This NTU grad created S’pore’s first brownie-cookie snack – earned over S$150K in a year
Daniel Lam had graduated with an accounting degree from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2012. After graduation, he set foot into the corporate world, ready to dive headfirst into the auditing and banking industries.
He spent slightly over a year in Thailand, where he first discovered a passion and interest for a career in entrepreneurship and the F&B industry.
During his time there back in 2015, Daniel got a taste of running a business when he decided to help his friend in expanding his brownie bakery business.
“The sense of accomplishment in successfully helping him to set up a store in a large mall and exporting overseas was the beginning of my curiosity in running a business,” said Daniel.
After returning to Singapore after a wonderful adventure, Daniel spent a few more years working in the corporate world until he could not shake the feeling of curiosity and accomplishment he felt during his time in Thailand.
“The experience and excitement of making a business work never faded and adding on to the feeling of being trapped in a never-ending corporate rat race was the reason why I decided to take a leap of faith in 2019,” said the 32-year-old.
He went on to tender his resignation and forego his six-figure annual salary to start up his very own snack company, Dan’s Bites.
The business idea was simple — he wanted to create a unique and exciting gourmet snack that was not already available in Singapore. That was it however, and Daniel admitted that he might have needed to plan more seriously before making the bold move to simply quit his corporate job.
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How they managed to hit six figures despite Covid-19
In the early days, Dan’s Bites were fraught with many challenges, trials and errors. The snack company eventually picked up its pace, learned, improvised and evolved from the hurdles faced.
Since it was an unknown brand in the market, Daniel resorted to selling his products at roadshows and events such as Carouselland, Orchard Road Christmas Market and many other corporate events.
It was a good strategy to begin with, but the snack company soon realised that the strategy was not going to be ideal in the long run. When Covid-19 hit, events came to a standstill and they were forced to establish online presence.
A thorough plan was set in place by Daniel, which included upgrading their website, allocating more resources into digital marketing and advertising, as well as partnering with more e-commerce platforms and partners.
Today, Dan’s Bites is available on most major e-commerce platforms such Redmart, FairPrice Online, Shopee Supermarket and Gourmet Supermarket chains.
Although they were new to the market, Dan’s Bites had a way with its consumers. By analysing the consumer market, Dan’s Bites was able to keep themselves abreast of the latest consumer spending behaviour. Hence, when Covid-19 emerged, they were quick to acknowledge the surging gifting trend.
Dan’s Bites grabbed this opportunity to launch their gift boxes, festive boxes and customised gift pack service, which garnered the right attention from consumers and corporates.
Besides seizing opportunities and understanding the consumer market, Dan’s Bites placed more attention towards the market segment.
By allocating more marketing resources targeted at corporate consumers and partnering with large B2B platforms, Dan’s Bites was able to shift from the B2C market segment. A large sum of orders was carried out from government agencies, hotels, MNCs and more.
“These quick shifts in our business strategy and focus eventually helped us in scaling up more efficiently and effectively, thus leading to better revenues compared to pre-Covid,” said Daniel.
Although it had a slow start in 2019 due to lack of awareness and the pandemic, it gained enough traction to hit the six-figure benchmark with earnings of more than S$150,000. At the same time, it managed to break even and gained back its initial investment, all within a year.
Cruising through 2021, Dan’s Bites is optimistic in reaching the six-figure revenue mark again, with the help of large orders coming in from the corporate world and the increasing point of sales.
When brownies meet cookies
Dan’s Bites takes pride in being the first brand to launch a brownie-cookie concept in Singapore. Taking the taste buds of local consumers into consideration, Daniel created an exclusive milk tea flavour Brownie Crisp, specially formulated for the Singapore market.
The Brownie Crisp is made from imported Belgian dark chocolate and actual milk tea, thus producing a much greater flavour intensity.
Instead of using automated machines, Dan’s Bites makes use of manual labour to produce the snacks in order to provide that extra edge in terms of taste and texture.
Besides being the first brand to launch a brownie-cookie concept, Dan’s Bites also takes pride in ensuring their snacks are a healthier option compared to other snacks in the market.
Due to Covid-19, many consumers have become health conscious and would prefer it if their snacks did not contain preservatives, added sugar, artificial flavourings, is trans-fat-free and vegetarian friendly — all of which is taken into consideration by Dan’s Bites.
Daniel also realised that consumers also prefer if their snacks were non-perishable. During his stay in Thailand, Daniel found that although consumers were fairly satisfied with the fresh brownies produced, they wished for it to be non-perishable.
Daniel decided that he needed to find a solution to this problem if he was ever to going to launch Dan’s Bites.
“I started seeking around for ideas locally and regionally that can be used as inspirations. I have always believed in the notion of being innovative is equally as important as being creative,” said Daniel.
He went on to collaborate with his friend from Thailand and together they experimented with the concept of combining brownies and cookies together. Through trial and error, the creation of Brownie Crisp was finally developed.
Thanks to its long perishable period, it can be enjoyed over a long period of time.
