Grab, EnterpriseSG launch scheme to help small F&B businesses grow customer demand and capabilities

[SINGAPORE] Superapp Grab and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) have launched a programme to help small food and beverage (F&B) merchants grow customer demand for dine-in and delivery services, and to strengthen their digital capabilities.

Called “Grab Full House Mission”, the programme was unveiled on Tuesday (Jun 9), and comes at a time smaller F&B operators are facing rising operating costs and pressure on their dine-in and delivery channels; their limited resources are also making it tough for them to keep investing in digital tools and efforts to generate demand.

Grab’s “Singapore Asia Food and Grocery Trends Report 2023” already noted that consumers were using delivery platforms to both order meals and explore dine-out options: 84 per cent of users used Grab’s app to discover new restaurants or stores; 61 per cent browsed the app without a specific merchant in mind.

Grab Singapore managing director Alejandro Osorio said the new programme aims to provide smaller operators with “practical support” in navigating an increasingly competitive environment.

“We believe that supporting merchants today requires more than simply helping them generate orders. It means helping them to build the visibility, skills and resilience to grow sustainably over the long term,” he said.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, who delivered a speech at the event to launch the programme, said the partnership was a reflection of EnterpriseSG and the government’s “continued commitment” to the F&B sector.

Driving customer demand

The programme will roll out a series of initiatives to increase businesses’ visibility and demand from customers, be it for dining in or for delivery.

To this end, the Dine Out precinct campaigns hope to increase customer footfall for neighbourhood businesses through promotions to diners using Grab’s Dine Out feature. These customers will enjoy discounts of up to 15 per cent for patronising participating merchants.

Developed in partnership with EnterpriseSG, the first campaign was launched in Tanjong Pagar on May 26 and will run until Jul 25. Campaigns will also be launched in Holland Village and Jalan Besar later this year.

SEE ALSO

How Grab is rebuilding its engineering culture around AI speed

Grab hitches a ride on the AI wave as CEO Anthony Tan steers company into next phase of growth

Low said in her speech: “This builds on EnterpriseSG’s ongoing efforts to develop precincts like Tanjong Pagar into distinctive lifestyle destinations that offer curated retail and dining experiences for fellow Singaporeans as well as tourists.”

Small F&B businesses on the GrabFood platform will also get help to capture a bigger share of demand for delivered food orders, in that customers will get discounts of up to 15 per cent on these as well.

Improving business capabilities

In the second arm of the programme which seeks to strengthen F&B merchants’ operations and improve the use of digital tools, four workshops or master classes will be run annually by GrabAcademy, Grab’s learning platform, in partnership with EnterpriseSG and SkillsFuture Singapore.

Businesses will be given hands-on guidance on improving productivity, promotional strategies and leveraging artificial intelligence tools to drive growth.

Grab will introduce “Ready, Set, Grab!”, an onboarding initiative for F&B players new to the Grab platform, and fully sponsor up to 70 merchants’ onboarding packages, at S$388 each, through December. Onboarding support will be provided to eligible businesses.

Merchants may also tap free bi-annual reports generated by Grab and EnterpriseSG for insights to inform their business strategies.

Osorio said: “(The programme) brings together the full range of support that Grab can offer merchants … into one coordinated effort focused on helping Singapore’s F&B businesses thrive.”