Singapore Food Service Market By Food Service Type (Cafes and bars, Cloud Kitchen, Full-service restaurants, Quick-Service Restaurants); By Price Point (Premium Dining, Mid-Range, Budget Dining); By Outlet (Chained Outlets, Independent Outlets); By Target Audience (Families, Young Adults, Business Diners, Tourists) – Growth, Future Prospects & Competitive Analysis, 2024 – 2032
The food service industry in Singapore was $20.7 billion market in 2023 and is projected to grow at a 16.5% CAGR from 2024 to 2032, fueled by rising tourism, robust economic growth driving higher household spending on dining out and deliveries, and an influx of international restaurant brands bringing more variety and concepts. The market comprises full-service restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, food courts, coffee shops, bars, and ubiquitous hawker stalls, with full-service restaurants having the largest share, though growth is fastest in the café segment, which is seeing rapid expansion due to specialty coffee culture and artisanal fare. The market is quite fragmented, with a large number of outlets offering diverse food options. As of 2022, there were over 29,000 foodservice outlets in Singapore, including a wide range of establishments such as full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), cafes, food courts, and hawker centers. The QSR segment is particularly prominent, with notable chains like McDonald’s, Subway, and Starbucks having a strong presence. Major players include large local restaurant groups like TungLok, Les Amis, and Paradise Groups, which operate brands across segments alongside individual celebrity chef restaurants, as well as global QSR chains such as McDonalds, KFC, and Starbucks, which have significant reach. In addition, ubiquitous local coffee shop chains like Kopitiam and NTUC Foodfare, plus hawker centers, play a central role. Key trends shaping the market are pop-up concept dining experiences offering unique experiences, cloud kitchens optimized purely for deliveries, a rise in eco-friendly sustainability practices, increasing digitalization across the board for customer engagement and operational efficiency, and delivery aggregators like GrabFood and Deliveroo accounting for 15-20% of restaurant sales.
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Singapore has a rising middle and affluent class with high disposable incomes, fueling the dining-out culture and demand for both everyday and fine dining. Food and beverage spending is viewed increasingly as a lifestyle activity rather than a necessity. Across income segments, eating out is considered an important part of social and professional engagements.
Tourism Growth
Tourism numbers have expanded rapidly over the past decade. Singapore is now a global hub and draws over 19 million international visitors annually. Tourists contribute significantly to food service demand across dining segments. The tourism board has also promoted Singapore’s reputation as a vibrant Asian gastronomic destination.
Internationalization
The influx of expatriates and foreign workers in Singapore has boosted the demand for international cuisines. This has attracted international restaurant brands, which are expanding operations in Singapore to cater to this diverse market. Concurrently, Singaporean brands are also making their mark globally, demonstrating the international appeal of Singaporean cuisine.
Food delivery services
The rise of online delivery services like Deliveroo and GrabFood has revolutionized the food service industry. These platforms enable restaurants to extend their reach beyond traditional dine-in services, catering to the on-demand convenience and meal-ordering behaviors of younger demographics. Through these aggregators, even single outlets can achieve extensive reach and order volumes comparable to those of larger chains. Delivery services now account for a significant portion, approximately 15-20%, of the food service market’s sales.
Key Trends Shaping Singapore’s Food Service Industry:
Experiential Dining
Seeking novel experiences, consumers, especially millennials, are drawn to experimental restaurant concepts like themed restaurants, popup dining events, cooking theaters, and restaurants with interactive components. Examples include a ninja-themed cafe, a restaurant in an airplane, and a Healthy Crayfish hotpot restaurant with VR gaming while you eat.
The Rise of Online Dining Guides and Review Sites
Increasingly the first touchpoint for discovering and evaluating dining options, review sites like Burpple Beyond and HungryGoWhere allow consumers to easily access peers’ dining experiences and restaurants to build hype. Social recommendations also drive patronage, so restaurants invest in visual presentation and consistency.
Sustainability Awareness
Eco-consciousness is permeating the food service scene, from sourcing and production to disposal and waste management. More chefs are embracing the farm-to-table concept and highlighting provenance; people are bringing their own containers; and disposables like plastic straws have been banned. Initiatives like SG Food Rescue also tackle food waste.
Independent local chains
Smaller independent restaurant groups more in tune with local tastes are expanding through opening multiple outlets rather than traditional large-scale chain franchise models ill-fitting to Singapore’s dense geographic spread. Examples include the proliferation of casual Japanese Omakase venues like Fat Belly, Meatsmith western grill outlets, and For Good veggie spots.
Blurring Restaurant Formats
Restaurant formats are blurring, with casual concepts in upscale spaces, cocktail bars doubling up as cafes, and collaborations melding cuisines. Such restructuring caters to diverse patrons while allowing F&B players to maximize spaces, contain rental costs, and deploy staff and kitchens more efficiently amid rising costs and labor shortages.
Singapore Food Service Market Challenges and Restraint Factors
The Singapore food service market is also grappling with challenges and limitations. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the industry, leading to a steep decline in tourist arrivals and receipts due to global travel and movement restrictions and border closures. This downturn has been further exacerbated by dining restrictions and reduced restaurant capacities. Moreover, the market’s highly competitive and price-sensitive nature, particularly for certain products, poses additional hurdles. Exporters new to this market may struggle to comply with specific requirements and face significant time commitments for brand building. The relatively small size of the Singaporean food processing industry further limits the availability of locally sourced ingredients. Despite these obstacles, the market offers growth opportunities, driven by the increasing demand for efficient service and diverse menu offerings. Furthermore, the burgeoning rise of delivery services is enhancing their attractiveness for operators.