All in all, it took Dan’s Bites a total of six months to develop the product.
Daniel also finds achievement in the smallest of things, such as receiving positive feedback and reviews, acknowledging returning consumers, and receiving export orders to Hong Kong and Indonesia in 2020.
This “serves as an approval and acknowledgement of what I have been enjoying doing so far,” he quipped.
Turning a crisis into an opportunity
“Even though it (has been) only a short journey so far, there are definitely no shortages of challenges for us,” said Daniel.
The set of challenges faced by Dan’s Bites include selling at roadshows without much marketing budget and resources. They were the best alternatives to mass market the brand without a huge cost and to be able to generate cash flow that could be used to pump back into the business.
Besides roadshows struggles, Daniel also faced the challenge of dealing with the day-to-day management hustle, covering event operations such as setting up events and retail selling consecutively. His day is long on most days — he would wake up at seven in the morning, and end work as late as midnight.
As soon as the business gained traction, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and Daniel was forced to shift his focus online to boost sales.
“It was quite nerve wrecking and it hit us pretty hard as we were relying substantially on roadshows and events to generate enough cashflow in order to sustain the business,” said Daniel.
In the span of a few months, Dan’s Bites launched an enhanced website that provided seamless consumer experience, and resources were allocated for digital marketing and advertising. This includes the setting up of social media platforms, Facebook livestreams, and the expansion of online channels to multiple e-commerce platforms.
Despite being a small local business, Dan’s Bites was constant in pushing themselves in growing and adapting, identifying niche trends and seeking to fulfil the latest consumer preferences in order to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of the curve.
Their hard work eventually paid off and Dan’s Bites has managed to generate better revenues ever since. This is all due to the timely strategic shift of focus and allocation of resources.
Moving forward, Dan’s Bites intends to launch its Brownie Crisp in smaller packaging sizes and expand its selection of product flavours to include Red Velvet and Nasi Lemak.
As the world prepares itself for the post-Covid life, Dan’s Bites is paving the path for the expansion of its brand across the overseas market particularly within the Asean region. It’s currently eyeing Malaysia, as the brand is already in midst of initial discussions with potential local partners.
One thing that Daniel has learnt from his journey of leaving the corporate world and starting his own business is that there will always be ups and downs. However, “nothing beats hard work,” he stressed.
“As the saying goes, there is an opportunity in every crisis”. He believes that it is up to an individual to turn any obstacles faced into opportunities and keep moving forward.
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Featured Image Credit: Dan’s Bites
Also Read: Chokmah: How this ex-flight attendant is revolutionising S’pore’s craft scene with jesmonite
Chokmah: How this ex-flight attendant is revolutionising S’pore’s craft scene with jesmonite
As with any major global event, there are a few emerging trends that quickly become symbolic timestamps. While low-rise jeans and overly-plucked eyebrows marked the ’00s, it can be said that banana bread and crafting are emblematic of the pandemic.
In the height of the lockdown, Singapore experienced a crafting renaissance of sorts. With grounded planes cancelling most travel plans, many sought out crafting as a means of escape.
However, not all crafting workshops are created equal — besides making earrings from polymer clay, it seems like the jesmonite workshops have thoroughly enamoured us.
We spoke to the doyenne of jesmonite workshops, Joyce Orallo Lim, on how she started her business Chokmah during the height of the pandemic to grow into what it is today.
How it started
I settled down to speak to Joyce via Zoom, and the newly-minted mother of two is everything you’d expect a crafter to be — warm, coupled with an infectious laugh, and an eagerness to share all about her life’s work.
Joyce has always had an affinity for the arts, but not in the way one might think. While the other children pored over colouring books, Joyce spent her early days scribbling over her dad’s floor plans.
“My dad is an architect. Other children would do colouring books, but for me, I grew up on his floor plans. I cannot forget those days, drawing and drawing on his floor plans”, she reminisced.
Those wonderfully endless afternoons had a lasting impact on Joyce on her journey to Chokmah.
As a young flight attendant with pockets of empty time and a love for the arts, Joyce made her first foray into the crafting scene with polymer clay earrings. It is a fun and pretty endeavour, but one with a huge amount of leftover scrap and other issues that didn’t sit well with Joyce.
“When we create jewellery with polymer clay, there will be a lot of leftovers because we don’t really need to use all of it. I can’t really use it. Especially after running workshops, all those leftovers can accumulate a lot, by the kilogram.”
“Then, I realised it wasn’t eco-friendly or safe for the environment and humans. When you bake it, some fumes come out from it. It’s also not biodegradable and things like that.”
It might seem like an inconsequential problem to have bits of remaining clay from one session of earring making, but multiply that across all the workshops that are conducted, you get left with quite a lot of clay. This excess of unusable polymer clay served as the main catalyst for Joyce to look for alternatives that aligned with her values.
“That’s when I told myself as a crafter, I want to start working on something friendlier to the environment. Something that has low to no wastage,” she added.
