Twelve Cupcakes shutters, bakery chain in provisional liquidation

[SINGAPORE] Twelve Cupcakes has ceased operations as at Thursday (Oct 30), a day after the local cupcake chain was placed under provisional liquidation.

The chain, founded by former model Jaime Teo and Singapore radio DJ Daniel Ong, announced the closure on its website. The business was acquired by tea manufacturer Dhunseri Group in December 2016 for S$2.5 million, after Teo and Ong divorced in August that year.

No further details were provided by the company on the liquidation, although a search on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority portal gave its status as undergoing “creditors’ voluntary winding-up”.

The Business Times has reached out to Twelve Cupcakes for further comment.

Based on the contact e-mail given in Twelve Cupcakes’ notice, AAG Corporate Advisory has been appointed provisional liquidator.

In response to queries from BT, the insolvency service said that it is unable to provide details in operations, finances or the reasons for the liquidation before obtaining the relevant information.

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It will meet creditors within the next four weeks to update on the status of the liquidation, in accordance with insolvency laws.

“We are also working with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) to provide relevant assistance to former employees affected by the closure,” AAG Corporate Advisory added.

Employees of the pastry chain also told BT that they were informed of the provisional liquidation via WhatsApp message at 8 pm on Wednesday; their employment was terminated that day.

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A termination letter was also sent to them, together with a proof-of-debt document for those workers with claims to submit against the company.

Around 80 workers were affected by the abrupt closure, the FDAWU said in a statement on Thursday. Online searches indicated that the chain had about 20 outlets.

The company last hit the headlines in December 2020, when it pleaded guilty to 15 charges of underpaying employees in 2017 and 2018, which is an offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Teo and Ong faced 24 charges each for offences under the Act. They had allegedly allowed Twelve Cupcakes to underpay foreign workers between 2013 and 2016. In some instances, workers reportedly did not receive any income for periods between 2012 and 2013.

In January 2021, the company was fined S$119,500 for underpaying seven foreign workers, including one employee who at times was paid half the wages.

The following month, Teo pleaded guilty to 10 charges. She was fined $65,000 the month after that for failing to prevent Twelve Cupcakes from underpaying its foreign workers. In May 2021, Ong, who also pleaded guilty to 10 charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, was fined S$65,000 as well.

For the latest financial year ended Mar 31, 2025, Twelve Cupcakes posted a S$1.2 million net loss, Handshakes data showed. Its net loss had widened from S$1.1 million in FY2024, and from S$463,618 in FY2023.

Its revenue for FY2025 stood at S$9.2 million, down from S$11.8 million in FY2024 and S$12.7 million in FY2023.

The company’s loss before tax from continuing operations deepened over the last few financial years, standing at S$1.2 million for FY2025, and S$978,655 and S$410,018 for FY2024 and FY2023, respectively.

It recorded S$2.6 million in total current liabilities and S$1.3 million in total current assets for the financial year ended Mar 31, 2025.

Founded in 2011, Twelve Cupcakes had expanded to more than 40 outlets in six countries in the region by the time it was acquired by Dhunseri Group, which is a Kolkata-based company with more than five decades of experience in the tea business and one of India’s largest tea producers.

The transaction marked the Dhunseri Group’s entry into the food and beverage space in Singapore and the region. The group also operated in the petrochemicals sector in India.