From Online to Offline: Why we chose to open our physical stores

We started from a home based business in 2017. Business was doing good even though we had no store front. Those were the years pre-COVID and online purchasing was still on the rise. Online platforms made it easy to compare prices so pricing ourselves as not the cheapest, but the best quality was risky and would take longer time for people to get to know us. 

In retail business, and particularly in food business in Singapore, people are concerned about hygiene, safety, credibility. We also had limited space to store goods, and hire manpower. During COVID where our business grew by 5X, we managed to get through the orders by continuing to pack our business at night. During flash sales where orders surged, we had to struggle through midnight and keep up with the orders. We have had to pack and seal 200 bags of almonds in 4 hours with only 2 pairs of hands. It was a tough phase but we got through and this accelerated the decision to move to a packing office.

This started a 6 months search where we worked with SFA on the locations we could get a food licence. It needs to be nearby and not too expensive. Having a proper business storefront builds credibility and allows for self collection. Business could finally be professionally managed with proper systems in place for hiring. Now we have 4 full time packing aunties who used to be Stay-At-Home-Mums for a period of time. Most of them are seniors and all of our workforce are Singaporeans, so this is our way to give back to the community - By providing a good environment that working mums can work, contribute and juggle family life.  

The decision to open a retail store was undoubtedly tough. We understood about rental and were unsure if our sales could cover it. Starting a new physical location means paying a high monthly price for the traffic and it would take time before people got to know us.

On the other hand, with a physical store, people find that our brand could be trusted. Particularly in food business, customers would be assured that we comply to proper regulations and are safe to consume. We ultimately decided on One Holland Village as the place was new and not too far from our packing facility. This means we could resolve any technical or inventory issues promptly, especially when it's our first flagship store. We wanted to do it right and we wanted a space that lives up to our customers' expectations. 

Not just credibility, we needed a space to deepen our customer relationships. Online sales are pretty transactional and it is difficult to get more feedback. Amidst all the feedback and complaints, these really helped us to grow and improve where customers took the time to let us know the issues.

There was once a customer who told us about a quality issue for Tom Yum Belinjau and we recalled the whole batch. It was ultimately because the weather was too hot, causing the sugar to melt and stuck all the loose pieces together! We changed its space to a cooler site so as to prevent similar issues and we were so grateful with every feedback. We also have membership, birthday and feedback rewards now, so loyal customers will be rewarded regularly. 

Our flagship store also provides sampling so more people would get to know our quality. To manage the hygiene and quality, we have 2 samples that change every month. Our retail team would change them frequently. Many eventually bought online instead as our bulk packs are cheaper but this proves that experiential engagement is definitely necessary for customers to verify the freshness in store. 

This year in 2025, not just human snacks, we started our pet snacks business. This is also due to demand from customers where they come into our store, looking to buy snacks for their human and furry kids! We kept to the same ethos, where healthier, less processed pet snacks were chosen. Single ingredient dog treats were brought in from New Zealand and fresh Singapore-made cookies and fish were sold. For the first time, humans and pets can shop and snack together. 

This year, we also started collaborating with Sengkang General Hospital and set up a Snack Kiosk outside Koufu. Part of the proceeds will go towards their Kindness Fund and we are thankful that we can share our healthy snacks to the medical community.

As this year is SG60, we thought to share our Singapore story and hope all of you got to know us better. High rental is still a key concern for all business, can we survive? We can't be sure, but one thing is guaranteed, we will still be online! :)