Flood of new F&B brands, players leaves trail of local casualties

LOCAL food and beverage (F&B) operators are facing increasing pressure from a flood of new entrants into the market – especially overseas players such as those from China. And some homegrown F&B brands are being forced to innovate – or consolidate.

The fierce competition among eateries for physical space has driven rental prices up. Rents have gone up, going by anecdotal evidence, by 20 to 30 per cent since the pandemic, said Alan Goh, chief executive of Singapore-listed F&B operator Katrina Group.

Going by data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the amount of occupied retail space rose by 46,000 square metres (sq m) in the second quarter – significantly higher than the 8,000 sq m net increase in the previous quarter. This was mainly driven by F&B retailers’ expansion in the Outside Central Region.