Gift sets with local flavour on sale at airport

The new Taste Singapore outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 4's transit area. About 20 local food products from 11 brands have been introduced at the Taste Singapore outlets and the food gift sets will also be available online.
The new Taste Singapore outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 4's transit area. About 20 local food products from 11 brands have been introduced at the Taste Singapore outlets and the food gift sets will also be available online. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

From laksa-flavoured cookies to fresh noodles, tourists at Changi Airport can now take home more gift sets featuring local food items.

This is part of a new initiative to help local food manufacturers capture a slice of the global market.

Dedicated food gift aisles offering about 20 local food products from 11 brands, such as Polar Puffs and Cakes, and Fong Yit Kaya, have been introduced at Taste Singapore outlets in the transit areas of Terminals 1 and 4.

The initiative is a partnership between the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA) and Focus Network Agencies, an airport retailer with a presence in 24 countries.

Of the 11 brands, nine are new to the airport, including Four Seasons Durian and Shermay's Singapore Fine Food.

The food gift sets will also be available online at ishopChangi.

The Singapore Food Gifts initiative, part of SFMA's drive to help local food manufacturers take innovative food products into new markets, was launched by Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang at the new Terminal 4 outlet yesterday.

  • IN SINGAPORE

    8%-11%

    Percentage of tourists' total shopping expenditure spent on confectionery, souvenirs and gifts.

Global sales of food gifts are expected to grow from $75 billion in 2015 to $96 billion by 2020, while in Singapore, confectionery, souvenirs and gifts are popular among tourists, accounting for 8 per cent to 11 per cent of their total shopping expenditure, Mr Lim said in a speech.

The SFMAis working with partners such as the Singapore Tourism Board to give marketing support for the initiative through targeted in-market promotional campaigns in China, Indonesia and Japan.

SFMA president Thomas Pek said: "The Singapore Food Gifts initiative will help food manufacturers to commercialise new products, and establish new channels to promote them."

Four Seasons Durian, for example, will be making its first foray into Changi Airport with its durian candy and durian kaya products and is using the launch at the airport as a first step to marketing its products overseas next year.

Mr Juan Almada, who was at Taste Singapore yesterday at the end of his first trip here, said he planned to buy spice mixes and other items to cook for loved ones back home in Mexico.

Said the 42-year-old industrial engineer: "I love Singapore food... I spent most of my time here eating in hawker centres. I think these gifts are a great idea; food is the best way to represent any culture."

Tiffany Fumiko Tay

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on November 19, 2017, with the headline Gift sets with local flavour on sale at airport. Subscribe