Why Singapore Food Brands Are Struggling in China

Some well-known food brands from Singapore, like Food Republic and Jumbo, started opening in China around 2000.

As people in China earned more money, these brands grew quickly in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and then in smaller cities.

But after the Covid-19 pandemic, things got harder for these brands, and many had to close some of their stores in China.

Last month, Food Republic closed its store in Beijing after being there for over 25 years. Now, it only has four stores left in China, all in Shanghai.

This is a big change from the mid-2010s when it had over 40 stores in China.

BreadTalk, the company that owns Food Republic, also closed all its bakeries in Chengdu last year. It used to have 460 stores in China but now has around 200.

You can still see the Food Republic logo at some of its stores. There's a picture of it on Google Maps.

Jumbo, another Singapore brand, closed four of its stores in China recently.

The CEO of Jumbo said the company tried to open too many stores in too many cities, which didn't work out.

He said that spreading resources too thin, especially in a big and diverse country like China, isn't a good idea. Now, Jumbo is focusing on growing its seafood brand in Shanghai.

Singapore brands used to be popular in China because of their reputation for quality and cleanliness.

But now, Chinese customers expect all brands to have these qualities, so being from Singapore isn't as special anymore.

A professor said that just being a Singapore brand is no longer enough to attract customers.

The brands that are winning in China now are fast, cheap, and offer something unique.

They can change and adapt very quickly, which is hard for foreign brands to keep up with.

A man who runs a Singapore restaurant in Beijing said some big food companies came to China without being fully prepared.

He thinks Singaporean businesses are too careful and don't try hard enough to gain market share.

To succeed, foreign brands should make decisions locally instead of from afar.

The market in China is very competitive now, which means prices and profits are lower.

A consultant said Singapore brands need to find a niche and offer something special to customers.

They could also work with Chinese companies that are expanding in Singapore.

This partnership could help Singapore brands succeed in China again.

But even with a good strategy, brands need to keep changing and improving to keep up with Chinese customers.

The CEO of a consultancy said brands that left China aren't weak, they just couldn't keep up with how fast the market is changing.

China still has many opportunities, but the market is changing very quickly.

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