Over the past 3 years especially post Covid-19 era, we are seeing F&B outlets in Singapore from hawkers, restaurants, bars, and take-ousts are closing down rapidly due to 2 main issues, which are high cost of rental and availability of manpower. Chains such as Spinelli, Bakers’in, Charlie Brown, Imperial Treasure, and more. (https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/teafolia-announces-theyre-closing-permanently-due-covid-19-modestos-boufe-other-fb)
Other factors are also affecting both retail and F&B industries in Singapore from lower spending, higher competition, and most important of all, absence of unique value proposition for many of these service businesses. In contrast however, food catering, central kitchen, food manufacturing, and so on have been gaining growth as technology today brings food and beverage closer to their consumers. But neither front and back facing businesses in F&B can survive without both sides doing well. F&B in general will always be one of the main contributors to the economy from property rental, tourism, employment, and so on.
The question is that, “is F&B no longer attractive to do in Singapore?”. In my opinion any business regardless of what industry, will deem to fail or be obsolete when they failed to innovate and same goes for new businesses. One fact remains, new F&B businesses will need to more and work harder to ensure that the business survives and scale. A few tips that I would recommend to adopt and do when you are planning to start your own F&B business as follows:
1. Embrace Technology at least for VISIBILITY, MARKETING, and AWARENESS.
2. F&B business is about referrals and loyalty. Be sure that your PRODUCT is the BEST and not READILY AVAILABLE.
3. Start SMALL by OEM your PRODUCTION, showcasing your BUSINESS ONLINE, and focus on MANAGING it YOURSELF.
4. Think GLOBAL for your MARKET ACCESS and beat your compeition through GUERILLA WARFARE. Focus on Niche Marketing and Value Added Services
Should you be keen to learn about how to build a sustainable and profitable F&B businesses starting small, you can find out more about Walker Enterprise Pte Ltd’s F&B Entrepreneurship course that teaches beginners and also professionals on how to plan, concept, and manage your very own F&B businesses starting from home or starting small. This course of F&B Entrepreneurship also gives you over 14 hours of cooking, baking, dessert, and mixology training. To top if off, there is a government support of up to 70% funding for Singaporeans.
For more information on this, you can visit the following link: F&B Entrepreneurship (WSQ) – Walker Enterprise Pte Ltd