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Three Legs Cooling Water

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Three Legs Cooling Water

Three Legs Cooling Water (simplified Chinese: 三脚标清热水) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine drink produced by Wen Ken Group. A flagship product of the company, the drink tastes like mineral water and has been around since 1937 when Wen Ken Group was first established.

The drink is said to be effective in preventing or alleviating common ailments such as ulcer, fever or toothache which can occur as a result of too much "heatines" within the body.[1] Other general symptoms indicating heatiness include red eyes, profuse sweating, irritability, loss of concentration, and fatigue.[2] A diet with too much fried or spicy food, consumption of alcohol, stress, smoking, late nights and a humid weather are also some factors that can easily upset the body and cause the condition of "heatiness".[2]

Three Legs Cooling Water comprises de-ionised water and the natural mineral, Gypsum Fibrosum (simplified Chinese: 石膏; pinyin: Shi Gao).[2] Gypsum Fibrosum is a type of plaster stone containing calcium sulphate and is known to be "cooling by nature".[3] It is a trusted ingredient in many traditional Chinese medical recipes. The consumption of Three Legs Cooling Water apparently helps to neutralise the "heatiness" and restore balance to the body system.

History

The Three Legs Brand was founded in 1937 when Wen Ken Group was established in what was then the colonial Malaya.[4] The cooling water was one of the company's four main products which also included headache powder, cough relief and tinea skin solution.[4] The four products were developed based on traditional medical recipes owned by the founders, all of whom originated from China.[4] These products were marketed as over-the-counter medical solutions to relieve common ailments such as "heatiness", cough, headache and skin rashes.[4]

The recipe for Three Legs Cooling Water stemmed from a traditional mineral preparation devised to dispel "heatiness" from the body.[2] In the past, Three Legs Cooling Water was mainly consumed as an affordable medicinal product for many of the Chinese immigrants who developed heatiness-related ailments as they sought to acclimatise to the unusual tropical heat and humidity after settling in the Nanyang (Chinese: 南洋; pinyin: nányáng) region for work.[1]

In the 1980s, Wen Ken's factory officially displaced the use of glass bottles by packing its cooling water in plastic bottles instead. Many consumers saw plastic as a more lightweight and convenient packaging and this boosted the sales of the cooling water.[5]

As Three Legs Cooling Water became increasingly popular in the 80s, other competitors began putting out imitations and forgeries of the product on the market in a bid to capitalise on its sales.[6] In order to resolve this issue and qualm dissatisfied customers, the company invested RM200,000 in a unique plastic bottle moulding machine that could create indents of the Three Legs Brand logo on the neck of every bottle.[6] This enabled their customers to differentiate the TCM-certified Three Legs Cooling Water from the imitations on the market.


Product Extensions

Cool Rhino

In 2008, Wen Ken Group launched a new and more modern version of their original Three Legs Cooling Water. The new drink, Cool Rhino, contains almost the exact same contents as the original cooling water except for an extra ingredient, Calcitum.[3] This additional ingredient apparently enhances the cooling properties of the drink. Cool Rhino derives its name from a combination of the original Three Legs Cooling Water and the symbol of a Rhino on the Malaysian version of the label.[3] The drink can also be frozen into ice cubes or be used as a mixer with other drinks.[3]

Cool Rhino departs from the original cooling water in terms of its packaging and target consumers. Intended as a newer and trendier version of Three Legs Cooling Water, it was introduced to capture the younger consumers in the market.[7] In 2008, Cool Rhino was granted the Malaysia Good Design Mark by the Malaysian Government.[3]

Along with Cool Rhino, Wen Ken Group also launched another product extension, Cool Rhino O2, in 2008. However, Cool Rhino O2 is distributed only in Malaysia and Hong Kong. Although similar to Cool Rhino, Cool Rhino O2 is enriched with an additional boost of oxygen, which is supposed to help to increase the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells within the body.


Ingredients

Three Legs Cooling Water: Gypsum Fibrosum, De-ionised Water

Three Legs Cool Rhino: Gypsum Fibrosum, Calcitum, De-ionised Water

Overconsumption & Side Effects

Although there are no known side effects, the bottle for Three Legs Cooling Water comes with a label specifying the recommended intake (e.g. 200ml to be taken 4 times daily for an adult). Depending on individuals, an overconsumption of the drink can sometimes lead to increased urination.

References

  1. ^ a b "muse gallery." BeMUSE Vol 3, Issue 4 ISSN: 1793-5261 Oct-Dec 2010: 11. Print.
  2. ^ a b c d "Best Brand Award- 3 Legs that keep you COOL." Healthy Times Issue 48 Oct-Dec 2011: 20. Print.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Well-Being." Healthy Times Aug-Sept 2008: 65. Print.
  4. ^ a b c d Wilmot, Elizabeth. "Four Families, Three Legs and...ONE 'COOL' COMPANY." The Straits Times Singapore 03 Dec 2008: B20. Print.
  5. ^ "Our History". Wenken.com.
  6. ^ a b "The price for staying on top." China Press Malaysia Vol. 56 June/July 1998: 9. Print.
  7. ^ "Boom time for age-old remedies." The Straits Times Singapore 04 Dec 2009: C21. Print.
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