The Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF) of the Ministry of Commerce has discovered hundreds of boxes of counterfeit Spai Brand products in a warehouse located in Boeung Keng Kang district, following a complaint filed by the owner of LSV Industry, the local manufacturer of Spai Products on 16th July 2026.
On July 23, 2026, CCF Director-General Kim Meas Sokseiha confirmed a crackdown on counterfeit Empress soap, seizing nearly 7 tons across multiple sites. The raid, prompted by a brand-owner complaint, uncovered 41 bottles at Orussey Market and 702 boxes (6,739 kilograms) at a Chinese national's house in Boeung Keng Kang. Tmey Tmey reported the goods were imported from China.
The phrase ផលិតផលកូនខ្មែរ, or "Cambodian Products," has gained significant traction in the local market, particularly following the boycott of Thai goods. Some of these products are genuinely grown or manufactured in Cambodia, while others are imported from countries like China, Korea, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Complicating matters further, many businesses market themselves as "Local Brands" even when their products are entirely imported, the only "local" element being Cambodian ownership of the brand name itself.
According to a source who requested anonymity, a Chinese company approached him with an offer to create his own soap, body wash, or hand wash line under his own brand name. All he had to do was select the scent and color; the manufacturer would handle everything else. Once imported, he could simply attach his name and market it with the pride of a "local brand."
CCF Deputy Director General Bun Chamroen told Kiripost that unauthorised cosmetic seizures jumped from 27,029 kilograms in late 2025 to over 327 tonnes in just the first half of 2026, with products sourced from Thailand, China, and local suppliers. He linked the surge to shifting consumer habits following the suspension of Thai cosmetic imports.
This reveals an uncomfortable truth: some Cambodian brands are genuinely developed with original formulas and local production. Others, however, claim "local" status while relying entirely on foreign suppliers, without ever building their own formulas or sourcing systems. They lean on "local brand" marketing purely to capture national pride and consumer loyalty.
The Spai Brand case exposes how easily brands and SMEs in Cambodia can be manipulated. Those behind Spai Brand schemes may simply want to avoid the time and cost of building genuine marketing and PR or, more troublingly, they may be deliberately working to undercut authentic Cambodian brands.
This raises a bigger question that goes beyond CCF's authority. If counterfeit products already carry the Spai logo when they enter the country, this falls under the authority of the General Department of Customs and Excise, which should have caught these fake goods at the border before they ever reached store shelves. However, according to CNC TV, it was reported that these fake Spai products and packaging were imported. Therefore, the question is whether they were imported separately, making it harder for the General Department of Customs and Excise to catch them, or whether they were imported as a complete, pre-packaged set