Opportunities
There’s a growing interest in innovative dining experiences, such as multi-sensory dining with elements like molecular mixology in cocktail bars, food theater, and the integration of interactive technologies like virtual reality gaming in restaurants.
Given Singapore’s dense office areas, there’s a lucrative market for caterers providing customizable menu options for corporate events and business meetings, tapping into the B2B sector.
Dedicated low-rental preparation centers for delivery meals are a promising opportunity, particularly since rents for customer-facing locations remain high. Cloud kitchens can thrive through orders from aggregator apps.
There’s potential in retail food sectors like artisanal bakeries, confectioneries, and specialty beverage outlets (specialty coffee, fruit juices, tea blends, craft beer, etc.). These businesses can benefit from specialty product markups while requiring less space and staff compared to full-service establishments.
With increasing commitment to eco-friendly practices, consulting firms specializing in environmental guidance can aid chains in reducing food waste, sustainable sourcing, green packaging, recycling management, converting cooking oil to biodiesel, and using water and energy-efficient equipment.
User-friendly online ordering platforms and integrated restaurant management solutions present opportunities to help food businesses manage their digital presence and delivery logistics using technology. White-label solutions also open B2B avenues.
Interesting Facts About the Singapore Food Service Market
In 2011, four Singaporean dishes were included in the list of ‘World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods (Readers’ Pick): Hainanese chicken rice (13th), chili crab (29th), Katong laksa (44th), and Roti prata (45th).
Singapore has six restaurants in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019.
The Singapore food service industry is highly competitive and can be very price-sensitive for certain products.
The total number of foodservice outlets increased to over 29,067 in 2022, a hike of around 800 outlets from 2019 to 2022.
The total number of orders reached 87,965 orders per year in 2022, which increased by around 40% from 2017 to 2022.
The Chinese made up 74.3% of the resident population in Singapore, followed by Malays at 13.5% and Indians at 9.0%.
The demand for online meal delivery has grown with the introduction of platforms like Grabfood, Deliveroo, and Foodpanda.
Singapore’s food culture is influenced by its diverse population, with the country’s Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations being the biggest influences.
Singapore boasts a well-established and fiercely competitive hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sector. However, this sector faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the impact was particularly severe, with visitor arrivals plummeting by 85 percent to a mere 2.7 million. Concurrently, tourism receipts experienced a steep decline, dropping by 78 percent to $3.7 billion.
In 2020, the United States ranked as Singapore’s fourth-largest supplier of consumer-oriented food and beverage products. Throughout the year, the total sales of these U.S. products in the Singaporean market reached $657 million USD. The leading U.S. exports to Singapore in this category comprised a variety of items, including dairy products, fresh fruits, processed vegetables, bakery goods, cereals and pasta, as well as poultry and beef products.
Competitive Analysis
The top key players in the Singapore food service market include:
DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited
Doctor’s Associates, Inc.
Hanbaobao Pte Ltd
QSR Brands (M) Holdings Sdn. Bhd.
Starbucks Corporation
Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts Holding
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd.
Jollibee Foods Corporation,
Nandos Chickenland Singapore Pte Ltd,
Paradise Group Holdings Pte Ltd,
Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Sakae Holdings Ltd.
Soup Restaurant Group Ltd.
Taster Food Pte Ltd.
These companies are prominent in the development and production of Singapore Food Services, and their competitive positioning is reflected in factors such as production, value, price, gross margin, and product portfolio. Their contributions play a significant role in shaping the global Singapore food service market.
Recent Developments
In May 2023, Starbucks opened a new store in Bird Paradise, featuring a unique rustic design reminiscent of a wooden hut.
In April 2023, Starbucks rolled out a limited-edition selection of food and beverages, introducing summer-themed drinks, treats, and sweets.
In April 2023, Taster Food Pte Ltd. launched its new Kit Kat Chocolate Lava buns, now available across all its stores in Singapore.
In August 2023, Domino’s Pizza Singapore launched a gourmet pizza series, incorporating premium ingredients and unique flavor combinations tailored to local tastes.
In November 2023, Toast Box Singapore debuted a new line of artisanal toast options featuring a variety of local spreads and toppings, catering to the evolving tastes of Singaporean consumers.
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What is the projected growth rate of Singapore’s food service industry from 2024-2032?
The Singapore food service industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5% from 2024 to 2032, building on its $20.7 billion valuation in 2023.
Why is the café sector in Singapore experiencing rapid growth?
The café sector in Singapore is undergoing rapid expansion due to increasing consumer interest in specialty coffee and artisanal food offerings.
How diverse is the food service market in Singapore?
Singapore’s food service market is highly diverse and fragmented, with over 29,000 outlets encompassing a wide range of food service styles, from full-service restaurants to quick-service eateries and cafes.
What are the main challenges and opportunities in Singapore’s food service industry?
While the industry faces challenges due to COVID-19 impacts and intense competition, significant opportunities are emerging from the growing demand for efficient service, diverse menus, and the increasing role of online platforms and delivery services.
About Author
Rajdeep Kumar Deb
Lead Analyst – Consumer & Finance
Rajdeep brings a decade of consumer goods and financial services insight to strategic market analysis.
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