A plunge into the depths of the internet of eco-friendly materials, and she came across jesmonite.
That’s when I researched different materials and I came upon the material jesmonite. I was really looking for eco-friendly, sustainable material as a craft. I just did my research. That’s when I started studying the material (and learnt) how eco-friendly it was.
– Joyce Orallo Lim, founder of Chokmah
Jesmonite crowned the material of year
Jesmonite is an acrylic resin that’s used for architectural purposes — think buildings and large-scale sculptures.
One might say it’s kismet, with Joyce’s early childhood tied to architecture and her finding a material that ticks all the boxes.
Having little to zero waste is not just a buzzword for the times; it’s a cause that Joyce is wholly committed to. The moulds that she pours the jesmonite into are made with silicone, a durable material with a long shelf life.
“Even the leftover bits, we can use it and make it into terrazzo patterns. We can just use and reuse those surplus materials”, Joyce explained.
Jesmonite has this magical quality of being able to be seamlessly reused — broken shards just become funky designs for the next piece.
“Even if it breaks, we can recast it. We can recreate another beautiful design for it. We don’t have to use any glue. Just use jesmonite again, cast it, and it comes out beautifully,” she added.
Jesmonite is a hardy material, but if you do break it, all you need is more jesmonite and cast it in the same mould.
On top of that, jesmonite is also non-toxic. There are no fumes when used, and it’s safe for the skin. It was even named material of the year at the London Design Fair in 2017.
The early beginnings of Chokmah
Chokmah was borne out of a time when we needed crafting the most — a pandemic baby if you will. In the thick of the circuit breaker, that was when Chokmah pivoted to selling DIY kits online so customers can have the workshop experience from home.
Still, it was a particularly challenging time since the awareness and use of jesmonite was relatively unknown. With shipping delays, there was a significant lack of jesmonite available on hand.
To spread the gospel of jesmonite, Joyce did it the only way she knew how: workshops.
It’s relatively new in the scene. We have to educate people. The best way to do it is to run workshops. We have workshops for thousands of students, teachers from Laselle, architects and interior designers. It’s very encouraging to see the materials being learned through Chokmah.
– Joyce Orallo Lim, founder of Chokmah
A Laselle alum herself, it was heartening to see so many people warm up to the idea of jesmonite and appreciate the material’s unique qualities. Plus, with people quickly running out of activities in Singapore, crafting workshops was the salve for quick weekend getaways to Bali of yesteryear.
Joyce attributes the success of these workshops to how much the pandemic has taken away our need for human connection.
“When you come for a workshop, there is so much interaction going on. We don’t have to be near each other, but just us talking to one another, interacting and enjoying each other’s company and motivating one another.”
The positive effects of going to a workshop are palpable. “People come out really refreshed, knowing that they have created something and interacted with another person. I think that’s what happened during the pandemic,” she continued.
The sole distributor of jesmonite in SEA: Casting Co.
Starting a business, especially a crafting one in Singapore, is no easy feat. One of the main roadblocks that Chokmah faced was the difficulty of getting jesmonite in Singapore.
I didn’t have any material to work with. Jesmonite is from the United Kingdom and we couldn’t find it in Singapore. That’s when I told myself (that) since I’m going to work with it, I (might as well) start another company. It’s called Casting Co., and it will be the distributor of jesmonite so I can bring it in bulk and share the joy of using jesmonite.
– Joyce Orallo Lim, founder of Chokmah
An ingenious solution to the problem now, Casting Co is the official distributor of jesmonite in Southeast Asia. One might think that setting up a business to be the sole distributor of jesmonite might be a money grab, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We don’t charge a high fee for that. If you compare the prices from the UK, there’s not a lot of difference. It’s quite affordable. It’s just to share the love of jesmonite”, Joyce affirmed.
A slice of the crafting pie
Joyce’s love for jesmonite has turned her students into budding entrepreneurs. With many of them starting their own workshops, I ask Joyce if that is an unwelcome addition to the overly saturated market. She laughs and tells me her students think the same thing.
“I always tell them creativity and talent is something that can never be copied. So you know, I tell them to never stop creating. Creativity takes a lot of courage”, said Joyce.
The fact that her workshops have spurred her students to start their own businesses have emboldened Joyce’s purpose even more. All the mushrooming workshops signal to Joyce that there is value in what Chokmah teaches and advocates for.
Even when it comes to other crafters of different mediums, Joyce sees them as collaborators and that everyone can have a slice of the crafting pie. For an industry that is notorious for being cut-throat, Joyce’s ethos is uplifting indeed.
“It’s a friendly competition. At the same time, when we collaborate, we learn different kinds of knowledge, and that is where our creativity grows. This also gives variety to our consumers. This way, we don’t do the same thing over and over. We create better designs together.”
At the end of it, Joyce is more focused on her purpose of sustainability and her drive to create. “This is just a small part of me in my crafting career to save the earth and save humans as well.”
