Group of friends at a restaurant
Santiago Nunez | Klaud9 | Getty Images
The Singapore coffee market is buzzing with activity as brands continue to open new locations in hopes of establishing a strong presence on the island, which they hope will lead to global expansion.
Over the past few months, several major players including China’s Luckin Coffee, Indonesia’s Kenangan Coffee and Fore Coffee, Canada’s Tim Hortons, and Taiwanese specialty coffee chain Louisa Coffee have all entered the Singaporean market.
Luckin Coffee has already opened 30 outlets since March, marking its first significant push outside of China. Meanwhile, Kenangan Coffee, which arrived in September, has already opened four stores. Tim Hortons and Fore Coffee each have two outlets, and Louisa Coffee has one.
“We have a pretty grand ambition for our international expansion. We do believe that Singapore and Malaysia are just a stepping stone. And we want to expand to a lot more countries than where we are today,” explained Edward Tirtanata, co-founder and CEO of Kopi Kenangan, a leading grab-and-go coffee chain in Indonesia.
With over 800 stores across 45 cities in Indonesia and 22 stores in Malaysia, Kopi Kenangan is making a significant mark on the international scene, establishing a strong presence in the region.
Kenangan Coffee, as it is known in Singapore, strategically opened outlets in prestigious locations like Changi Airport Terminal 2, Jewel Changi Airport mall, Raffles City Shopping Centre, and Takashimaya Shopping Centre, signaling their commitment to upscale branding.
“There’s no better country than Singapore to jumpstart our global expansion plan. Why? Singapore is a definite hub of Southeast Asia. [People] all over Southeast Asia fly to Singapore, simply just to transit, to travel or do business,” said Tirtanata of Kopi Kenangan. “Therefore, we do believe that with a successful entry into Singapore, we will be able to propel our brand further as we expand to more and more countries.”
Singapore’s prominence as a global financial hub has attracted coffee brands to the country.
“It’s one of these things where if you have a restaurant chain, you want to open in New York City, in London,” said Peng T. Ong, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures.
“I think they’re here in Singapore because we are a financial center. And they want their future investors to know about us,” said Ong.
“It gives them, especially venture-funded ones, very good visibility for international investors,” said Jianggan Li, founder and CEO of tech research firm Momentum Works.
Luckin Coffee declined to comment, saying that it is “still a beginner” in the overseas market. It overtook Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China this year.
A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC: “We welcome competition because it expands the coffee market and accelerates adoption and vacancy of coffee consumption.”
With Singaporeans of all ages, genders, and income levels loving coffee, the competition is getting intense. These coffee chains are in a race to capture the attention of the Singaporean market, hoping for a successful launch pad to enter more international markets.
