Mandarinen import & engros AS

What Mandarinen import & engros AS does

Mandarinen Import & Engros AS is a Norwegian B2B wholesale distributor of Asian food products and foodservice supplies, operating from two warehouse locations in Bergen (Bønes) and Oslo (Langhus). Founded in 1981 as Sunlih to serve Chinese restaurants in Bergen, the company was acquired by Jimmy Chan in 1998 and rebranded as Mandarinen, broadening the assortment from Chinese-only to pan-Asian. The company is self-described as the largest supplier of Asian products to restaurants in Norway (størst i Norge på asiatiske varer til restauranter) and serves a diversified foodservice customer base that includes restaurants, cafés, hotels, catering companies, grocery stores, wholesalers, and canteens.

The product portfolio covers eight core categories: sauces, oils and spices (including Yamasa, Chiba, and LKK soy sauce brands); dry goods (rice, noodles, pastes); non-food packaging and kitchen equipment; chilled goods and beverages (including tofu, teas, beers, wines, and spirits); dim sum, buffet and tapas items (including self-developed dumplings and gyoza); Korean food ingredients; frozen goods; and eco-friendly bagasse-based packaging. The company runs a B2B e-commerce portal that requires customer registration to view pricing and place orders. There is no proprietary technology stack disclosed; the platform is a standard account-gated catalog/ordering system, and the company's differentiation is driven by assortment breadth, supplier relationships, and brand rather than software.

Commercially, Mandarinen operates a transaction-based wholesale revenue model with two channels: direct enterprise field sales to foodservice accounts and indirect distribution through ASKO/NorgesGruppen's Storcash and Gigaboks retail concepts. NorgesGruppen first acquired a 34% co-ownership stake in 2006; in 2025 ASKO (a NorgesGruppen company) became the majority owner, with Jimmy Chan retaining a significant minority stake and an active role. The company is subject to the Norwegian Transparency Act (Åpenhetsloven) and publishes an annual supply-chain human-rights due diligence statement. There is no public listing, no venture capital involvement, and no disclosed headcount beyond a stated 5 employees, which most likely reflects core management rather than total workforce given ASKO absorbs most logistics functions.

Name

Mandarinen import & engros AS

Legal name

Mandarinen Import & Engros AS

Website

https://mandarinen.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mandarinen Import & Engros AS is a Norwegian B2B wholesale distributor of Asian food products and foodservice supplies, serving restaurants, cafés, hotels, catering, and grocery operators from warehouses in Bergen and Oslo under majority owner ASKO/NorgesGruppen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asian Foodservice Wholesale Distribution

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & International Foods Distribution (CRAOABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

East Asian (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) Grocery Stores (CRAHAFAE)

Keywords

• Asian food wholesale
• B2B foodservice distribution
• Restaurant supply
• Asian grocery importer
• Kitchen packaging supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Food Product Sales: B2B wholesale distribution of Asian food products including rice, oil, sauces, seafood products, alcoholic beverages, packaging, bags, napkins, and kitchen equipment to foodservice businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Mandarinen Import & Engros AS is a B2B wholesale distributor of Asian food products, packaging, and kitchen equipment serving the Norwegian foodservice industry. The company supplies restaurants, cafés, hotels, catering companies, canteens, grocery stores, and other wholesalers with a comprehensive range of Asian ingredients (rice, noodles, sauces, oils, spices, dim sum, Korean foods, frozen and chilled goods) along with non-food items such as bagasse-based eco-friendly packaging and customizable napkins, bags, and chopsticks. Customers must register on mandarinen.no to access pricing and place orders, and the company distributes from two warehouse locations in Bergen and Oslo.

Product overview

Mandarinen Import & Engros AS operates a B2B e-commerce platform offering a comprehensive range of Asian food products and related equipment for the foodservice industry. The product portfolio consists of eight core product categories: Sauces/Oils/Spices (featuring Yamasa, Chiba, LKK soy sauces), Dry Goods (including Wonder Rose Sushiris rice), Non Food (packaging and kitchen equipment), Chilled Goods/Beverages (tofu and alcoholic drinks), Dim Sum/Buffet/Tapas (dumplings, spring rolls, gyoza), Korean Food (pastes, vinegars, oils), Frozen Goods, and Eco-Friendly Packaging (bagasse-based products). The company serves restaurants, cafés, canteens, hotels, catering companies, grocery stores, and wholesalers through its e-commerce platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sauces / Oils / Spices

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• StorcashminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorgesGruppen retail concept receiving Asian product distribution from Mandarinen through the ASKO partnership.
• GigaboksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorgesGruppen retail concept receiving Asian product distribution from Mandarinen through the ASKO partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Martin & Servera: Largest Norwegian broad-line foodservice wholesaler serving restaurants, hotels, and catering. Mandarinen competes for the same foodservice accounts but specializes in Asian products where Martin & Servera offers a more general assortment.
• Tazaki Foods: One of the UK's largest specialist importers and distributors of Asian and Oriental foods to wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice. Most direct international analogue in product focus and customer base.
• Menigo: Leading Swedish foodservice distributor with a comparable B2B model, multi-warehouse structure, and broad assortment of ethnic/specialty food products. Closest Nordic analogue to Mandarinen's business model and scale.
• Unil (formerly Scandza): Norwegian food and beverage distributor serving retail and foodservice. Direct domestic peer in Norwegian food distribution, though broader in category mix than Mandarinen's Asian focus.

Broad incumbents

• Metro AG: Global foodservice and wholesale group operating cash-and-carry and delivery across Europe. Indirect incumbent competitor for the same restaurant/hotel/catering customer base.
• Wing Yip: UK-based Chinese/Asian food retailer and wholesaler. Larger and more diversified (retail + wholesale), but operates in the same Asian foodservice supply category as Mandarinen.
• Brakes Group: UK's largest foodservice wholesaler (part of Sysco). Competes with Mandarinen indirectly on broad-line foodservice supply and provides a benchmark for what a scaled foodservice distributor looks like.
• Sysco: World's largest broadline foodservice distributor. Not a category peer on Asian food specifically, but the canonical reference point for a scaled B2B foodservice distribution model.
• SeeWoo: Major UK Asian/Chinese food wholesaler and retailer, founded by a Cantonese family. Comparable in heritage and category focus to Mandarinen, though operating at a larger UK-wide scale.

Others

• NorgesGruppen (Storcash / Gigaboks): Mandarinen's majority owner (via ASKO) and a key channel partner. NorgesGruppen's Storcash and Gigaboks cash-and-carry concepts stock Mandarinen-supplied Asian products, making them a critical downstream channel rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mandarinen-import-&-engros-as

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mandarinen import & engros AS