Lifestyle
Feb 7, 2010
Brand new
Old F&B brands are being revitalised by a younger generation of leaders to remain fresh and exciting
By
Huang Lijie
Collective
food memories hold a sacred place in food-loving Singapore. Whether one
gushes about an early memory of tucking into a warm flaky curry puff
from Polar Puffs & Cakes or reminisces about devouring a handsome
slab of sizzling steak from the beloved steakhouse Jack's Place,
chances are one will find kindred foodies with similar experiences.
Which
is why when heritage food and beverage (F&B) brands, under the
charge of a new generation of leaders, try to make themselves over to
keep pace with changes in lifestyles and consumer habits, they are
faced with the challenge of preserving tradition and nostalgia, and
staying up to date.
Mr Joseph Baladi, chief
executive officer of the brand consultancy BrandAsian, says: 'The new
generation of leaders at these companies need to understand the role
that a brand has played in the success of the business.'
Dr
Prem Shamdasani, 50, associate professor of marketing at the National
University of Singapore Business School, adds: 'The new leadership
needs to constantly validate the relevance of the brand to the market
and customers, and make changes to update it while reinforcing its
unique heritage so that it remains fresh, exciting and sustainable.'
Restaurants such as Han's and Muthu's Curry, for example, have revitalised their brand and won praise among diners.
Fashion
sales manager Pat Lim, 53, a customer of Han's for 30 years, says: 'The
new design of the shop is welcoming and cosy. The menu has also
expanded so much that I eat there at least three times a week without
getting bored of the food.
'And now that it has
opened 24-hour restaurants in Upper Thomson Road and Holland Drive, I
have been able to pop in for a late-night snack.'
Mr
Lim Yen Hui, 39, owner of a graphic design firm who has been dining at
Muthu's Curry for 10 years, says: 'I took my kids to its new restaurant
in Dempsey Road and they liked it. It's good to see the same
high-quality cooking but food presented in a more modern way.'
Indeed,
F&B operators with a long history have updated themselves in
various ways, from redesigning the stores and introducing snazzier
logos to tweaking the brand name and business strategy.
LifeStyle
interviews the new generation of leaders at seven established F&B
brands to find out how they are working to remain a part of
Singaporean's collective food memory.
[email protected]
===
Feb 7, 2010
Han's
Han?s
new generation of leaders include (from left) Shaye Han, Daryl Chai,
Foo Yong Hong and Han Tong Siew. All, except Chai, are related to the
founding family. -- ST PHOTOS: SAMUEL HE, ST FILE
Hainanese- style Western fare attracted patrons to Han?s cafe outlet in Funan Centre in 1989.
Who:
Ms Shaye Han, 32, quality assurance manager, Mr Foo Yong Hong, 30, area
manager, Mr Han Tong Siew, 30, outlet manager, Mr Daryl Chai, 45, area
manager (Han's and Hanis)
What: Han's was
started in 1980 by Mr Han Choon Fook, a Hainanese and former civil
servant, at The Arcade in Collyer Quay. His six younger siblings are
partners of the cafe and bakery, which specialises in Hainanese-style
Western food such as pork chops and pastries. Hanis, a halal version of
Han's, opened in 2006.
Where: Nineteen Han's outlets, including 1 Pickering Street, 01-03,
Great
Eastern Centre, tel: 6438-3959, open: 7am to 10pm daily; and five Hanis
branches, including 01-22, Wilkie Edge, tel: 6338-1903, open: 24 hours
Mr
Han Choon Fook, 66, is grooming a team of leaders to take over the
family- owned business and the talents under his mentorship have risen
to their biggest challenge to date, opening the newest Hanis cafe and
bakery at the Wilkie Edge mall last month.
The
team is made up of Mr Han's daughter, Shaye, his nephews Yong Hong and
Tong Siew, and Mr Chai, who is not related to the founding family but
who worked previously as a retail manager in Malaysia.
The name of the halal cafe and bakery, Hanis, was chosen by Mr Han as a play on the original brand name, Han's.
The
chic 150-seat outlet dressed in shades of grey, red and white, cost
more than $1 million to set up and is the group's second largest eatery
after its flagship outlet at Great Eastern Centre.
Ms
Han, who is single and joined after graduating in media studies from
Murdoch University in Perth, says: 'We handled this project on our own
and it is significant because the kitchen at this outlet is the central
cooking and baking facility for our halal arm, which we plan to expand.'