Featured Image Credit: Chokmah
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Also Read: How this 3-year-old astrology, tarot reading S’pore startup grew to 180K consultations/mth
Behind this Ipoh patisserie is a 27 Y/O chef with experience in Michelin-starred kitchens
At just 27 years old, Ann has tasted world-class desserts while travelling. But she’s never been just a traveller, as she’s worked as a pastry chef in a handful of Michelin star restaurants overseas, from Paris to Singapore.
“I had this urge in me wishing Ipoh had the same [kinds of desserts], and that locals wouldn’t need to go all the way to a 5-star hotel in KL or travel across the globe,” pondered Ann.
“Ipoh is my roots, my hometown, and no matter where I go, it will always be home. So if I were to start my own venture to share my passion for pastries, I’d have to share it with my family first, [who are] Ipoh-rians.”
So in 2019, Ann launched her own French pastry shop, être Patisserie (être) in her hometown of Ipoh.
Influenced by mum
Baking was a hobby for Ann since her childhood, influenced by her mother who often made classic butter cakes. Her passion in baking only started getting serious when she returned to Ipoh after her pre-university programme in KL.
To kill time while waiting for her university placement in the UK, she launched a small online bakery called Ann’s Wonderbar which quickly gained supporters. Though her pastry skills were self-taught at the time, she soon began supplying her goods to cafes in Ipoh too.
It was during this venture where Ann realised that if she was given one chance to choose her future career path, she wanted to ensure that it was something she had a passion for.
“So I thought to myself, why not pastry? I took a leap of faith and flew to Paris alone, without knowing how to speak their language and what to expect,” Ann shared with Vulcan Post.
The aspiring pastry chef enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu, Paris in 2014 and started her stagiaire (internship) at Pierre Hermé Paris. Shortly after, Ann worked at a 3 Michelin star restaurant, Alain Ducasse Paris.
As her visa expired, she moved to Singapore and worked at the 2 Michelin star Atelier de Joel Robuchon and subsequently, its 3 Michelin star restaurant Joel Robuchon in 2016.
In 2018, Ann travelled in and out of Shanghai and Suzhou as a pastry consultant at the Pastry Shop Project. Finally, she permanently returned home to Ipoh in 2019 to start être.
Creating desserts of her own
Every piece of être’s pastries starts with an idea, and to the 27-year-old, inspiration can come from anywhere. From world-class chefs to her surroundings, nature, art exhibitions, and even her emotions.
But to create a dessert, she must source ingredients that are often seasonal. If there’s a certain ingredient Ann finds interesting but has yet to understand its place in French pastries, R&D is conducted to test its flavour profile and pairings to complement the ingredient.
For her Mid-Autumn festival offering for example, Ann was faced with a challenge in balancing French and Chinese flavours in her mooncakes.
Plenty of trial and error was taken on by être’s 12-person team before they landed on their French and croissant mooncakes. They carried flavours like Golden Salted Egg, Oolong Lychee, and Black Sesame Azuki.
After determining a pastry’s flavours, Ann would conceptualise the presentation of the desert by sketching it out on paper. “I focus on 4 main things, texture, flavours, visual enjoyment, and emotions,” shared the chef.
It’s likely that the visual appeal of her mooncakes paid off, as être was able to sell over 500 boxes of their mooncakes during the season, where deliveries were even made to KL.
Apart from the unique mooncakes, Ann does hold one creation dear to her heart.
One creation that I will always be proud of would be the Hometown Tart, it is a coffee tart made out of Ipoh White coffee. It consists of 5 different layers of coffee cream. As you indulge into it, it presents you with a different layer of bitterness, sweetness and saltiness. Just like life.
Ann Lee, founder and Executive Chef of être Patisserie.
Balancing business and baking
Being a pastry chef and a business person are two worlds apart, and Ann described her biggest challenge being the juggle of kitchen work and managing her company.
There were times guilt would hit her for not being in the kitchen with her team as she went through the company’s paperwork and planned for expansion. However, she’s grateful that her team has been reliable, claiming they’re the best team she could’ve asked for.
“Every milestone that the company has achieved, I owe it to my parents and my team. I understand that I am leading a team that is counting on me, and that gave me courage to push through the circumstances,” stated Ann.
As KL and Selangor tend to be the hub of F&B experiences, Ann shared that she’s definitely planning to open another branch of être there when the time is right. In the meantime, être is set to open a second outlet by the end of this year.
Although être was able to deliver their mooncakes to KL, shipping her pastries interstate will only be available for seasonal items.
This is because the team is adamant on the pastries being delivered in their best state. Hence, once the pastries reach KL, the team will be present on-site to make the finishing touches before being delivered to customers.
Sentimentally strategic
être isn’t the only patisserie for French pastries in Ipoh, but it is certainly an option amongst a handful (and I literally mean you could count them on one hand) of patisseries in that state.
While Ann’s intentions for starting être in Ipoh has sentimental value, it’s undeniably a strategic decision to open up in a less crowded space where locals lack options for French desserts. The business may even be able to leverage tourist traffic once it’s safe again, as être’s picturesque pastries would be attractive enough to try at least once, if not just for the ‘gram.
