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Tag: BreadTalk

  • BreadTalk launches cafe chain concept, Butter Bean

    BreadTalk launches cafe chain concept, Butter Bean

    BreadTalk is launching a cafe chain concept called Butter Bean in Singapore, with the first outlet opening at Funan Mall.

    Centred around the traditional Singaporean Nanyang coffee concept, Butter Bean offers a menu of coffee-based beverages and reimagined Singaporean dishes made without pork or lard, including toasts, baked goods, mains, and sandwiches.

    “We aim to present traditional Nanyang Coffee in an engaging manner that appeals to the younger generation’s evolving lifestyle,” said Vincent Lim, regional GM at BreadTalk Group. “Our outlets are also designed as a social space centered on good vibes, conversations and connection.”

    The Butter Bean at Funan Mall houses 45 seats and features yellow and marble interiors together with a ‘Cherry to Cup’ wall mural designed by 8EyedSpud. The store also offers contactless service where customers can order and pay by scanning a QR code.

    The first new Butter Bean opens this Friday (August 28), followed by a second store at Vivo City next month.

    According to Singapore blog Hook Coffee, Nanyang coffee, usually served at Kopitiams, is traditionally viewed as a cheaper variety of coffee beans because when the coffee scene took off, not everyone had money to buy ‘the good stuff’. People would add palm oil, butter, margarine and/or sugar into the coffee to enhance the flavor.

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  • BreadTalk delisted after privatisation plan finalized

    BreadTalk delisted after privatisation plan finalized

    Singaporean bakery and restaurant operator BreadTalk is to be delisted from the Singapore stock exchange tomorrow (June 5) following its mandatory acquisition by BTG Holding.

    The firm applied to delist from the exchange following the suspension of trading on April 21. The new owning entity is owned by BreadTalk’s founder George Quek and his wife, along with Thai food & hospitality firm Minor International.

    The group’s stakeholders offered to acquire all the ordinary shares in the firm and delist the company in February. At the time, Minor and Quek said they planned to undertake a review of the business following its delisting with a view to streamlining business activities, refocusing on and strengthening core business activities and exploring the potential disposal of non-core property assets.

    BreadTalk filed losses of US$4.1 million last year and was struggling financially long before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, which worsened matters.

    The firm’s business “remains challenging across key markets, including Singapore, China and Hong Kong,” according to official filings submitted by the firm.

  • BreadTalk Group to be privatised by founder and Minor International

    BreadTalk Group to be privatised by founder and Minor International

    A small group of key Breadtalk Group stakeholders, including founder and chairman Dr George Quek, have offered to acquire all the ordinary shares in the firm and delist the company.

    The group, including Quek’s wife Katherine Lee and existing shareholder Minor International, has formed a new company BTG Holding Company which aims to buy all the shares in Singapore-listed BreadTalk which has just posted a US$3.7 million loss for the year.

    Minor International is a Thai-based multinational food & beverage and hotel operator, whose food businesses include The Coffee Club, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and franchises in some markets for Bonchon and Burger King.

    The new company will be 74.9-per-cent owned by Dr Quek and related parties and 25.1-per-cent owned by Minor.

    Mint and Quek say they plan to undertake a review of the business following its delisting with a view to streamlining such business activities, refocus on and strengthen core business activities and explore the potential disposal of non-core property assets.

    Poor performances in China and Thailand have been implicated in the firm’s losses, as has the effect of social unrest on its businesses in Hong Kong. The current coronavirus outbreak is expected to continue to affect operations going forward.

    BreadTalk Group operates established food brands, including BreadTalk, Toast Box, Food Republic and Din Tai Fung, together numbering more than 1000 outlets.

    “I believe in the growth potential of the BreadTalk brands, building on today’s solid network of outlets and underpinned by Asia’s continued rise in household income,” said Quek.

    Group CEO of Minor International, Dillip Rajakarier,  said hsi company has invested in BreadTalk Group since 2012 because it believes in the brands and the company’s potential. “Today, we are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Dr George Quek. With BreadTalk Group’s strong brand recognition, market knowledge of Singapore and China and expertise in the food industry, we have a strong growth platform.”

    The offer is being made under expectations that privatization will allow greater flexibility, as well as ease of management, with significant funding saved on maintenance costs involved with remaining a listed firm. It will only go ahead if acceptances are received for 90 percent of the shares by the time the offer closes, but given Quek and Minor between them currently hold 70.5 percent of the shares, acceptance would seem to be a formality.

