F&B Group Koufu Celebrates 20th Anniversary with the Grand Opening of A New 7-Storey Integrated Facility of 20,000 sq m
Written by Daily Sun
Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms. Low Yen Ling graced the grand opening as the Guest-of-Honour.
Located strategically at 1 Woodlands Height along Woodlands Avenue 12, Koufu invested a total of $55 million in the integrated facility of about 20,000 sq m and is more than 5 times larger than its previous central kitchens and corporate headquarters. Placing Koufu on a digital trajectory that is still making strides, the integrated facility harnesses the use of state-of-the-art machinery that enables the group to enhance national competitiveness with the increase in quality and productivity without compromising on its environmental sustainability efforts.
The integrated building will be used to optimize Koufu's business operations which includes the production of tim sum, bakery, pastries and dough products for distribution to its outlets islandwide. In addition, Koufu also supports the business expansion of the local small & medium (SME) F&B operators including the stall holders operating under its network of 70 food courts and coffee shops. 20 units of food processing kitchens each ranging from 1400 to 3500 sq ft and a 11,000 sq ft Cloud Kitchen space of 24 units each ranging from 170 to 850 sq ft are for lease to F&B operators. The building also houses a training academy, a staff dormitory, a Koufu Canteen which is opened to the public and its Corporate HQ office all under one-roof. Central procurement, preparation, processing and distribution functions have also been expanded and streamlined all within the premises to better support its outlets and external customers.
Under the umbrella of Koufu Group are a portfolio of diversified food and beverage (F&B) concepts operating at 180 locations islandwide. With a total of 12 brands, innovative concepts such as elemen and Grove continue to drive Singapore's sustainability trend of meatless cuisine; Dough CultureandDeliSnackspreservea well-loved tradition of oriental snacks with their grab-and-go snacks like fried dough fritters and banana fritters; R&B Tearedefines today's tea experience with over 30 tea-base concoctions showcasing one of Singapore's best brown sugar milk tea and fruit tea, and Rasapura Masters, a food court housed within The Marina Bay Sands is Singapore's hawker food destination of choice.
Koufu, a well-known house-hold name, is one of Singapore's most established food court operator which operates over 70 foodcourts and coffeeshops in Singapore under the brands of Koufu, Cookhouse, Gourmet Paradise, Fork & Spoon and Happy Hawkers. Overseas in Macau, the Group operates 3 food courts and has also brought R&B Tea to Indonesia and Philippines operating under a franchise model.
"A vision that has now come to life, the establishment of Koufu HQ is a strategic hub which enables us to strengthen Koufu's supply chain. It also allows for the broadening and consolidation of production, manufacturing and logistics capabilities to achieve greater operating efficiencies and margins. This new ecosystem enables our suite of brands to remain vibrant and competitive in both the local and global arena.", shares Mr. Pang Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koufu Group.
Corporate ESG Initiatives
Innovating for a more environmentally sustainable economy, Koufu Group leads with their Smart Waste Compactor and Renewable Solar Energy infrastructure within the integrated facility.
Outfitted with two Chute Compactors with bin lifter, this enables multi-level direct disposal of small-size waste from production levels 3 to 6 of the 7-storey facility. Compactors remove 80% of liquid from the food waste before the discharge into the sewer. This reduction in the weight of the waste allows for alternate days of waste collection instead of a daily schedule. An in-built load cell also automatically generates a waste tonnage report, providing accountability in sustainable waste management to The National Environment Agency. The building also features close to 400 Solar Panels onsite that generates about 300,000 kWh of energy per year, equivalent to 5% of energy consumption saved.
Improving Productivity through Automation
Leveraging on new technologies to unlock numerous opportunities to scale globally beyond the boundaries of Singapore, Koufu invested over $5 million in the automation and capability enhancement processes in its new production facilities. With the introduction of automated processes, the Group has seen an increase in its productivity as well as its capability to handle pent-up demand from existing/new customers and to enter new markets. Some of the automated processes include the Automated Flour Transferring System and the Conveyor and Spiral Cooling Towers. The technology-driven infrastructure optimises business operations, thereby improving its productivity by 140% and supports revenue diversification and network expansion. Koufu through the arm of Deli Asia, supplies frozen and par-fried snack and dough products to its own outlets and third-party businesses. It has achieved an enhanced capability of at least twice its current production volume after the implementation of the automated processes and is now ready to enter new markets including overseas export.
