Does it matter to you if a product you buy is from a country that seems more atas? Will something taste better just because it is from Country X and not Country Y?

Will the bread in your mouth turn into ash if you found out it was not from France?

Well some brands subscribe to this philosophy, and it is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you produce a good product.

Here are 9 brands that you may have thought were from one country but, well, you were wrong:

1. Paris Baguette

By Paris, you mean South Korea?

Paris Baguette and its up-market sister brand Paris Croissant both belong to the SPC Group. No, not the Singaporean company selling petrol, but a South Korean food conglomerate.

2. Akira

Very Japanese name, a truly Singaporean product. The preferred electronics brand for televisions and DVD-players in army camps.

3. Délifrance

Who would've guessed this croissant-connoisseur comes from Hong Kong? But in their defence, anyone with common sense would think that having delis in France called Délifrance would just sound weird. It's like calling all hawker centres 'Singapore Food Court'.

While most people (including this writer) think that Délifrance can't possibly be from France, several Mothership.sg readers have alerted us to our silly mistake. It turns out that Delifrance is owned by French company Grands Moulins de Paris, which is a major French milling company and supplies 100% of the flour used in Délifrance's products.

We stand corrected.

4. Aleoca

After seeing the three different logos and you would think this bicycle brand you normally find in Giant and NTUC is from Italy, right? Wrong. It's actually a local brand. That bull/horse/unicorn logo does remind you of Ferrari. Hmmm.

5. Poulét

Nope. This is not from France. It's Singaporean as well. Well you can't really name your restaurant 'Chicken' can you? So the french equivalent 'Poulét' would have to do. It is pronounced as Poo-Leh, not Poo-Let.

6. Häagen-Dazs

This brand is not from some Scandinavian country. It's actually from the U.S. and the brand's founder gave it this name so that people would think that it is a Danish brand - which at that time was known for its dairy products and had a positive image in the U.S.

So is it Hay-gen or Ha-gen? It doesn't matter.

7. Pret A Manger

The name means 'ready-to-eat' in French. But as you would've guessed, this chain of sandwich eateries is not from France. It comes from the land of fish & chips and football - England.

8. Billy Bombers

A diner with American food, American decor and playing American classics all day long - so it must be 'Murican, right? Nope. It's another local brand. Who would've thought?

9. Manhattan Fish Market

Is this restaurant selling deep-fried ocean goodness really from Manhattan, New York? Is it more New York than a New York cheesecake?

Sadly no, it's from Singapore Malaysia. But you'll still eat it when they have those crazy 1-for-1 lunch deals, right?

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17 brands that have passed away in S’pore the last few years, some very quietly

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