So great was the crowd that came to hear Loi Tuan Ee share his story that the hall couldn’t hold them.
On July 26, Farm Fresh founder and CEO Loi Tuan Ee came to Petaling Jaya to share his testimony in a talk organised by DUMC’s Work Ministry. He shared about how God had grown Farm Fresh from a field of cows and a dream into one of Malaysia’s biggest homegrown companies.
Even as the audience spilt out into the hallway, every ear was turned toward him. His story, full of candid admissions and God’s unmistakable hand, was a reminder of how faith and work need not be separate pursuits. In fact, for Loi, they became inseparable.
From self-reliance to surrender
“It wasn’t faith, I was being a smartass.”
At the age of 42, Loi had a productive career in the packaging industry. He had worked hard, climbed the corporate ladder, and was drawing a hefty salary. From the outside, it looked like success. But deep down, he wanted something more, something that would serve people, not just deliver profits.
“I wanted to move on,” he told the crowd. “I knew I wanted to serve people. But I wasn’t sure how. Did I pray about what I wanted? To be honest, not really.”
Against the advice of friends and family, Loi left his job in 2005 to start a farm.
“I just quit!”
It was a decision driven by instinct rather than prayer. At the time, Loi did not fully involve God in his decision-making. Yet, as he would later discover, God remained faithful even when he had not sought Him first.
“The early journey was really tough,” Loi recalled. “I thought if you put in the right amount of hours, it would mean you can achieve something.”
But the farm stubbornly refused to flourish. The hours stacked up, but the results didn’t. On top of that, capital was running dangerously low. The turning point came when Loi found himself in the book of Proverbs.
“Proverbs 19:21 was really important to me: ‘Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.’”
“It was then only I realised, no matter how good I think I am, I am not sovereign. God is.”
This realisation marked a shift. Loi began to pray before making big decisions. At the time, his farm was producing all sorts of things – milk from cows and goats, and even fish from ponds. But through prayer, he felt a clear direction: focus on dairy.
The timing was nothing short of divine. Just as funds were running out, an investor came on board.
“Through that, we were able to fund everything,” he said with a smile. “It would not have been possible without God.”
With capital in hand, Loi bought dairy cows from Australia and began learning everything he could about the industry, from animal nutrition to milk processing and cold-chain logistics.
“In 2012, we made 9 million dollars for that whole year,” Loi announced to the crowd. “But today, we make 9 million in a single week!”
Beyond the bottom line
As the Q&A began, one theme emerged: what does it mean to be a Christian entrepreneur?
“Commit your work to the Lord,” Loi said. “I pray before everything. I pray before I send an email, I even pray before I hit send on WhatsApp.”
For Loi, running a business isn’t just about generating profits; it’s about honouring God in the way you work, the way you treat people, and the way you make decisions.
“You can do well, you can make money. But did you achieve it ethically?”
Farm Fresh’s values are rooted in stewardship. They’ve reduced waste, minimised their environmental footprint, and made significant investments to ensure the company operates in a way that reflects God’s grace. “We take every effort to play our role and to set a standard.”
Those values were tested in 2015 when a long-time customer, Timothy Tiah, wrote a scathing blog post titled ‘DO NOT BUY THIS MILK BRAND’.
Timothy’s frustration stemmed from two separate experiences of pouring sour milk over his cereal within weeks of each other. While willing to forgive the first incident, the second was enough for him to publicly warn others.
The post attracted some attention, but Timothy didn’t expect it to go anywhere until an email arrived from a man named Loi.
“I didn’t know who he was at the time,” Timothy later wrote in Tech in Asia. The email contained a heartfelt apology, an offer to replace the products, and even an invitation to tour the farm.
“It wasn’t easy, but I prayed before I sent that email,” Loi told the DUMC crowd. “I felt ashamed that we had let someone down.”
A few days later, Timothy found a surprise gift waiting for him at his office. The gesture left an impression.
“Loi truly inspired me. At a time of crisis, he kept his calm and dealt with tough situations like this with humility and sincerity,” Timothy concluded.
For Loi, it was another lesson in humility, a reminder that success is not about being untouchable but about handling setbacks with grace. “Humility is so important,” he urged listeners. “Life is like bamboo, the higher you go, the lower you bend.”
His grace is for us all
Knowing what God has done for him, Loi now views every high and low as an opportunity to give thanks. “Anything, everything. Be thankful,” he told the crowd. “He is gracious and merciful. How can you not be thankful!”
Loi’s story isn’t a step-by-step manual for building a company. It’s a testimony of God’s providence, grace, and mercy, how He sustained a man even when that man tried to forge his own way.
While not everyone will build a dairy empire, every believer can experience God’s faithfulness. God saved Loi from a failing business, but more importantly, He saved him and us from the consequences of sin through Christ.
As the evening wound down and the crowd slowly filed out, Loi asked them to hold on to Proverbs 19:21 and left them with one final reflection:
“The best of men are still men at best! Hence, I’m very reliant on our faithful Lord. I’m always mindful of God’s sovereignty.”
