How much digitalisation must the F&B industry go through to be ‘future-ready’?

THE Covid-19 pandemic has created protracted havoc in Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) industry over the last 2 years. Supply chains, manpower supply, dining habits and payment patterns were disrupted.

Several establishments called it quits in the largest stress test of the decade – 3,440 F&B businesses ceased operations from December 2019 to June 2021, with total employment in the sector falling by about 8 per cent in the same period, according to statistics from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Within this cloud of doom and gloom, however, there is a silver lining. While Covid-19 shut down some F&B businesses, digitalisation has provided a lifeline for others.