If she can continue to build être’s brand presence online, it could make things easier for her once she decides to expand to KL, as she would already have amassed a following from the area and other nearby states.
Also Read: Alibaba Cloud was a star player behind the scenes in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, here’s how
Featured Image Credit: Ann Lee, founder and Executive Chef of être Patisserie
Customer data is power, and these M’sians are putting it back in the hands of brands
[Written in partnership with MaGIC, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
For many businesses in the service industry, regardless of sector, being able to retain loyal customers is one way to analyse the longevity of a brand, and more.
In their careers, Jared Khoo and Jason Chew had identified a similar pattern: most brands are unable to drive customer engagement effectively.
To provide context, Jared is an experienced creative design lead in an advertising agency while Jason is a digital transformation specialist with extensive experience in crafting lifestyle privileges reward programmes for local banks and telcos.
After working on multiple agency projects together to help different businesses bolster their digital efforts, they believed that they had come up with a proven solution.
It was enough for them to take the plunge and establish a SaaS startup which came to be known as HeyOmni in September 2020.
Putting power back in the hands of brands
HeyOmni aims to help brands effectively foster long-lasting brand loyalty by putting data ownership back in the hands of brands.
“Using a real case study for example, an F&B client of ours is on several third-party platforms such as GrabFood and foodpanda to extend their customer reach,” Jared and Jason shared.
“However, they are at the mercy of the platforms because they would lose access to these customers considering that they do not have direct engagement with the users.”
In contrast, HeyOmni enables brands to convert end-users into members and re-engage them directly even after choosing to leave these platforms.
It does this by providing brands with the membership data they own, collected via HeyOmni.
We believe that customer loyalty is the key to profitability, yet we realised that a lot of brands are spending their budget aimlessly without a proper strategy. This translates to getting results that do not equate to sales.
Jared & Jason, HeyOmni.
Customers who are interested in being members of a brand’s loyalty programme simply have to scan a QR code or verify their membership through a link.
When making a payment, one just has to provide their phone number or member ID to ensure the transaction is recorded. The company can then send over activity updates across various platforms, provide points and rewards which can be viewed and claimed by members.
One difference can make all the difference
When searching for loyalty programme service providers in Malaysia, you’ll realise that we don’t lack options. It’s something that HeyOmni’s co-founders acknowledge too, but they believe that there is still ample room for innovation, particularly with their solution’s ease of use and adaptability to market trends.
“To put it simply, to use HeyOmni, you do not need to download any applications and do not require any additional hardware other than your smart device and your web browser, for both our brands and their users,” Jared and Jason said.
“At its core, HeyOmni is an API service that can be used on and alongside any other platforms that you may already be using, and this includes even other loyalty programme services.”
Speaking of ease of use, the team stated that their tools can be used without complex staff training. It’s crucial because business owners in different industries usually struggle to implement their own SOPs to circumvent missing features from other solutions, hence the complex training.
That’s according to Jared and Jason, who have spent many hours on the ground with such businesses. With automation, self-serve, and customisation features, HeyOmni alleviates pain points for companies and their staff.
One example is its no-code practice that enables brands to easily customise and launch their loyalty programme by simply dragging and dropping elements on the backend.
This lets brands customise their microsite, and make more decisions such as foregoing HeyOmni’s frontend to just use its API as a service to manage their membership databases.
Aside from its 2020 launch offer (limited time) of US$25/month, HeyOmni’s only plan is applicable to all sizes of businesses from individuals to large companies at US$50/month.
Do note that the plan is limited to one device account and one registered location, and a brand will have to add on US$25/month per additional outlet location and device account.
Casting a wider net
To date, HeyOmni has over 150 active accounts, with some notable companies who are using it being MyKori from F&B, Tropicana Corp Berhad from the events industry, and Concept2 from the fitness industry.
This number marks significant growth for the startup, because when it first started out, its solution was very much focused only on the retail industry. When the pandemic hit retail businesses, HeyOmni subsequently felt the blow.
Since then, it’s pivoted to cater to a larger audience, including the creator market. “With the rise of the creator market and more people starting their own businesses especially from home, HeyOmni is capitalising on this and is actively helping even the smallest of businesses that are just starting out grow their outreach at a rapid pace,” Jared and Jason said.
Along the way, MaGIC has lent its support, mainly through HeyOmni’s participation in the recent Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) where it’s been able to gain valuable insights and casual mentorship.
HeyOmni is currently fundraising for its seed round in order to grow its team and expedite its growth to serve the larger Southeast Asian region in the next 2 years. “We plan to be the go-to membership platform for all brands, including creators, that provides a seamless outreach to both physical and remote audiences,” Jared and Jason concluded.
Also Read: 9 facts about personal loans in M’sia you should know to borrow responsibly in a pandemic
Featured Image Credit: Jared Khoo and Jason Chew, co-founders of HeyOmni
This S’pore startup uses Singpass to build alcohol vending machines: are there any loopholes?
