SINGAPORE - A study of 216 smaller food and beverage (F&B) businesses here found that only 60 per cent survive their first five years of operations.
It was also found that the average smaller F&B business - defined as those with less than $1 million in annual revenue - was unprofitable, operating at a loss of 8 per cent annually.
The findings were from a study commissioned by Spring Singapore, an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry responsible for helping Singapore enterprises grow.
Smaller F&B businesses make up the majority of the food services sector here, comprising 85 per cent of the roughly 5,000 food enterprises.
The study found that successful smaller F&B businesses had a stronger focus on core business operations rather than ancillary areas such as branding.
In particular, they focused on three core areas: lean workflow, menu engineering and financial management.
Following the study, solutions for faltering F&B businesses here have been developed. In response to the Spring Singapore survey, the Singapore Productivity Centre has rolled out three package solutions in the three core areas.
Companies taking up these solutions may tap on Spring Singapore's Capability Development Grant (CDG) for funding assistance of up to 70 per cent of project costs.
Companies looking for more information and guidance on the CDG can call 6898-1800 to make a free appointment with an SME Centre business advisor.
