Is the ‘Singapore brand’ losing its shine in China’s food scene?

When Celine Teo feels homesick, she visits Singaporean eatery Vanda Room in Beijing’s central business district to enjoy delicacies such as chicken rice and laksa. “Being able to enjoy a familiar dish abroad always brings a sense of comfort and connection to home,” said the 25-year-old undergraduate, who has lived in China for four years. But Teo worries these connections are thinning, as some Singapore-linked F&B players retreat, refocus or struggle to defend their edge in China’s increasingly competitive market. Vanda Room, which opened its doors in 2012, has endured earlier shocks, such as during the Covid-19 outbreak when the restaurant’s owner was forced to suspend dine-in service and rely on delivery. But not every Singaporean brand has found it easy to hold its ground. Food court chain Food Republic, a Singapore-run brand known for bringing hawker-style and regional street food under one roof, shut its outlet at Beijing’s Oriental Plaza on Monday after its lease expired. The store, which opened more than 25 years ago, was the chain’s first in the city. Its closure marks a sharp reversal for a brand that once operated more than 40 eateries across mainland China. At its peak in 2016, it had locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing. Following the Beijing closure, only four remain, all in Shanghai. Analysts say Singaporean branding once gave F&B operators an edge in China, thanks to the city state’s reputation for quality and reliability. However, Food Republic’s retreat shows that edge has weakened as local rivals improve and price competition intensifies. Its exit raises another question, one that’s closer to home: whether the food court model that helped Singaporean brands travel abroad is losing some of its shine. A spokesperson for BreadTalk Group, which owns Food Republic, said: “Having operated in China for many years, we have witnessed significant market shifts in consumer dynamics, which require us to consolidate our strategy for the Chinese market.” China remained a “core priority” for Food Republic’s long-term development, the spokesperson said, and the group would continue to pursue growth opportunities in Greater China. “It’s a pity,” Teo said. “Its closure feels like a loss of a small piece of Singapore in Beijing.” The pressure is not limited to Food Republic. Other Singapore-linked food and drink players have also had to rethink their China exposure. Jumbo, which operates brands such as Jumbo Seafood and Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh, has closed four stores in China in recent years, according to The Business Times. In an interview published this month, CEO Ang Kiam Meng told the Singaporean news outlet that Jumbo’s previous strategy of building a presence in too many Chinese cities had backfired. “Spreading our resources so thinly is not advisable especially for China, which is so diverse in culture and taste across cities,” he said. The group would redirect resources to focus on expanding in Shanghai and consider closing underperforming restaurants on the mainland after their leases expired, Ang added. Yeo’s, the Singapore heritage beverage brand known for Asian drinks such as chrysanthemum tea and soy milk, posted a decline in revenue from the Greater China market, from S$20.1 million (US$15.7 million) in 2024 to S$15 million last year, citing strong price competition from local players. ‘Sharper proposition’ Analysts said the pullback by some Singaporean operators showed that the country’s F&B brands could no longer rely on their old China appeal, which was built on perceptions of quality, hygiene and reliability. When Singaporean brands first entered the market, those attributes helped them stand out, but they had now become baseline expectations, said Guan Chong, associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. “Chinese consumers have abundant strong domestic options, and local chains move faster on menu innovation, pricing, delivery integration, and digital marketing,” Guan said. “The ‘Singapore brand’ alone is no longer a value proposition.” Local brands had caught up on quality, modernity and reliability, she said. “Singaporean firms now need a sharper proposition.” Charles Wang, managing partner and regional CEO for Greater China at consulting firm YCP, said some Singaporean operators had failed to keep pace with competitors and changing consumer preferences. Domestic brands often hopped on trends, such as low-sugar options and novel flavours, at a speed foreign ones could not match, he said. Singaporean firms, therefore, had to carve out a niche and provide a mix of functional and emotional value, Wang added, noting that consumers “don’t buy generalist value propositions like ‘Singapore equals premium and quality’ any more”. Jianggan Li, CEO of venture outfit Momentum Works, is more optimistic that opportunities remain abundant for Singaporean F&B operators in China – if they can differentiate themselves through cultural and heritage distinctiveness. “Competing on industrialisation and cost efficiency would be a very tough game,” he said. Offering non-Chinese cuisines adapted to local tastes – such as satay with mala-flavoured peanut sauce for dipping – may be one way for Singaporean brands to gain an edge, according to Ang Swee Hoon, a marketing professor at the National University of Singapore. Wang said Singaporean firms could also collaborate with the growing number of Chinese firms expanding in the city state to boost resource sharing. “Leveraging this structural advantage would give Singaporean F&B brands a unique and unprecedented recipe to reconquer the Chinese market,” he said. Pressure on food court model? Food Republic’s Beijing exit did not only signal the weakening pull of Singaporean branding, analysts said. It also reflected pressure on the food court model itself, which had lost some of its edge in China as malls and consumers gained more dining options. Food court operators typically lease large spaces in shopping centres and sublet them to smaller vendors, but mall owners in China increasingly prefer to curate their own dining zones rather than depend on third-party operators. That shift raises a question for Singapore, where food courts in air-conditioned malls have long been part of daily dining life: could the format face the same pressure? Analysts say food courts in Singapore are being squeezed but are unlikely to face the same kind of decline because they are entrenched in the country’s dining infrastructure. “In Singapore, food courts are embedded in daily routines, office life, transport nodes and malls,” said Felicia Hu, managing director of Singaporean market research firm Assembled. “They are still attractive when the consumer wants a quick, comfortable, air-conditioned meal in a convenient location.” That said, observers urge food court operators to sharpen their proposition by providing better value, such as offering price-led meal combinations and improving tenant mix. “The tenant mix must solve real eating occasions such as office lunch, family meals, quick solo meals, group dining and takeaway,” Hu said. Li is not worried that food courts will disappear. “But operators can no longer assume that convenience and variety alone are enough.”

Is the ‘Singapore brand’ losing its shine in China’s food scene?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysts say Singapore’s F&B firms can no longer rely on earlier strengths that made them stand out, given the growing competition

Analysts say Singapore’s F&B firms can no longer rely on earlier strengths that made them stand out, given the growing competition