Shining in the F&B Scene

The F&B world is a vast one. There’s a full spectrum of players in the game from consumer-facing brands in high-end restaurants, cafes, bars, dance clubs to catering, manufacturing and distributing companies. With each of these segments, there comes a different set of challenges and obstacles. Play your cards right, however, and you’ll find the ride a rewarding and enjoyable one. After all, we’re in the business of pleasure. The overarching agenda through any segment we are involved in is to provide pleasure to our customers and guests. That’s an exciting prospect!

Singapore is a great place to be when it comes to F&B. There are new concepts opening up pretty much every week, and an abundance of high quality options if you’re looking to eat and drink well. While the F&B scene here may not be on par with Hong Kong, New York, London, or Tokyo, there are many options available to anyone who is open minded and seeks out new experiences. If you’re looking to start a career in F&B in Singapore, you’re in a dynamic, diverse space.

Getting Started

So how do you go about starting an F&B business? First, ask yourself – in which spheres do I have existing networks? This could be a location you’re familiar with or a segment you already have built relationships in.

Real estate is a key part of the business. Choosing the right location at the right price is crucial. Let’s take the example of a convenience restaurant like Thai Express. If you’re hungry and in a mall, you’d drop by Thai express because it’s the most accessible option for Thai food. In this case, they would pay high rental for real estate in a mall, but it is justified because they need that kind of traffic. On the other hand, if you have a strong brand and can draw your own crowd, you don’t have to look for a location that gets high traffic. You can choose to opt for a spot with a lower rental. Figuring out the mechanics of real estate in F&B is an art in itself.

Once you’ve figured out the real estate portion, your next step is to build a strong brand.

The best F&B brands are the ones that tell a story. I like my brands to be strong, and pack a lot of punch in the personality department. Let me give you three case studies from my F&B brands.

Centro was a dance club. Start with the name Centro - I liked it because it was a strong word. It was a “masculine” space - a big room, strong music, very high energy. Compare that to a second concept called Lola. Lola was Centro’s “feminine” counterpart. For Lola, we went with a lounge feel – think posh, velvet, softer music – very sexy. We designed the bar to feel almost like a home bar. Overall, it felt comfortable and intimate. The logo was a mermaid named Lola. We didn’t plaster the logo everywhere. My view is that if you’re in my venue, you know where you are. I shouldn’t have to shove my branding in your face. At Lola, we just had the mermaid logo with no words, and it was only displayed near the bar. Same with Centro. We didn’t have any signage outside but still had massive queues. People just knew who we were.

Privé was a different concept altogether. I wanted to create a special venue that also wouldn’t require signage. The original location of Privé didn’t pan out, but a few years later I was offered a space on Singapore’s only private island – Keppel. That was where Privé’s journey began, and the brand has since expanded to quite a few more locations. I was adamant about taking the whole ground floor of the site on Marina at Keppel Bay for Privé’s restaurant, open bar, and bakery café. The idea was to reflect the exclusivity of the location. Keppel Island was private – you wouldn’t just find yourself there, you’d have to go there intentionally. I wanted to give people a sense of being away from the bustle of Singapore. That was the inspiration behind Privé.