Food manufacturing in Singapore

Current state of the food manufacturing industry in Singapore

Singapore’s food manufacturing industry includes more than 940 organisations, contributes 1.1 percent of Singapore’s gross domestic product and employs more than 48,000 people, according to a Channel News Asia report (September 2020). Singapore’s Food Manufacturing Industry Digital Plan reported that food manufacturing industry in 2018 contributed more than S$10.7 billion in output, of which about 60 percent was exported globally.

When the Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map (ITM) was launched in 2016, the goal was for the industry to have an average productivity growth of 4.5 percent and create 2,000 new jobs by 2020. The plan also aimed to develop Singapore into a leading Asia food and nutrition hub by 2025.

Singapore’s food manufacturing sector seems to be on track with the ITM. Even during COVID-19 from April to October 2020, about 6,700 job opportunities were created, of which 44 percent were for PMETs (professional, managerial, executive, and technical). All this is to show that Singapore is home to a thriving food manufacturing industry. Food manufacturing in Singapore is no longer a sunset industry.

Trends and opportunities in the food manufacturing industry

Enterprise Singapore, a government agency, has identified elderly-friendly food as a food trend for Singapore, unsurprising with the nation’s aging population. It is estimated that by 2050, one in five people globally will be aged 60 and above.  One in four Singaporeans are expected to be aged 65 and above by 2030.

While food innovation has found alternative protein in the form of insects, cell-grown meat, and plant proteins, such new food categories may have less appeal for the elderly. The elderly will likely prefer traditional food but may be limited by mobility when it comes to cooking or seeking out their favourite foods. Food manufacturers will therefore have to innovate to create meals which are convenient, contain adequate nutrition, and retain the appropriate texture or tastes to suit the palates of this growing segment of the population.

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b) Food health

Individuals today are more selective about the food we consume and are willing to pay more for food regarded as more nutritious or healthy. In 2020, the global market for Health and Wellness Foods was estimated at US$764.2 billion despite the global impact of COVID-19. This figure is projected to reach a revised US$1.1 trillion by 2027, according to Business Wire. As consumers seek out fast, healthy, and all-encompassing alternatives, the demand for healthy functional food ingredients will capture the industry’s attention.

Plant-based foods is one of the new food categories to emerge because of the interest in healthy food. Perceived as healthier, plant-based products are occupying more real estate in supermarket shelves and freezers. Globally, there is an increase in plant-based options even among fast food chains.

In the United States (US), meat alternative sales were up and averaged 150 percent growth between January to July 2020 during the pandemic, according to Nielsen’s data gathered by FoodDive. The plant-based meat market is worth over US$900 million in the US alone.

Plant-based meat sales grew much faster than conventional counterparts

As we  try to look into the crystal ball, perhaps Mike Wystrach, Founder & CEO of Freshly (a prepared meals provider) can give us an idea of what to expect. He said: “…. consumers will continue to place more of an emphasis on maintaining a ‘plant-forward’ diet, instead of following a strict plant-based one. We will see more people opt for the age-old option of following plant-based eating principles, versus going completely vegetarian or vegan to fuel active lifestyles, support weight loss, or achieve other health and fitness related ambitions at home.”

2022 is expected to be another strong year for plant-based food manufacturers.

c) Food safety

Relatedly, the search for healthy ingredients means that transparency is essential to earn customer trust, resulting in “clean labels”. Consumers now want to what is in their food, how it is made, where it is made from and whom it is made by. The inability to access such information, may result in consumers intentionally avoiding the purchase of the product. With everything a simple search away, food products are increasingly compelled to display clean labels, and coming back full circle, manufacturers are pressured to create high-quality products that do not adversely impact health.

What about food safety? When various countries implemented lockdowns, the spotlight was on the food industry as one of the essential industries, forcing the food industry to endure tight restrictions and precautions. A high standard of safety while reducing COVID-19 transmissions through food was expected. Even as the world learns to live with COVID-19, food manufacturers should expect a string of tougher assessment criteria, born from the pandemic’s experiences.

d) Food security and a growing urban population

The world’s population grew by 56.2 percent in 2020, up from 55.7 percent in 2019. The global demand for food is correspondingly increasing with population growth. Singapore imports about 90 percent of our food to feed the nation, according to the Singapore Food Agency. With 90 percent of the nation’s food being imported, Singapore is exceptionally vulnerable to changes in global food supply, supply chain delays and price fluctuations. When Singapore was hit by COVID-19, it wanted to reduce its dependency on food imports and aimed to produce for 30 percent of local nutritional needs by the year 2030. To this end, land-scarce Singapore, looked to increase the number of rooftop farms as one of the measures.

In 2019, the government worked with an urban farming firm to construct a 1,800-square-meter farm on top of a multi-storey carpark. Following its success, nine multi-storey carpark rooftops were slated to be converted to farm vegetables and other crops in 2020. In 2021, further tenders were awarded for seven other farming sites on HDB (Housing Development Board) carpark rooftops.

Singapore also introduced initiatives to boost interest in farming. In April 2020, a $30 million fund was launched to help the local industry to ramp up production of fish, eggs and vegetables.

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