The
company had a turnover of $30 million last year and plans to open seven
new eateries this year under both the Han's and Hanis brands.
To adapt to the changing lifestyle of diners, it also began operating some Han's cafes round-the-clock in 2007.
Mr
Foo, who finished his O levels and joined the company after national
service, turned the outlet in Upper Thomson Road into Han's first
24-hour eatery.
He says: 'I noticed a demand,
especially among younger diners, for eateries that stay open through
the night and I believed that a 24-hour Han's would increase sales.'
In three months, its first 24-hour cafe began drawing a steady stream of young diners as well as young families.
The Holland Drive branch of Han's and the Wilkie Edge branch of Hanis are also open round the clock.
It
successfully implemented the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points food safety management system at its Great Eastern Centre and
Budget Terminal branches last year and it is rolling out the scheme at
its other outlets.
Ms Han says: 'With this system
in place, it will be easy for us to replicate the operations overseas,
where we have received many franchise inquiries.'
While
there are no definite plans on when the group will branch out of
Singapore, overseas expansion is something the team is gearing towards.
===
Feb 7, 2010
Polar Cafe
ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
Who: Mr Jonathan Cheah, 33, chief operating officer, Polar Puffs & Cakes
What:
Started by Mr Cheah's maternal grandfather, Mr Chan Hinky, a migrant
worker from China, in 1926. Its first store, Polar Cafe in High Street,
quickly became known for its flaky-crust curry puffs.
Where:
32 shops including Block 490, 01-14, Toa Payoh Hub, tel: 6356-7787,
open: 8am to 10pm weekdays, 9am to 10pm weekends, as well as 64
counters in convenience stores at Esso petrol kiosks
Snow
falling against an austere green background of a brand logo hardly
conveys the warm fuzziness one feels when biting into a toasty curry
puff.
So when Mr Cheah took over the helm of the
family business in 2007, the logo was redesigned to better express its
brand vision of 'bringing love and joy to every occasion'. The original
logo was conceived by a brand consultant.
The new
logo sports a heart-shaped flower bud and the lettering, in a casual
font with rounded edges, comes in shades of blue-green and lime-green.
Mr
Cheah, who is single, says: 'Polar has been in Singapore for so long,
we need to attract a younger crowd through a new look and product
range.'
The doctoral graduate in electrical and
electronic engineering from Nanyang Technological University quit his
research job to join Polar because he likes the dynamic nature and
quick pace of the food business.
To learn the ropes, he read books on business management.
Under
his watch, Polar's cakes have shed their dated designs and boast a
sleeker look. The flavour of its puffs and cakes has similarly evolved
to keep pace with consumers' changing tastebuds and diets. New
additions include black pepper chicken puff.
The
opening of Polar bistros at four locations, including Toa Payoh Hub
last year, marks his efforts to engineer a return of the bakery to its
roots as a cafe.
After Polar moved from High
Street to OUB Centre in Raffles Place in 1986, it began operating as a
takeaway business. He says: 'Puffs and cakes are something people have
for tea but we want to grow our business, and since we already have
space at the store, we felt we should start a bistro to cater to the
lunch and dinner crowds.
'We tried to switch to a
cafe set-up earlier but it never succeeded because we sold takeaway
food like sandwiches instead of a proper dine-in menu.'
The bistro offers a range of dishes such as pastas, pizzas and baked rice, priced around $6 to $8.
To
enhance product safety, Polar adopted the Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points food safety management system last year.
And
it is installing an IT system that will allow it to assess in real time
how various factors, including price promotions and ingredients cost,
affect its business.
It cost the company, with a turnover of $22 million last year, 'a substantial amount' to implement these improvements.
He
says: 'The second generation of family members running Polar did ask
why I was spending money on all these changes instead of doubling
profits but I felt it was necessary to consolidate the business first
so that our long-term survival is not jeopardised.'
===
Feb 7, 2010
Bee Cheng Hiang
ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Who: Mr Daniel Wong, 41, group general manager, Bee Cheng Hiang
What: The popular bak kwa shop was started by Mr Wong's grand uncle, Mr Teo Swee Ee, a hawker from China, in 1933, in Chinatown.