When it comes to vending machines, none can beat the Land of the Rising Sun. You can get anything under the glow of those fluorescent lights — from hot soup to T-shirts, convenience is truly the name of the game.
As a country where we like things just within arm’s reach, I’d reckon we are not too far behind Japan. From Norwegian salmon to Wagyu beef, and now, the first-ever alcohol vending machine from local startup Cellarbration.
A reality where you can get a bottle of Pinot with a few pushes of a button sounds like a reality I want to be living in — and I am.
Vending machines are a dime a dozen, but one that’s peddling alcohol is a little more sophisticated. Cellarbration’s vending machine makes use of Singpass to verify the purchaser’s age.
How it began
“Cellarbration was started in 2011, with the ambition to provide consumers of legal drinking age the convenience and ease of being able to purchase alcohol online”, said Jason Tan, general manager of Cellarbration.
As one of the online and retail destinations for the largest selection of beers, wines, spirits, and whiskies in Singapore, this seemed like the next natural step.
The vending machines are equipped with a robotic arm to dispense heavy, oddly-shaped, fragile items such as glass bottles without damaging the products. Therefore, you can rest assured that your MacCallum will arrive safely into hand without a scratch.
The idea for the alcoholic vending machine came when the government first announced the rollout of Singpass.
Since Singpass is built as the national identification system to authenticate digital sign-in to verify one’s identity and age, the team at Cellarbration was inspired by this and went on to explore how to integrate this technology in vending machines.
Cellarbration worked with fintech and artificial intelligence (AI) tech company, Auresys, to incorporate this new verification feature into vending machines.
Through the Singpass mobile app, buyers can easily verify their age by scanning a QR code at the machine.
As we know, the Singpass app — one of Singapore’s Smart Nation projects — has evolved into a kind of an overachiever.
Singpass offers access to more than 1,400 digital services and empowers over 340 government agencies and private organisations. An ever-evolving service, you can now use it across sectors ranging from banking and insurance to healthcare and charities.
You can also use Singpass to conveniently retrieve your personal information, digitally sign documents and remotely authorise transactions through the app.
With all these features at one’s fingertips, what this means is that businesses looking to digitalise can now tap into Singpass’ trusted digital ecosystem and infrastructure where data and services transcend the boundaries of organisations.
The myriad uses of Singpass APIs
Businesses and agencies can tap on Singpass’ application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable access or create new value-added services for Singapore residents.
The APIs can be integrated with systems to offer a range of services, including user registration, customer authentication, and identity verification, just to name a few.
Some APIs that would appeal to most businesses include Login and Verify.
Login is a secure authentication gateway. With Login, customers can easily and securely access services without having to remember an extra set of sign-in credentials. Businesses can also access a wide pool of Singpass users who are familiar with the platform.
Among the private sector organisations that use Login are OCBC Bank, Prudential, NTUC Union, Income Insurance, Singapore Exchange, the Singapore National Employers’ Federation, and JustLogin’s HR solutions.
Verify on the other hand, allows users to perform in-person identity verification and data transfer through the scanning of QR codes.
Verify is ideal for businesses that require face-to-face registration processes. It can verify a person’s identity without the need for individuals to present or hand over their identity documents.
The same process is done with Cellarbration’s vending machine, and it only takes is a few simple steps. All you have to do is scan your QR code and verify your age and voila, the drinks are yours.
What are the possible loopholes?
Of course, this seems like a perfect machine. A godsend for introverts who would like to get their tipple without unnecessary human interaction or judgement. So what if you like that IPA that is just a little too bougie for your good?
However, there are a couple of loopholes that one has to consider when rolling out a machine like this. First and foremost, there is an islandwide ban on the sale of alcohol from 10.30pm to 7.30am. For Cellarbration, there is an easy workaround.
“The vending machines are backed by AI that can be remotely managed on the backend so that we can ensure rules and restrictions are set in place and complied”, explained Jason. True enough, this is an easy fix, and something technology is good for.
But there is also the question of privacy. With such information ready at our fingertips, who’s to say that these buying habits are not going to be used against us somehow? Moreover, with the known location along with timestamps, would this open the user to dangerous situations such as stalking?
Lastly, there are those pesky teenagers looking to have their first sip of Jack Daniels. Would these vending machines make it easier for them to purchase that elusive can of beer? After all, they would just have to borrow a parent’s, or a stranger’s phone and the beer is theirs for the taking.
Despite these possible loopholes, Cellarbration is looking into more vending machines in the future, and it is not the only one in the game.
With local fintech company Ascan planning to launch a new feature in vending machines to allow customers to buy alcoholic drinks using Singpass, it seems like more players are buying into this idea too.
Is this more of a threat or an encouraging move? The folks at Cellarbration see it as the latter.
We are indeed excited to be the first in Singapore to introduce the Singpass-enabled vending machines. With more such vending machines being introduced, it would bring about added convenience, without the hassle of waiting especially for consumers who are looking to quench their thirst.