Automation replaces mundane and strenuous job roles while employees are re-deployed to other value-added job functions. With the increase in productivity, the Group will be able to expand its production capacity, optimising its workforce in a more efficient way. The productivity gains are then passed back to the employees through wage increase. Despite the pandemic, employees have seen their remuneration increase up to 30% in 2022 as compared to 2020.
elemenAcademy
Situated on level one is Koufu's very own chef and service staff training centre, where it is the team's belief that young chefs should be at the forefront of change. Here, experienced professionals impart their knowledge on meatless cuisines, sharing their passion for an earth diet that is not just wholesome for our bodies but better for the planet. Staying relevant in an age of change, elemenAcademy is where ideas are birthed. elemenAcademy is also opened to the public as the Group encourages sustainability dining where meatless cuisine are served.
Koufu HQ Canteen
Having opened the brand's first outlet at Toa Payoh in 2002, Koufu HQ Canteen at level 1 beside the main entrance,pays homage to its origins with seating inspired by the iconic dragon playground in Toa Payoh and the nostalgic tiled chess tables found under HDB void decks. Drawing from Singapore's vibrant hawker heritage, be inspired by the artistic wall mural of a quintessential Singaporean breakfast which involves the aromatic pull of coffee using a traditional coffee sock. More importantly, diners will be spoilt for choice with the array of local and international food offerings such as Koufu's signature traditional kaya & butter toast sets, wide variety of steamed and fried tim sum, Nasi Padang from the Michelin Bib Gourmand Hjh Maimunah Restaurant, delightfully springy Kolo Mee from Sarawak Noodles and a lean but hearty menu of Korean favourites from O.BBa Jjajang Express and many more.
"With the opening of our new Koufu HQ, it marked an important milestone for Koufu as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary this year. We have always aligned our business expansion plans to the government's policies and directions especially on our focus on productivity. Tapping on the Enterprise Development Grants administered by Enterprise Singapore since our early years, we managed to speed up our productivity improvement journey for business expansion purposes," shares Mr. Pang Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koufu Group.
Koufu's humble beginnings started with its maiden food court at Toa Payoh HDB Hub in 2002, with its mission of providing "Better Food Better People Better Life" to its customers, employees and the community.
As Koufu promises value-for-money food offerings to our customers, on this day of 19 October 2022, it has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) to participate in listing their food and beverage offerings on Price Kaki, a mobile application launched by CASE to help consumers compare prices of daily essentials and cooked food to stretch their dollar. Consumers will soon be able to compare prices of items sold at more than 70 Koufu's food courts and coffee shops across Singapore.
Mr Melvin Yong, President, CASE said: "We are happy to collaborate with Koufu to list food and beverage offerings sold in its coffeeshops and foodcourts on Price Kaki, to help consumers compare prices and make better informed purchasing decisions during these challenging times. The collaboration will bring the total number of coffeeshops and foodcourts listed on Price Kaki to 267, achieving our target of at least 200 coffeeshops and foodcourts onto Price Kaki by the end of 2022."
Committed to improving the welfare of the community, Koufu continues to support various charity initiatives that benefit the less fortunate and the elderly. This includes the distribution of Care vouchers, and donations to community and building funds of different districts with a yearly Charity art exhibition "Share * A Bowl of Rice" held in collaboration with Singapore's renowned artist, Mr Tan Kay Nguan, who spent four years studying various methods on handling the rice grains as each art piece incorporates a combination of rice grains with acrylic paint. Although rice is the main staple food for most Asians, unfortunately, there are others who might not even be able to enjoy a simple bowl of rice as their everyday meal. Since 2016, this meaningful charity drive collaboration has raised funds for the less fortunate through the sale of art paintings amounting to about $500,000 over the years. Past beneficiaries include the various Community Development Welfare Fund, Blossom World Society, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Sian Chay Medical Institution. In 2022, Koufu further raised about another $150,000 through this art exhibition charity drive and is committed to continue to support the Singapore community as it enters into a new milestone of its 20 years Anniversary.
Hashtag: #Koufu
About Koufu
"Koufu" refers to the Chinese belief that it is one's good fortune to feast on good food.
Since our establishment in 2002, we have held this same belief. To bring forth 'Koufu' to everyone, we make it our mission to provide good food and services that everyone is able to enjoy through our deep roots in traditional Singaporean cooking and in true coffee shop tradition.
We adopt this comprehensive approach to provide such good fortune for generations of loyal customers.
Koufu's logo represents the company's commitment to making a difference to the well-being of everyone through its food services.
Sweeping calligraphic brush strokes depict the Chinese character for the word "mouth", linking the logo to the food business and the company's emphasis on treasuring traditions. In contrast to the bold monolithic Chinese character is the Hanyu Pinyin representation of the name underneath. It conveys the youthfulness and friendliness of the business. This juxtaposition between the traditional and the modern demonstrates Koufu's drive to stay competitive while preserving traditions. The Chinese phrase for Koufu reinforces this ideology.
The colour of the logo conveys the passion Koufu has for the business and also the strength acquired by ensuring excellence from which prosperity will come. This positive spirit extends from the logo to the food and services.