Where:
32 outlets here, including its newest at 313@Somerset, B3-12, tel:
6509-4709, open: 10am to 11pm daily, and 124 outlets in five Asian
countries, including China, Taiwan and Malaysia
Doing away with convention has helped Mr Wong grow the family business in bak kwa, a traditional barbecued meat treat.
The
computer science graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who
has been helping out with the business since childhood, says: 'Although
the business was doing well when I joined the company in 1993, it had
set ways of doing things.
'We could not offer
discounts as customers might think we were lowering our prices because
something was wrong with our bak kwa.'
He was an
assistant manager then and he disagreed with the no-discount policy,
believing that price promotions would instead sweeten the deal for
consumers.
He tested this out when Bee Cheng
Hiang opened a shop in West Mall in August, 1998. It was the year after
the Asian financial crisis hit and sales had dropped. He says: 'I
convinced the management that the opening of a new store was good
reason to offer a price promotion and the amount of sales generated
from the 20 per cent discount was beyond our imagination.
'Everything that was barbecued went straight onto the weighing scale and was sold immediately during the two-day promotion.'
Since then, price promotions have become its sales strategy, with the smaller profit margin offset by large volumes of sales.
He
says: 'We gradually offered discounts throughout the year, timing them
with the Great Singapore Sale, the Mid-Autumn Festival and Christmas so
that people had reasons beyond Chinese New Year to buy bak kwa.'
The company has also reinvented itself through its store design.
Since
2003, its retail shops have undergone a makeover, which saw its dated
red walls and green tile designs replaced by sleek white interiors and
a glass-enclosed grill that showcases the barbecuing of its sweet meat.
Product innovation has been key to the brand's rejuvenation as well.
Its
Gourmet Bak Kwa, which uses premium pork belly instead of the usual
cuts of pork hind leg, has become one of its bestsellers since it was
introduced in 2003.
The idea for it, says Mr
Wong, who is married with three children aged eight to 12, was sparked
by the popularity of wagyu beef among connoisseurs and a desire to find
an equivalent for bak kwa.
Its Mini EZ,
individually vacuum-packed bite-size pieces of bak kwa that eliminate
the hassle of getting one's fingers oily when eating, proved to be
popular after it was launched in 2002, and accounts for more than 10
per cent of the company's total bak kwa sales.
He
says: 'Our products need to change as lifestyles change because our
long-time customers are getting old and if we do not entice younger
consumers, we will run out of customers.'
===
Feb 7, 2010
Boon Tong Kee
ST PHOTO: RAJ NADARAJAN
Who: Mr Wong Soon Hock, 45, director of operations, Boon Tong Kee
What: The popular chicken rice chain was started in 1979 by Singaporean Thian Boon Hua as a coffee-shop stall in Chinatown
Where:
Six outlets here including 401 Balestier Road, tel: 6254-3937, open: 11
to 4am daily, and a store in Taiwan, with another two outlets opening
this year, one each in Taiwan and Jakarta
After
the avian flu struck in 2004, Mr Wong and his management team found
themselves puzzling over the fate of the popular chicken rice
restaurant, Boon Tong Kee.
He says in Mandarin:
'We realised that we could not rely just on chicken rice to sustain our
business. So we decided to venture into selling the sauces we use at
our restaurant, which we produce in a central kitchen in Woodlands.'
The
range of sauces, including the dark soya sauce and chilli sauce that
are served with its poached chicken, began selling last year at its
restaurants and are priced between $3 and $10 a bottle.
Buoyed
by the encouraging response, it is adding eight new flavours to the
range this year, including ginger paste and black pepper sauce, and it
is also looking to distribute the sauces through provision shops.
Its outlets were also revamped in 2005 to improve the brand's image.
Checked
table cloths and softer lighting were introduced to create a more
comfortable dining experience in the hope of appealing to younger
diners.
The area where the cook chops the poached
chicken was also enclosed in glass to create a hygienic environment
while allowing diners to watch the cook at work.
Mr
Wong, who joined the restaurant as a cook in 1985 after his National
Service and worked his way up the ranks, says: 'Before our various
revamps, our annual sales was about $12 million in 2004. Last year, our
sales increased to about $15 million and we have also seen younger
customers eat at our restaurants.'
He was picked
by the founder to helm the company last year because he successfully
turned around the business at its Whampoa West outlet. Business there
was lagging due to MRT works and construction at nearby flats, which
blocked the eatery from the view of passers-by.