Jason Tan, general manager of Cellarbration
While the added convenience is an obvious boon to consumers, we have to consider the possible tradeoffs when technology is embraced so quickly and with such open arms. We might be just one drink away from a Black Mirror episode, and we certainly don’t want that.
Featured Image Credit: Cellarbration / GovTech
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The highs and lows of BooksActually: Is this the end of a chapter for the S’pore bookstore?
Over the weekend, local independent bookstore BooksActually has been thrown into the spotlight for founder Kenny Leck’s alleged misconduct towards his female ex-employees.
He had allegedly made romantic advances towards young female staff, including while being married to his ex-wife Renee Ting, who was also a former employee.
Renee told RICE Media that she drew no salary while they were dating, lived in the store and had hardly any days off. She is also the founder of the Singapore Art Book Fair, and a sister of Beyond The Vines and Scene Shang founders.
This revelation came as a shock, considering that BooksActually has always been championed as playing an important role in preserving the longevity of local literature in the media.
Following the news, BooksActually has issued a statement acknowledging that its past employees “did not work in a safe and professional workplace environment” in the early years.
It claimed that it has “invested in putting welfare practices in place to protect and safeguard” its employees since 2019, and will continued to improve staff welfare and HR practices, as well as strengthen anti-harassment policies.
Above all, Kenny will be relinquishing sole ownership of BooksActually and its publishing arm Math Paper Press, and transfer collective ownership of both entities to the team.
On his personal Facebook page, Kenny confirmed that he will be ceding full legal ownership and directorship of BooksActually Pte Ltd to the current team, who will be the new owners.
He also apologised to everyone that he has caused pain to, and stands by his belief that BooksActually has marked a “milestone in (Singapore’s) literary journey”, and served as a an “enabler of aspirations”.
Furthermore, literary non-profit and champion Sing Lit Station has ended its partnership with BooksActually following the saga.
“We have decided to terminate the (2021 Jalan Besar Writing Residency) programme and will re-announce new details on the 2021/2022 residency when they are finalised,” it said in an update on its website.
It added that it was planning a series of discussions with stakeholders and members of the community to address the concerns and gaps in the industry.
How he started up BooksActually
Kenny, 43, hailed from a low-income family — his father was a taxi driver, and his mother a housewife. Despite their tight pursestrings, his mother would still set aside some money to buy him books.
His love for books is reflected in his career choices: he used to work at Tower Books and Borders, before starting up BooksActually.
BooksActually was first established in the second storey of a shophouse in Telok Ayer Street with his ex-girlfriend Karen Wai (after their relationship ended, they remained as business partners) with less than S$25,000 — out of which, S$20,000 was borrowed from Karen’s mother.
At that time, they only had savings of S$1,000 in their bank accounts, so they had to borrow from others.
In the early days, there would be days when they did not generate any sales. This happened a few times within that first year.
He later sold a three-room HDB flat that his late mother left him and with the S$200,000 he made from it, he set up a second outlet at Club Street, but it failed.
I miscalculated. The space there was huge and we had to buy stocks from scratch. We had to buy a lot to fill up that huge space we had. And the money burned faster than you could ever think.
– Kenny Leck, founder of BooksActually in a 2018 CNA’s On The Record interview
He ended up having to close it down. The final location BooksActually shifted to was its outlet at Yong Siak Street in Tiong Bahru.
With the rising rental and operating costs, coupled with “bad business decisions”, BooksActually was forced to raise funds in June 2018 to sustain themselves.
Called the “BooksActually Shophouse Fund $50 Brick”, it has a target goal of S$2 million, in which they sold each handmade brick at S$50 in hopes of ‘building a home’ for the literary community.
The aim of the campaign is for BooksActually to secure enough funds in turning the outlet into a permanent space.
In a month, they had raised S$20,000, which was still not enough for a downpayment. Other fundraising events, such as the Rabak Auction in August 2018 and opening the bookstore for 24 hours, were held to make up for any shortfall in the sale of bricks.
However, the store finally shuttered in September 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Many had mourned the loss of the store, which had carved out a distinct feel, with various knick-knacks and vintage items, displayed alongside paperbacks and hardcovers.
Following the store closure, BooksActually said that it will “transform fully” into an online store.
Prior to this full shift, close to 1,800 of the 9,000 books in its store have already been ported online. In a way, the pandemic served as an “impetus” for it to upload books for sale regularly despite having an online presence for years.
Are they raking in money?
Being a small independent bookstore with no big financial backer, it’s really no mean feat for them to survive for so long.
In 2017, the business had raked in a profit of S$80,000, which Kenny felt was “quite okay” for a single bookstore.
Moreover, he had been investing heavily in the bookstore’s publishing arm Math Paper Press, through which he regularly publishes local work that may not always be lucrative.