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  • BreadTalk Group to buy Food Junction

    BreadTalk Group to buy Food Junction

    Listed Singapore food-and-beverage company BreadTalk Group is to buy foodcourt operator Food Junction Management (FJM).

    A subsidiary of BreadTalk, Topwin Investment, has signed a sale and purchase agreement to pay S$80 million for FJM, which operates 12 foodcourts in Singapore and three in Malaysia. A fourth is on track to open next year at The Mall in Johor Bahru.

    BreadTalk Group sees synergies between the FJM business and its own foodcourt operations – it owns Food Republic and Food Opera-branded sites in Singapore, Greater China, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. The combined operation could share support services and rationalise supply arrangements.

    FJM is owned by Singapore investment company Auric Pacific Group Limited.

  • BreadTalk Group CEO Resigns

    BreadTalk Group CEO Resigns

    BreadTalk Group CEO Henry Chu has resigned, citing “personal and health reasons”.

    Chu will depart from the helm of the Singapore-headquartered pan-Asian bakery and restaurant business at the year’s end. He will be temporarily replaced by company founder Dr George Quek until a new head is appointed from either within or outside the firm.

    “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Henry for working tirelessly with the senior management team to maximise growth opportunities and successfully diversify our portfolio of brands in the last 2.5 years,” said Quek in a statement.

    BreadTalk entered significant partnerships with Wu Pao Chun Bakery and Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, and expanded into London and Cambodia under Chu’s lead.

    The change comes as BreadTalk faces declining revenue largely brought on by heavy competition. It operates almost 1000 outlets globally.

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  • BreadTalk Group Profit Down

    BreadTalk Group Profit Down

    Expansion-related costs saw Singapore-listed BreadTalk Group’s quarterly profit more than halve despite rising sales.

    According to a stock-exchange filing, net profit was down by 57.9 percent to S$1.02 million for the June quarter, but sales rose 9.8 percent to $163.3 million.

    Besides its namesake brand of bakeries, BreadTalk’s portfolio includes Toast Box, Food Republic, and The Icing Room, along with a host of franchises including Din Tai Fung, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh and Wu Pao Chun Bakery.

    Net profit for the half-year was down 35.3 percent at $2.34 on sales up 7.9 percent to $321 million.

    The higher costs are believed to relate to expansion into the UK as well as set-up costs for new Din Tai Fung outlets.

    Sales rose in the core bakery and food-court divisions, however, those gains were eroded by higher distribution and selling costs. The bakery division, which accounts for about two-thirds of BreadTalk’s sales, posted a loss over the half-year on a pre-tax basis.

    This was mitigated by strong performances of the food courts, especially in Hong Kong and Mainland China, where profits rose by 23.8 percent, thanks largely to low vacancy rates.

    BreadTalk is on track to open its first Song Fa Bak Kut Teh outlet in Taiwan later this year and plans to open more eateries in Thailand and Singapore. It will also continue to roll out new food courts, focusing on Greater China and Cambodia.

    “Efforts to turnaround the bakery business, particularly in China and Thailand, remain underway, while we continue to build on the strong performance of the business in Singapore,” the company said in its filing.

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  • Wu Pao Chun Bakery outlet opens in Singapore

    Wu Pao Chun Bakery outlet opens in Singapore

    Taiwanese bakery Wu Pao Chun has opened first Singapore outlet, at Capitol Piazza.

    Operated by a joint venture between BreadTalk Group and Wu Pao Chun, the bakery imports the same ingredients from its home base and sells around 60 products, including more than 10 regionally inspired new flavours, such as Coffee-C, Hainanese Chicken Fun, green curry bun Sawadee, tom-yum flavoured bun TomYummy, and kaya-filled soft French bun Kaya Kebaya.

    The Singapore store’s baking staff had to undergo six months of professional training in Taiwan.

    “Through my team’s close collaboration with BreadTalk Group’s research and development team, we created new flavours to pay tribute to Singapore’s vibrant hawker-food culture,” said Wu Pao Chun.

    “Coupled with BreadTalk Group’s strengths in brand development and store expansion, I believe that we can complement each other perfectly, to create a winning formula to bring the authentic Wu Pao Chun Bakery experience to consumers in Singapore,” said George Quek, founder and chairman of BreadTalk.

    The partnership opened two outlets in Shanghai last March.

    Operated by a joint venture between BreadTalk Group and Wu Pao Chun, the bakery imports the same ingredients from its home base and sells around 60 products, including more than 10 regionally inspired new flavours, such as Coffee-C, Hainanese Chicken Fun, green curry bun Sawadee, tom-yum flavoured bun TomYummy, and kaya-filled soft French bun Kaya Kebaya.