He
sustained the outlet with sales of about $1 million annually from 1997
to 2004 by offering customers a 10 per cent discount. And when
construction work in the neighbourhood was completed by 2005, sales
there doubled to more than $2 million.
Although
he did not finish primary school, Mr Wong, who is married with three
children aged between seven and 14, attends short business courses to
learn management skills.
He also credits Mr Thian as being a wise mentor who taught him the importance of being prepared for all situations.
Looking
ahead, he says: 'We plan to bring our chicken rice, as well as our
bottled sauces, to overseas markets because we are confident of the
international appeal of our product.'
===
Feb 7, 2010
Muthu's Curry
ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Who:
Mr Visvanaath A., 38, chief executive officer, and Mrs Veshali
Visvanaath, 32, director of marketing, Muthu's Curry Restaurant and The
Muthu's Flavors
What: Muthu's Curry
Restaurant was started in 1969 in a Klang Road coffee-shop stall by Mr
Ayyakkannu S., who came here in 1957 and worked as a provision store
assistant previously. His son, Mr Visvanaath, took over the business in
1994 and opened a new casual Indian restaurant, The Muthu's Flavors,
last December
Where: Muthu's Curry
Restaurant in 138 Race Course Road, 01-01, tel: 6392-1722, open:
10.30am to 10.30pm daily, and B1-56 Suntec City Mall, tel: 6835-7707,
open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 10pm daily; The Muthu's Flavors in Block
7 Dempsey Road, 01-01, tel: 6474-5128, open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to
10.30pm daily and 313 Orchard Road, B3-02 313@Somerset, tel: 6884-8380,
open: 11am to 11pm daily
Pappadum twisties, curly
ribbons of the Indian cracker, and Masala Coke, a cola drink flavoured
with spices such as cumin, are some surprises at The Muthu's Flavors, a
hip off-shoot of the famous traditional Indian restaurant Muthu's
Curry, which specialises in fish head curry.
Mr
Visvanaath says: 'We want to target a younger crowd with The Muthu's
Flavors and the feedback from focus groups was that young diners like
eating individually plated meals.'
So the couple
and his brother, director of operations Srinivasan A., 30, decided to
offer a complete meal in individual portions with a serving of salad,
rice or naan, the main dish and pappadum twisties presented elegantly
on a plate.
The new eatery concept also boasts chic interiors and meals average between $15 and $25.
Response
to the two The Muthu's Flavors, which cost about $1.5 million to set
up, has been encouraging. Mr Visvanaath adds: 'If my father was still
around, I might not have introduced improvements because he believed
that if something isn't broken, don't fix it. And when he handed over
the business to me, the restaurant was always packed, even though it
had little ambience.'
After his father died in
1996 from a heart attack, however, business nosedived because hoarding
for the construction of the North-East MRT line obscured its outlet in
Little India. But his lucky break came in 2001 when a TV show featured
the eatery and queues began forming. Business was so good, he was able
to afford a $1.6-million move to its current larger Race Course Road
premises in 2004.
The couple, married with three
young children, also added North Indian food such as naan to the menu
for variety. He says: 'My father might not agree with all the changes I
have introduced but I am sure he will be proud of how I have grown the
business.
===
Feb 7, 2010
Jack's Place
The founder?s grandsons Alvin Say (left) and Jason Ong run the outlets. -- ST PHOTO: RAJ NADARAJAN
Who:
Mr Jason Ong, 32, management services manager, JP Pepperdine group of
restaurants including Jack's Place, Seafood Harvest, Eatzi Gourmet and
Brewbaker's Kitchen and Bar
What: Mr Say
Lip Hai, a Hainanese cook to expatriate families here, started a
Western restaurant, Cola Restaurant and Bar in Sembawang in 1966. He
bought over the English pub, Jack's Place in Killiney Road in 1967,
which was started by an Englishman named Jack Hunt. All the outlets
were later named Jack's Place. The family-run business expanded and its
restaurants came under the brand JP Pepperdine last year.
Where:
14 Jack's Place outlets here, including 6 Raffles Boulevard, 02-138H,
tel: 6338-8292, open: 11am to 10.30pm daily, and one outlet in Malaysia
Top
management of the family-run steakhouse chain Jack's Place had
initially shelved makeover plans following a bad experience with a
branding consultant in 2002.