He also shared that he drew enough salary to just cover food, transport and rental for an apartment near the Tiong Bahru bookstore, which doubles up as its publishing office, storage area for its book stocks and bookstore supplies.
Then in a separate 2019 interview with CNA, he cited high rental cost as one of the biggest business challenges. He revealed then that the monthly rent at his Tiong Bahru store costed S$9,500 — it was the highest he has paid over the business’ 14 years of operation.
He’s not complaining though, because “the location works”, and “the numbers are proving right”.
From 2014 to 2019, Kenny said that BooksActually has seen a yearly growth of two to three per cent, and its online sales comprise five to seven per cent of their gross sales.
Separately, total book sales for Math Paper Press comes close to S$380,000. This makes up about 38 per cent of gross sales for the BooksActually store, with the rest coming from international and local titles from other publishers.
What’s also interesting to note that for Math Paper Press does not undertake any grants. Kenny reasoned that he wants to ensure that his business does not become overly reliant on funding through government grants.
Instead, he wants to focus on simply selling books. In previous interviews, he has mentioned many times that the reason why some bookstores fail is because they sell non-book merchandise such as stationery, movie posters, gadgets and even snacks.
He was guilty of committing this same mistake, but has since dedicated himself to just selling what they set out to do in the first place.
The key (to making money) is to sell the right books — the ones you think will sell as opposed to what the publishers want (you to sell).
– Kenny Leck, founder of BooksActually in a 2016 interview with The New Paper
Sales had dipped by more than 50 per cent due to the pandemic, but Kenny had assured then that they had around two months’ worth of emergency reserves set aside.
What’s also encouraging is that Covid-19 has propelled more consumers to turn to online shopping, which helped boost their e-commerce sales.
What’s the future of the local literary scene and book retail industry?
The Singapore literature scene faces prejudice, as there’s a common perception that Singapore literature is not on par with the standard of overseas literature like in United States and United Kingdom.
Moreover, not many Singaporeans want to pursue an artistic career in creative writing. Instead, many choose to go for the safe and stable route, with a huge focus on STEM education and careers.
Over the years, sales of locally-written books have improved, but it is by a marginal amount. In Singapore, 90 per cent of the time, the bestselling book is a foreign title.
However, writers are not fazed and are continuing to write. When Math Paper Press first started in 2011, it received one or two submissions a month, most of which were poetry. In 2017, it has since increased to between five and seven submissions a month.
In a year, it receives 100 manuscripts and out of this figure, about 10 per cent gets published.
We should try to carry as much Singlit (Singapore literature) as possible, because it is our narrative at the end of the day. If we don’t carry our stories, who will?
– Kenny Leck, founder of BooksActually in a 2017 interview with The New Paper
However, it remains a fact that there are currently not enough access points for local books. To foster a nation of readers, Singapore needs to do more to promote local literary works.
Looking back at this entire BooksActually saga, it is reminiscent of Naiise‘s — it had a really bad management, but at the heart of it, the business had a good intention to support local.
Although BooksActually has had a change of hands, this does not exactly inspire confidence among its customers to continue supporting the brand unless a real change has been made, and that sincere apologies (versus an online statement) and proper redress are given to the affected ex-employees.
Similarly, several writers and artists have already called off work with BooksActually until Kenny can fully address the allegations. This is as good as saying that its good work of supporting local literature so far has gone the drain.
Whether BooksActually will survive in the long run also lies in the long-standing debate of book retail being a sunset industry. Are physical books starting to become obsolete?
A 2018 National Reading Habits Survey conducted by the National Library Board survey found that a growing number of people prefer e-books, with an increase from 41 to 55 per cent.
Over the same period, the proportion of people who bought books from a physical store fell from 53 to 48 per cent.
As e-books grow in popularity, it’s getting harder to convince people to buy physical books.
Admittedly, the increasing competition from e-commerce retailers such as Book Depository and Amazon, has made it even harder for bookshops to survive.
In Singapore, we are one of the small minority of countries that charges standard GST on books. This is why buying a book online is slightly cheaper than in physical bookstores.
If Singapore continues to lose this market share to overseas book retailers, more bookshops would have to scale down their book selection, or maybe even exit the book business entirely.
On the flipside, such competition can force them to keep on their toes and stay innovative.
For instance, besides regularly hosting events with authors and the literary community in Singapore, BooksActually has also experimented with a novel vending machine concept that dispenses “mystery” books.
These books are fully wrapped, so there’s an element of surprise in not knowing what you’re going to get. Each of these machines carry up to 150 books, with a focus on titles by local publishers and authors.
Some of its past locations include outside its Tiong Bahru store, the National Museum, and arts venues like The Substation and Goodman Arts Centre. Now, it only has one location at Tiong Bahru Bakery’s outlet at Dempsey.
Ultimately, BooksActually has to constantly reach out to its consumers and with zero physical presence and the current events restrictions, doing so will be a challenge.
Bookstores also need to keep their title selections fresh and new, and have a wider range than just bestsellers, to stay relevant.
Featured Image Credit: DestinAsian
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