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  • Thailand acquisition boosts BreadTalk Turn Over

    Thailand acquisition boosts BreadTalk Turn Over

    Singapore’s BreadTalk Group has reported a year-on-year revenue increase of 6.1 percent to S$157.6 million (US$115.56 million) for its first financial quarter this year.

    The group’s net profit increased by 11.5 percent to $1.3 million over the period. Sales at BreadTalk’s bakery division rose 2.3 percent to $72 million ($52.8 million) during the first quarter with the consolidation of revenue from its Thailand bakery business, following the acquisition of the 50 percent interest in BTM from Minor Food Group. Excluding that, revenue would have been lower by 5.7 percent year on year, due to lower revenue from the directly operated stores in Beijing and the franchise business in China, partly offset by stronger revenue by the directly operated Singapore stores.

    The consolidation of the Thailand business added 47 BreadTalk outlets to the group’s direct operated store count.

    “Last year was a year of milestones for us,” said group CEO Henry Chu. “We expanded into new markets such as London with Din Tai Fung and brought our joint-venture partners Song Fa Holdings and Wu Pao Chun Food into strategic markets such as China and Singapore respectively.“With the new partnerships, we laid the foundations to diversify our business portfolio so as to achieve sustainable growth for the group.

    In addition, we embarked on efforts to increase our central kitchen production facilities in China and Thailand. The 6.1 percent increase in group revenue show that these efforts are starting to pay off,” he said.

    “Looking forward, we will continue to strengthen our presence of existing brands in key markets. We will continue to develop in talent development and the setup of our third regional office in Bangkok as we position ourselves for growth in Thailand and greater Mekong-region markets.”

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  • BreadTalk buys out Thai partner

    BreadTalk buys out Thai partner

    Minor Group has sold its half share in BreadTalk Thailand to the bakery’s Singapore-listed owner.

    BreadTalk paid US$5.15 million for the stake, which Minor Group is expected to use to expand its other food and beverage brands in the kingdom, including The Coffee Club.

    The BreadTalk Thailand joint venture, called BTM Thailand, was set up in 2014.

    Minor Group’s other brands in Southeast Asia include ThaiExpress, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Swensens and the Pizza Restaurant Company.

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  • BreadTalk buys out joint venture partner in Thailand

    BreadTalk buys out joint venture partner in Thailand

    Minor Group has sold its half share in BreadTalk Thailand to the bakery’s Singapore-listed owner. According to the Straits Times, BreadTalk paid US$5.15 million for the stake, which Minor Group is expected to use to expand its other food and beverage brands in the kingdom, including The Coffee Club.   The BreadTalk Thailand joint venture, called BTM Thailand, was set up in 2014.

    Minor Group’s other brands in Southeast Asia include ThaiExpress, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Swensens and the Pizza Restaurant Company.

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  • BreadTalk, Song Fa JV launch first Beijing restaurant

    BreadTalk, Song Fa JV launch first Beijing restaurant

    BreadTalk and Song Fa have launched their first restaurant in northern China at Beijing’s APM Mall. Saturday’s opening follows the successful launch of the first Song Fa restaurant in Shanghai Jing An Kerry Center in January last year, where it averaged RMB1 million (US$145,570) in monthly sales. It is the fourth restaurant opened following the signing of the joint-venture agreement between BreadTalk and Song Fa Holdings in July 2017.

    The restaurant is located on level 5 of the mall, featuring a spacious interior accommodating close to 100 diners with Nanyang nostalgia decor and contemporary seating.

    “Since the opening of our first Song Fa outlet in Shanghai last year, we were encouraged and overwhelmed by the positive response from consumers in China,” said BreadTalk Group CEO Henry Chu. “This vote of confidence enabled us to open another three restaurants successfully in Shanghai last year.

    With the opening of our first restaurant in Beijing, we will continue to harness and leverage BreadTalk Group’s brand operations and management experience to bring the Song Fa brand to northern China and provide local consumers with high quality Teochew Bak Kut Teh cuisine.”

    “The Bak Kut Teh culture is one of the most iconic food cultures of Singapore,” added Song Fa’s second-generation helmsman and MD Yeo Hart Pong. “It is Song Fa’s mission to spread this culture and continue to serve generations of Bak Kut Teh fans. Besides our Singapore homeground and Indonesia, China is our most-valued market outside Southeast Asia. We feel very honoured to be able to collaborate with BreadTalk Group and introduce the Teochew Bak Kut Teh culture to epicures in China.”