But Mr Ong, the
grandson of the restaurant's founder, was not ready to give up on
revamping the chain. After much persuasion, he convinced the
second-generation helming the business to overhaul the restaurant's
dated look.
In 2003, the design of its eateries was made more uniform and more wood elements were introduced to create a homey feeling.
Mr
Ong, who joined after graduating with a bachelor's degree in commerce
from Deakin University in Melbourne and who is married with a child,
says: 'After the rebranding, which cost us about $1.8 million, we saw
sales grow by more than 10 per cent the following year.'
Between
2005 and 2008, the group added new restaurant concepts to its
portfolio, including seafood outlet Seafood Harvest in Bugis Junction
in 2005, and its halal restaurant, bakery and catering arm, Eatzi
Gourmet, in 2006 with outlets in East Point Mall and Safra Yishun
Country Club.
In 2008, it opened a riverside grill restaurant Brewbaker's Kitchen and Bar in Anchorvale Community Club.
These
restaurants were initially associated with Jack's Place and all bore
the tagline 'by Jack's Place'. But the affiliation was dropped last
year and a new brand, JP Pepperdine, was created as an umbrella company
for the various restaurants.
The reason: diners found it hard to accept the established steakhouse brand branching out into different cuisines.
He
says: 'JP stands for Jack's Place, a nod to our heritage, and we added
'Pepperdine' because pepper is a versatile ingredient used in many
cuisines and we want the name to reflect the diversity of cuisines our
group represents.'
With this new brand in place,
the restaurant group, with a turnover of more than $30 million last
year, is planning to open other restaurants that might feature
non-Western cuisines.
===
Feb 7, 2010
Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow
Ms Tina Tan has modernised the outlets after taking over. -- ST PHOTO: AIDAH RAUF
Who: Miss Tina Tan, 35, owner, Original Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow
What:
Founded by Miss Tan's great-grandfather, a hawker from China. The
business began in 1911 in Hock Lam Street and it specialises in
Teochew-style beef kway teow, which is served with salted vegetables
and blue ginger
Where: Three outlets, including 1 Jelebu Road, 01-60 Bukit Panjang Plaza, tel: 6314-1273, open 10am to 10pm daily
Instead
of opening in a shophouse, as is characteristic of Original Hock Lam
Street Beef Kway Teow's previous outlets, the traditional beef noodle
store opened its newest outlet last month in the Bukit Panjang Plaza
shopping centre.
The new shop also boasts a more
elaborate interior: Its dining area has been made to feel like Hock Lam
Street in the early days, where diners would eat on the road between
two rows of shophouses. So one wall of the eatery has a mural of a row
of shophouses while the opposite one features the remodelled facade of
an old colonial building.
This new look will be rolled out at its other stores soon.
She
says: 'We felt it was time to introduce a makeover because we want to
attract a younger crowd that is more conscious of the dining
environment. We eventually went with a refined nostalgic design to
appeal to both our long-time customers and younger diners.'
The
Bukit Panjang Plaza outlet will also be introducing new food items,
such as fried mini mantou with XO minced beef sauce, later this month.
These dishes will be added to the menu at its other shops subsequently.
She
says: 'Our customers have been asking for a wider range of dishes so I
spent a year creating these dishes. We are in the process of
fine-tuning the recipes.'
The marketing and media
graduate from Murdoch University in Perth quit her personal banker job
in 2005 to take over her father's business because she felt strongly
about preserving the family's culinary heritage.
The taste of its signature beef kway teow, however, remains unchanged.
The
herb-flavoured beef broth is simmered for 24 hours and the beef slices
are cut by hand. Miss Tan also prepares the herb mix for the soup stock
personally to ensure that the taste of the broth remains consistent at
the outlets.
She says: 'We have remained
successful for 99 years because our recipe has stayed authentic and we
do not plan to stray from this winning recipe.'
The
elegant 57-year-old gliding towards our table does not fit the stern
face of Chinese officialdom. She is wearing a pink checked jacket and
skirt; pink and white pearls; and a sunny smile. As other luncheon
guests at the Goring Hotel, one of the last family-owned hotels in
London, look on, we pose for a photograph. With one enthusiastic eye on
posterity, the other on future career prospects, an ambassadorial aide
takes two pictures before China’s outgoing ambassador to the UK
dismisses him with a mildly embarrassed wave.
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