• Singapore - Heart of Asia, the World’s Growth Engine
• Growing Consumer Market
• Asia’s Lifestyle Lab – Deliver Brand New Experiences
• Growing Brand Value through Innovation
• Gaining Consumer Insight
• Accessing the Region
• Draw for Talent and Creativity
• Delivering an Experience
• Protecting Intellectual Capital

Across the globe, the consumer market is burgeoning faster than ever before, due to unprecedented population growth, increasing urbanisation and greater consumer affluence. This is even more so in Asia, home to almost three billion people. Opportunities are abundant in the global consumer market¹, which hit US$227 billion globally in 2005 and is due to reach US$265 billion in 2010. For consumer companies looking for a location to base their key activities in the region, there can be no better platform than Singapore.

¹ Refers to all the individuals and households who purchase goods and services for personal use.

Across the globe, the consumer care, food, nutrition, lifestyle and hospitality industries are expanding faster than ever before, due to unprecedented population growth, increasing urbanisation and greater consumer affluence. This is even more so in Asia, home to almost three billion people. Opportunities are abundant in the global consumer market, which hit US$227 billion globally in 2005 and is due to reach US$265 billion in 2010. For consumer companies looking for a location to base their key activities in the region, there can be no better platform than Singapore.

Singapore has long been the key location for Asia Pacific headquarters for consumer companies that include leading international hotel chains such as Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hilton, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and top Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson and Cadbury Plc.  These companies also use Singapore as a base for development of new products and concepts for Asian markets. 

Indeed, the presence of many MNCs and enterprising start-ups in Singapore presents a wide range of opportunities for consumer companies to develop creative solutions.  Hospitality companies could develop and test the latest hotel in-room technology gadgets.  In the food service area for example,  Burger King has established independent  restaurants that serve as innovative test-beds for the introduction of new products and concepts that would subsequently be rolled out at other Burger King restaurants in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. 

Singapore has built up a wealth of expertise in the fields of chemistry, food sciences, biomedical sciences and engineering. This has translated into well-skilled manpower for knowledge-intensive manufacturing, specialist R&D activities and a commitment to innovation. Tapping on these capabilities, Johnson & Johnson established laboratories in Singapore to engage in research of molecular applications and conduct clinical trials. Nestle meanwhile, operates a regional R&D centre for Asia, Oceania and Africa  to conduct research on culinary products, baby food and malt-based beverages

Global brands may customise their products according to the different taste and preference for the Asian market. The city-state hopes to be the conduit that provides invaluable insights into Asia’s consumptive behaviour, as the Singapore consumers are multi-racial, cosmopolitan, sophisticated, forward thinking and discerning.  This makes Singapore an ideal test-bed for products and concepts primed for Asia.

Consumer business companies can also draw upon Singapore’s base of research capabilities in consumer science,  sensory and market research provided by renowned market research firms such as Nielsen and Euromonitor International, as well as specialist sensory firms such as Sensory Solutions and Colmar Brunton. Various leading consumer products companies also have internal teams set up in Singapore, to spot trends and consumer in-sights to gather market intelligence for Asia.

Consumer product companies can tap on Singapore’s pro-business environment, rated top in the global league (EIU Country Forecast 2008), to drive their international businesses out of Singapore. It possesses excellent global connectivity, established business infrastructure, leading logistics and supply chain management capabilities. Leveraging on these strengths, LVMH Fragrances & Cosmetics, the cosmetics and perfumes unit of the world’s largest luxury goods company and Diageo, the world’s largest premium alcohol beverage distributor, have both set up Regional Distribution Centres in Singapore to serve the Asia-Pacific market and conduct shared services.

Building on its strong base in Science and Engineering, Singapore is fostering a more conducive environment for creative solutions and relevant capabilities.   A critical part of this effort centres on education. Local tertiary institutes and design institutes such as Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Polytechnic, Raffles Design Institute and LASELLE-SIA offer world-class education for an array of programmes that include product design, fashion design, visual communications and interactive media.  Singapore is also home to some of the top hospitality management institutes that operate their Asian campuses or joint programmes in Singapore, which include INSEAD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality.  Our companies can leverage the resources to groom the future talent pool and position themselves to capture the growth from Asia.

Singapore has long been the key location for Asia Pacific headquarters of international hotel chains such as Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hilton, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. As hotels prepare to capture the fast growing Asia-Pacific tourism market, Singapore is equipped to help them deal with their expansion by grooming talent for the region. Some of the best hospitality management institutes operate their Asian campuses or joint programmes in Singapore. These include INSEAD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality.

In addition, beyond just a hotel stay, guests are also looking for a holistic experience. Hospitality companies can leverage Singapore as a living lab to develop innovative technologies as well as new hospitality concepts and services that will meet the future needs of their guests. Indeed, the presence of many MNCs and enterprising start-ups in Singapore presents partnership opportunities for hospitality companies to develop creative solutions ranging from the latest in-room technology gadgets, intelligent lighting to health & wellness concepts.

The best idea in the world means little if it is lost. Today, Singapore offers the number one intellectual property protection in Asia (The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008, World Economic Forum) and is also a signatory to major Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) conventions and treaties. Recognising this favourable environment, Global Brands, the leading product licensing, brand management and retail development partner for sports, entertainment and lifestyle brands worldwide has relocated its global HQ to Singapore. The company manages the global rights of brands such as Disney and Warner Brothers from Singapore.