  • China’s cheese tea bakery Nayuki opens in Singapore

    China’s cheese tea bakery Nayuki opens in Singapore

    The cheese tea bakery, which draws inspiration from the Japanese philosophy of ‘Kaizen’ (a dedication to continuous improvement), opened to Singapore shoppers on December 8. Marking its debut international store opening, Nayuki has teamed up in a joint venture with BreadTalk Group for its officially opening in Vivocity.

    Vivocity store has been designed to reflect Nayuki’s philosophy: sophisticated and comfortable with seating and premium ingredients such as fresh fruit and tealeaves.

    “When it comes to shop design, we work with different designers, artists and some influential KOLs [key opinion leaders],” Peng Xin, Nayuki’s co-founder said in an interview.

    Singaporeans can now enjoy Nayuki’s signature “fruit tea and soft euro bread pairing” concept featuring the famous Supreme Cheese Strawberry tea and Strawberry fresh cream bread combo.

    In addition to the café’s breads and teas, the outlet also stocks cold brew teas, as well as selling an exclusive edition of its award-winning Alisan Mountain Dew Tea.

    Founded in Shenzhen, Nayuki was launched in 2015 from an appreciation of tea-drinking culture, something that has been known to China for centuries.

    To keep the tradition alive among the younger generation, Nayuki seeks to make tea drinking appealing through a stylish and modern tea concept, and effectively retailing it to millennials.

    And it’s proven successful. With over 100 stores across China across some 13 citie, Nayuki has garnered a cult following with celebrities and international lifestyle brands alike opting to partner with it.

    China is the largest market for tea drinking globally, with 13% of the world’s consumption taking place in China, according to Euromonitor. However, teeing up with BreadTalk Group and entering Singapore is the next step forward in global expansion, according to Peng.

    “Singapore is an important market. We chose Singapore to learn how to meet international standards – and then we can go global,” said Peng.

    Founded in 2000, the BreadTalk Group Limited is a Singaporean multinational food and beverage corporation headquartered in Paya Lebar, Singapore.

     

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  • BreadTalk to open 1st Din Tai Fung restaurant in London by end-2018

    BreadTalk to open 1st Din Tai Fung restaurant in London by end-2018

    Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung has opened in Covent Garden, London. The new 8000sqft Din Tai Fung London eatery is the franchise’s 153rd globally, and is the first of at least two outlets planned for the city. A second store is planned for Centre Point next year.

    The Din Tai Fung London store has been launched by Taster Food UK in partnership with Singapore-based BreadTalk Group.

    BreadTalk Group CEO Henry Chu said: “The group will leverage on our experience of operating Din Tai Fung in Singapore and Thailand, and the strength of our overseas partners to continue the tradition of delivering an authentic Taiwanese dining experience to Londoners.”

    Brand founder and chairman George Quek commented that there is potential to open 20 Din Tai Fung outlets in Britain, serving as a starting point for further expansion into Europe.

    Din Tai Fung has already opened in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, the US and the UAE. It was recognised by the New York Times in 1993 as one of the world’s top 10 restaurants.

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  • Cheese tea bakery cafe Nayuki launches debut store in Singapore

    Cheese tea bakery cafe Nayuki launches debut store in Singapore

    Chinese tea bakery Cheese Tea Bakery Nayuki has launched its first overseas store at VivoCity. The popular brand, credited as a forerunner in pairing fruit teas with soft European-style bread items, is offering a one-for-one promotion to celebrate the opening. A wave of similar businesses has emerged within China and throughout the region following the brand’s business model.

    Cheese Tea Bakery Nayuki is entering the Singaporean market under a joint venture agreement with local bakery franchise BreadTalk Group.

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  • BreadTalk Opens New Concept Store In KL

    BreadTalk Opens New Concept Store In KL

    Boutique bakery franchise BreadTalk Malaysia has opened a new concept store in Kuala Lumpur’s Avenue K Shopping Mall. The new outlet is situated opposite the KLCC LRT station and is offering a promotional tote bag to early customers spending more than RM20. It opens from 8 am to 10 pm daily.

    BreadTalk Malaysia is preparing to launch several more concept stores in other Kuala Lumpur locations, including KLIA2, before opening a flagship at Star Boulevard on Jalan Yap Kwan Seng next year.

    The Singaporean brand has spread throughout Asia and the Middle East since opening in 2000, basing its products on premium ingredients such as Japanese-milled flour and New Zealand butter.