Agency: Ten years ago, the thought of a Bhutanese biscuit competing with international products seemed far-fetched. Yet today, packets of KinTen Biscuits are found in all 20 dzongkhags, telling not only the story of taste and quality, but also the story of one man’s unshakable determination.
That man is Kinley Tenzin, the eldest son of his family with two siblings, who grew up in Sephu, Wangdue Phodrang. Known today as the Founder of Bhutan Biscuits, his journey was built not on privilege but on sacrifice, risk, and resilience.
In the beginning, Kinley’s dream of making biscuits for Bhutan was met with skepticism. With little support, he went door to door, carrying packets of biscuits himself, trying to convince people to try them. “Some laughed, some turned me away,” he recalls. “But I believed in the product, and that belief kept me moving.”
The hardest test came financially. To keep his dream alive, Kinley made the painful choice to sell his own property. “It was heartbreaking, but I knew if I gave up then, Bhutan would lose the chance to have a brand that could stand proudly on the world stage,” he says.
For nearly a decade, he carried this struggle mostly alone. Then, when his dream was on the verge of collapse, help finally came. T-Bank supported him by approving a loan quickly, giving him the much-needed lifeline to continue his journey. The Department of Marketing under the Ministry of Agriculture, along with Food Corporation of Bhutan Limited (FCBL), stepped in to help distribute his products across the country. “Their trust and backing gave me the strength to move ahead,” Kinley says. “Without them, KinTen would not be here today.”