What F&B Operators in Singapore Should Really Be Worried About

From the Desk of Jonathan Lim, Founder & CEO, Oddle

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about Chinese F&B brands pushing up rents and crowding out local businesses. But zoom out, and you’ll see: this isn’t just a “China wave.” It’s a cycle we’ve seen before — and will see again.

Over the years, we’ve welcomed waves of:

• Japanese concepts like Gyukatsu and Warabimochi
• American imports like Eggslut and Five Guys
• And now, Chinese giants like Haidilao, Chagee, Luckin, Mixue
• Alongside a surge of Nanyang-themed casual cafés — Great Nanyang, Oriental Kopi, New Nanyang, Old Nanyang…

It’s not about which country the brands come from. It’s about who can execute, stay relevant, and survive the churn.

📉 The F&B Market in Singapore Is Brutally Competitive

It’s a textbook case of perfect competition:

• Low barriers to entry
• High consumer choice
• Transparent prices
• Narrow margins

And that means one thing: hype is temporary — only fundamentals sustain.

⚙️ What the Best Players Do Differently

Take Haidilao. People joke that they treat you so well before the meal, you don’t mind paying to cook it yourself. But behind the jokes is real operational mastery:

• Big spaces bring rent per sqft down
• High turnover and late-night ops maximize sales
• The customer journey is designed, not accidental — snacks, manicures, queue entertainment

They don’t just compete on food. They compete on experience and throughput. That’s what justifies the rent.

Or look at Chagee. Not many know this, but they were in Singapore years ago through a franchisee — I tried it then and walked away thinking it was the worst bubble tea I’d had.

Today? My wife swears by it. The product is great. The branding is clean. And the ops? Ruthless:

• No toppings, no customizations — just streamlined quality
• Preorder is app-only, which controls demand pacing and drives loyalty
• Demand is chasing supply, not the other way around

Same brand. Totally different execution. That’s the difference between being forgotten and becoming a phenomenon.

🧯 But Not Every Brand Sustains the Hype

Some early Chinese entrants are already seeing their drawing power fade. I won’t name names — but we’ve seen the queues shrink.

Same with Eggslut. When it launched in Singapore, the buzz was huge. I remembered the taste from LA and had high hopes. But when I finally tried it here, something was missing. One visit — no repeat.

A strong launch with a weak follow-through is a guaranteed fade-out. You can’t win on Day 1 if you can’t follow through on Day 100.

🧠 The Most Underestimated Driver of Repeat Visits? Customer Journey Design.

Most F&B operators focus on the meal itself. But the real question is: what’s the full experience?

Before dining:

• Do first-time customers know what to try?
• Are you helping them order the right amount — or letting them over-order, only to walk away thinking you're expensive?

While waiting:

• Are you turning a pain point into something enjoyable?
• Are you entertaining, educating, or building anticipation?

During the meal:

• Are your servers trained to shape the experience for second-time customers?
• Are you planting the seeds for a third visit?

After the meal:

• Did you collect any data?
• Did you follow up?
• Do you know who loved it — and who didn’t?

Our data shows that 90% of customers never return after their first visit. And for most restaurants, those customers leave without a trace. That’s not just a retention problem — it’s a visibility problem.

📈 Do You Really Understand Your Demand?

Too many brands assume their dinner slots are maxed out — but they don’t dig deeper.

Ask yourself:

• Is weekday lunch truly optimized?
• Are you converting delivery customers into dine-in regulars — or vice versa?
• Can you do more with late-night demand?
• Do you understand the shape of your demand curve, and have you built operations around it?

Great brands don’t wait for demand to happen. They engineer it — and build systems to capture it efficiently.

🧘 Reflect, Don’t React

Yes, rents are high. Yes, competition is fierce. But pointing fingers at foreign brands won’t help us get better.

Instead, let’s ask:

• What are these brands doing better?
• What parts of their playbook should we study — and even adopt?
• How do we build operations that create repeatable excellence, not just one-time buzz?

Because in the end, it doesn’t matter where a brand comes from. It matters whether they can survive the churn. Staying power is earned — and execution is the currency.

👀 Is your restaurant visible online?

Run a free BrandCheck to see where you stand and what to fix — all in under 60 seconds.

👉 Get your free brand report:

🇸🇬 https://brandcheck.oddle.me/sg

🇲🇾 https://brandcheck.oddle.me/my

🇭🇰 https://brandcheck.oddle.me/hk

🇦🇺 https://brandcheck.oddle.me/au

📬 Subscribe to Tabletalk: Real stories and hard-earned insights from the frontlines of F&B