How to Start a Food & Beverage (F&B) Business in Singapore?

One of the most common industries for investors and entrepreneurs venture into is the food and beverage (F&B) industry in Singapore. Although the F&B industry in Singapore has taken a hit in recent years because of the Covid-19 restrictions, you cannot take away the fact that Singaporeans love their food and eating.

If you have a unique and strong F&B business idea, it is worth a try to set up your own restaurant or food manufacturing company in Singapore. Let’s see how to go about starting your company!

To kickstart your entrepreneurial journey in the food manufacturing sector, there are certain steps to be on your way to success.

Choosing a cost-efficient and optimal location is the first step when deciding to start your food manufacturing company. The chosen location should be within the vicinity of your key operations to reduce time and effort when transporting the products.

The process of registering your company in Singapore requires a keen understanding of the requirements. Business owners have to register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

As a food manufacturing company, there are additional authorities that you may need to register with:

Additional requirements may be needed based on your business functions.

The next step is to get your manpower ready before operations start. If you plan to hire foreign professionals, you will need to secure an Employment Pass or working visa before they are allowed to enter Singapore.

If you’re looking to employ locals to work in your company, you will need to prepare a contract as per the Singapore Employment Act and laws. The next step after hiring your employees is to pay them. Payroll in Singapore can be quite complicated, especially for new business owners and foreign business owners, thus outsourcing your payroll function can be a good idea.

After setting up and kickstarting your operations, you are required to maintain annual compliance with ACRA for financial records, and other regulatory certificates. To focus on your business, it is recommended that you leave these compliance works to a trusted corporate services company like Paul Hype Page.

Before you start your restaurant, it is important to note some of the key challenges that you may face. These include:

There are also requirements that you should take note if you wish to set up a restaurant in Singapore.

The process of incorporation and starting a restaurant is similar to that of starting a food manufacturing company.

Business licenses for the F&B industry are important to ensure that there are an established set of standards to comply with, especially to maintain food safety. You may find the following F&B industry licenses below.

As the Singapore government is pro-business, they have plenty of business grants available to tap on. These include the Enterprise Development Grant, Productivity Solutions Grant, and more. Check out the top business grants here.

One of the business grants that would help to scale your business is the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant. The grant aims to internationalise your business by providing up to S$100,000 in support per new target market.