnan Mixian’ and ‘TamJai Samgor Mixian’, have been serving Hong Kongers for decades. They have become part of local culture and have been embraced by different generations. To keep these diners coming back, Wong set about revamping the restaurants’ customer relationship programs, doubling member sales and increasing engagement by more than 200%.

In growing beyond Hong Kong, Wong has led a rebranding exercise for TamJai Mixian that turned into a soul-searching journey within the organisation. Armed with focus group findings and qualitative research, a long and painstaking effort was made to filter and refine the brand’s true essence, then “trans-create” it to transcend borders and age groups.

New branding was delivered through above-the-line communications and innovative social and digital media campaigns, while in-store customer experiences were elevated by a dramatic dressing up of TamJai’s in-store environments. The inaugural launch of the brand’s new international version of TamJai Mixian in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2024, was a huge success.

In Hong Kong, Wong developed a much more purpose-led approach to reiterate the brand’s essence to locals. TamJai Samgor committed to a three-year title sponsorship of an inter-school elite football league, while TamJai Yunnan Mixian partnered with the Hong Kong Dance Company and the world-famous Hong Kong comic classic, Storm Riders.  Such alliances are based on a belief that supporting Hong Kong’s popular culture while celebrating performing arts and local culinary skills will be something TamJai customers remain proud of. 

Wong has long been an advocate of ‘doing good for the community’ whilst achieving business goals in tandem. Under his wing, the company has partnered with the city’s Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong Design Institute and New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association on a programme to upcycle food waste from its restaurants into everyday essentials such as handmade soaps, lip balms and scented candles.

In an effort to share his brand and marketing expertise, Wong has also been a guest lecturer for the faculty of PR and communications at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.