• New initiative aims to promote homegrown brands to local consumers

Singapore’s homegrown supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice, partnered with the leading association, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), to launch the Tasty Singapore Fair today. Tasty Singapore is a promotional label for food products manufactured by local brands with the aim to showcase the diversity, innovation, dynamism, quality and safety of homegrown food brands. Tasty Singapore is supported by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

“Tasty Singapore Fair is a celebration of quality foods that truly define Singapore’s rich multi-cultural heritage. NTUC FairPrice is proud to provide a common platform for homegrown food brands to showcase their tasty products of excellent quality. Our local favourites such as roti prata, laksa and pau have travelled the world under the Tasty Singapore banner to delight customers from diverse countries. Now, through our wide network of 89 FairPrice stores and our marketing efforts, we hope more customers here will be able to experience this one-stop shopping for tasty Singapore treats,” said Mr Seah Kian Peng, Managing Director, Group Business, NTUC FairPrice.

The Tasty Singapore Fair will run from 13 to 26 August 2009 at all FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra. A total of 30 products will be offered during this fair. These include a wide range of authentic Singapore ready-to-cook sauces and pre-mixes, canned drinks, instant beverages, assortment of nuts, seasoning, frozen food and noodle products. Seven of FairPrice’s housebrand products which are made by local manufacturers, are also participating in this fair.

SMa, as a leading federation that continuously champions the competitiveness and sustainable growth of local manufacturers, collaborates regularly with key partners within the government and retail sectors to promote demand for locally-manufactured products in domestic and overseas markets.

Dr Moh Chong Tau, Deputy President of SMa, commented, “It is heartening to see a tripartite partnership among our food manufacturers, the country’s largest supermarket chain and IE Singapore to promote home-grown brands; and to kickstart the branding efforts from home grounds. This collaboration will certainly strengthen our food manufacturers’ capabilities and marketability to provide competitive products to both local and global markets, especially when they ‘hunt in a pack’ under the Tasty Singapore branding in overseas markets.”

“The Tasty Singapore brand epitomises the distinctiveness and personality of Singapore food, which is the ultimate reflection of the quality, reliability, consistency and creativity that are incorporated into our food production methods,” said Mr Sunny Koh, Chairman of Food & Beverage Industry Group, SMa.

Tasty Singapore brand ambassadors adhere to stringent hygiene and food safety standards which comply with the highest international requirements for food production. They include accreditation to ISO 9001:200, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certifications and the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) Factory Grading system. The brand ambassadors can be identified by the distinctive orange Tasty Singapore logo on the products.

Commending FairPrice’s initiative to showcase local SMEs, Mr Tan Soon Kim, Deputy Director, Business Services & Lifestyle Division, IE Singapore, said, “The Tasty Singapore brand was conceived to enable Singapore food companies to market themselves on a common platform. This is particularly useful when they venture overseas as the branding helps to set them apart from competitor foreign products by leveraging on the attributes that are synonymous with Singapore food products such as safety, quality and innovation. This retail promotion with Singapore’s leading supermarket NTUC FairPrice will further strengthen the brand equity of Tasty Singapore. We welcome more local food manufacturers to sign up as Ambassadors of Tasty Singapore to further entrench the identity of Singapore food products globally.”

The Tasty Singapore Fair is another of FairPrice’s initiatives to help local SMEs ride through the tough economic times, aside from its SME Assistance Programme. Under the SME Assistance Programme, FairPrice has allocated S$30 million this year to help SME suppliers ease their cash flow. A total of 356 SME suppliers have taken up the offer to reduce payment terms by 30 days. Other measures under the assistance programme include discount on listing fess and advertisements, and assistance in promoting local brands.

Commenting on FairPrice’s SME Assistance Programme, Mr Seah said “Our suppliers are our long-term partners. Many of them have helped us in moderating prices of essential goods so that our customers will always have access to quality products at best value. In good times, our suppliers have also supported us in our community projects and contributing to our efforts to help the poor and needy. We are glad to play our part in helping our partners during this downturn.”

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About Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation

Established since 1932, SMa’s mission is to represent the interest of the Singapore manufacturing community and to drive its competitiveness and sustainable growth through serving industry-specific needs.

SMa is supported by 11 industry groups to serve diverse industry-specific needs, as well as five Centres of Excellence to offer a holistic approach towards improving competitiveness, upgrading skills and capitalizing on new technologies to grow market share. Current membership is more than 2,600 corporations ranging from MNCs to SMEs. SMa carries out a myriad of activities to enhance the competitive edge of our members.

Spearheading this collaborative initiative is the Food & Beverage Industry Group of SMa that takes care of issues and matters relating to the Food & Beverage manufacturing and services.

For more information, please visit http://www.smafederation.org.sg

About International Enterprise Singapore

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economic wing.

Its mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. With a global network in over 30 locations and its “3C” framework of assistance – Connections, Competency, Capital, IE offers services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets. At the same time, IE works to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies.

For more information on IE Singapore, visit www.iesingapore.com.