6 successful businesses in Singapore started in 2021 – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

With the end of 2021, it’s time to take stock of the year and look to 2022. As every year since the pandemic, there have been many ups and downs.

In 2021, we saw several businesses take off their branches and start their own businesses despite the pandemic year. Less than a year has passed, but these businesses have grown tremendously.

Here are six local businesses that started in 2021 amid the pandemic and government cuts.

1. Rhythm

Rhythm It is a Singapore-based fintech solution company offering ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL), which has experienced astronomical growth since its inception in 2021.

It took Pace just a year to become a Pan-Asian BNPL supplier, and by 2022 it is on track to achieve $ 1 billion in gross commodity value. Lately, he has announced. It raised $ 40 million in its Series A investment round.

According to the company, the new funding will be focused on expanding technology, operations and business development. It aims to increase its user base by 25 times in the next 12 months.

The company is now the fastest growing BNPL player in Singapore’s multi-territory after this round of investment growth.

Pace allows consumers to split their purchase invoices into three equal interest-free payments over 60 days through an omni-channel experience that helps them spend sustainably.

It has successfully grown its foreign operations by working closely with regulators and adapting ultra-local approaches, such as integrating commonly used market payment methods to resonate with merchants and buyers.

To date, Pac has more than 3,000 outlets across the region. This boosts Pace’s ability to increase overall sales by up to 25 percent, taking advantage of local customer perspectives while repeating purchases that are growing Pace’s rapidly growing user base.

2. Bolo Bun Champion

The Bolo Bun champion had a smooth start in April of this year, but he quickly reached the level of worship for the Bolo Bun. The bakery sells between 700 and 900 cakes on weekdays and up to weekends 1,200 cakes on weekends – All this without any marketing effort.

The owner and head chef, Hoh Loyi, did not enter polytechnic or junior college like most 16-year-olds after completing ‘O’ levels. Instead, Loyi cut her teeth in the world of Taiwanese baking, and earned a one-year bread-making certificate.

Later, while on holiday in Hong Kong, he found a studio in a famous bakery.

The kitchen was reluctant to accept her at first, seeing that she was so young and only Hong Kong PR. However, Loyi was as determined as ever and eventually found herself in their kitchen, learning all she could about baking in Hong Kong.

Education like never before, instead of the usual out-of-school getaways or instead of taking tests with friends, Loyi found her kneading the dough and surrounding it with a genuine and genuine old baker, which they took under their wing.

A couple of successful stays at the event and Loyi found herself in a three-story store across the streets and queues of Tanjong Pagar.

3. Photomat

Another trend that was reinforced in 2021 is the numerous black-and-white studio photos that have taken everyone’s feed.

Even though they are ubiquitous, that will surprise you photomat It only opened for business on April 2, 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kevin Chu is the man behind the self-portrait studio. A graduate of the Hwa Chong Institution, he previously worked at GovTech, where he worked at Form.gov.sg. He then joined the Air Force in 2018, where he worked in the SWiFT office, solving coding problems.

Fotomat is a way to make portrait photography more fun. By taking the photographer out of the equation, he hopes to encourage bolder, more expressive, and more innovative attitudes, which come out more when given a private space.

With Fotomat, Kevin wanted to make the portrait accessible and affordable for everyone, especially students and young people. Prices start at S $ 30 for a 15-minute shoot (unlimited shots for two people) and two prints.

Fotomat has opened a second store on Keong Saik Street. If you need more evidence of their success, you can count the number of people in your social circle who have already visited Fotomat.

4. CocoBoss

Another product that has wrapped us around the toe is coconut smoothies. Although most of us are in love with another brand of coconut shake, CocoBoss where you should take your next coconut shake when the weather is unbearable.

CocoBoss opened its first store this year at Space @ Kovan and has since opened its sixth store at the Peninsula Mall within seven months.

Despite having zero F&B experience, Leo Tan and Benjamin Liu decided to take a leap of faith and enter the world of coconut shakes.

It was a tough learning curve for the couple, and Leo admitted that his lack of experience posed many challenges.

“Covid-19 has affected our regular operational procedures due to the security measures imposed by the government, and we must comply with them. As these security measures are constantly changing, we need to adapt and prepare our crew,” Leo said.

He added that the global pandemic had caused delays in shipping delays, leading to a “logistical nightmare”.

Leo mentioned the idea of ​​building a lifestyle brand around CocoBoss as one of his critical business challenges. In fact, they want to position themselves as “Starbucks of Coconut Shakes”.

Commenting on the local F&B landscape, Leo acknowledged that there is a craze for existing coconut shakes, which has helped boost sales. Asked how long the bubble tea ad will last, Leo said people are constantly looking for bubble tea alternatives.

As the number of coconut shakers on the scene grows, Leo admits that he’s really saturated and competitive, but they haven’t been impressed.

5. Chin Mee Chin Pastry

Technically, Chin Mee Chin Confectionery has been around since the 90’s, but the revival of Ebb & Flow allowed the iconic Chin Mee Chin brand to survive in the era of sushi and pizza.

Reviving the beloved heritage brand is no easy task, and although it took a couple of delays and a few twists and turns, Chin Mee Chin Confectionery finally opened its doors on September 15, 2021. After almost a month of endless queues. and the wonderful slices of butter that melt in the warm pastries, it seems that there is no slowing down.

“Our goal is not to modernize Chin Mee Chin into another brand, but to preserve the heritage and maintain the spirit of the Hainanese bakery as much as possible,” said Lim Kian Chun, CEO of Ebb & Flow. Like all things, finding that happy path is much harder than you think.

Chun is also under tremendous pressure to get this right. After all, hell has no anger The people of Singapore despised him about breakfast.

To keep the menu items as authentic as possible, Chun and his team tried to find the same suppliers that Chin Mee Chin Confectionery had used in recent years.

If the consistent lines of Chin Mee Chin Confectionery prove anything, the Singapore ones still appreciate traditional food.

6. GetGo

Launched on February 25, 2021, GetGo This is the final entry on the seven-player car-sharing scene in Singapore.

When it was launched, it was considered to be “the easiest, most flexible and most accessible car sharing service in Singapore”.

This is evident in GetGo’s upload policy. Other car-sharing companies require a deposit or prepaid amount of credit, and some charge membership fees.

Unlike the rest, GetGok decided to get rid of them without them. It is breaking new ground with no deposit, no membership fees and no full payment policy.

GetGo cites two reasons for this move: they want to reassure users that the company is not holding back unnecessary money and making the service as flexible and accessible as possible.

“This improvement further eliminates the need to pre-book a reservation (which can be added frequently by users), and will only charge users the fees they incur,” GetGo said.

While beginners may be hampered by how saturated and competitive the market is, Toh Ting Feng, managing director and founder of GetGo, believes this is a timely launch.

“We had over 14,000 registered users even before our launch,” he added.

Beyond the long pre-registration list, GetGo has also created a social media follower of around 8,000 followers in just a few months.

Featured Image Credit: CocoBoss / Fotomat / Champion Bolo Bun / GetGo

Also read: Review of the Year: Here are 10 titles that have shaken up S’po’s technology and busscene in 2021