Armed with franchising experience from Popeyes, Fei Siong Group takes Encik Tan to Indonesia
By end-December, the food and beverage (F&B) group will open its first outlets for Encik Tan and dim sum brand Pao Pao in Jakarta under a joint venture. Both brands have earned their halal certification.
Subsequent Encik Tan outlets will be franchised, with Fei Siong aiming to open 100 stores in Indonesia by 2030. It may consider franchising Pao Pao, depending how the first kiosk performs.
As Singapore's hawker scene becomes 'increasingly saturated', regional expansion and the Popeyes franchise will become the company's biggest growth drivers, said Fei Siong's founder and chairman, Tan Kim Siong.
The next target is Malaysia. Fei Siong is in talks with partners to open its first Encik Tan outlet in Johor by Q3 2026, and its first in Kuala Lumpur in Q1 2027.
The goal is to open 50 outlets in Malaysia in the next five years, and to double that by 2035.
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To further its various expansion plans, Fei Siong is seeking investors for growth-stage capital, with an initial public offering being possible down the road.
Venturing overseas marks a new phase for Fei Siong, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. From a fishball noodle stall in 1995, it has grown into an F&B empire with 17 brands and more than 180 outlets.
These brands include Nam Kee Pau, Eat, 85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles and SG Hawker. The group also operates four hawker centres in Buangkok, Hougang, Woodleigh and Bukit Batok.
Since 2021, revenue has grown 10 per cent annually, hitting S$210 million in FY2024. The group expects to make S$230 million in FY2025, and S$400 million in 2030.
Encik Tan's outlet in Changi Airport Terminal 2, which opened in April. The halal-certified hawker-cuisine concept is among Fei Siong's 17 brands. PHOTO: FEI SIONG GROUP
Taking a bite of the fast-food sector
With experience gained from managing the Popeyes Singapore franchise, the group is now in a better position to head abroad, said Fei Siong's chief strategy officer Jedrick Tan, who is unrelated to the company's founder.
The US fried chicken brand opened its first outlet here in 2001, under another franchisee. From 2009, the franchise belonged to Malaysian-based restaurant operator, Revenue Valley.
In 2022, Fei Siong inked a franchise deal with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Asia-Pacific – a subsidiary of multinational fast food holding company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) – to develop and run new Popeyes outlets.
This was Fei Siong's entry into the fast-food, quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment, its ticket to diversifying beyond hawker cuisine.
It was also the group's first time in franchise management, as it owns the other F&B brands in its portfolio.
In late 2023, Fei Siong acquired Singapore's remaining 10 Popeyes stores from Revenue Valley. With 11 outlets it opened, Fei Siong now runs 21 Popeyes outlets.
Fei Siong Group founder and chairman Tan Kim Siong (second from left) with his brothers Tan Kim Leng (extreme left) and Tan Kim Beng (third from left), and New Mun Kit (extreme right). The latter three are directors of the group. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT
Managing an international QSR brand has taught the group how to operate outlets at scale, said Jedrick Tan, concurrently chief strategy officer and chief executive of Fei Siong FastFood (Popeyes PLK Singapore).
The team has picked up valuable standard operating procedures relating to front- and back-of-house management, he said. One was RBI's 'structured and modular' kitchen workflow, which was implemented across all Popeyes Singapore outlets.
He said: 'Quality control is key in a franchise. The workflow has to be standardised and broken down into a modular format, so franchisee partners can digest and execute it easily.'
Another learning point was automation, picked up from Popeyes outlets having self-ordering kiosks and kitchen-display systems for efficiency.
Fei Siong plans to introduce some of these best practices when franchising its own brands overseas.
For instance, Encik Tan operates in Singapore as a 'mini food court' with multiple stalls. Overseas, its outlets will take a QSR format with a single central kitchen.
'The QSR format is more scalable for overseas expansion,' said Jedrick Tan. The food-court model has multiple point-of-sales systems, making it difficult to maximise productivity, he added.
Giving Popeyes a makeover
Today, the Popeyes franchise contributes 15 per cent of Fei Siong's topline. This is expected to grow to 25 per cent by 2032, with the group being on track to meeting its target of 50 Popeyes outlets by then, he said.
Since taking over the franchise, Fei Siong has given the outlets a makeover with new layouts and a new colour scheme; the menu is constantly refreshed with, for example, limited-time offerings of fried chicken in local flavours such as salted egg and rendang.
In May, the chain launched a breakfast series – a first for the Popeye's franchise in Asia – with items such as waffles with fried chicken; cereal chicken porridge; and pancakes.
Popeyes Singapore launched a breakfast series in May, with items such as waffles with fried chicken; cereal chicken porridge; and pancakes. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT
Fei Siong also obtained RBI's approval to have a flexible 'food atrium' format for some Popeyes Singapore outlets in locations where Fei Siong's other brands share the space. There are five such outlets today, with the aim being to offer more variety.
'Not everyone wants to eat fried chicken for the day,' said Jedrick Tan. 'With this, customers can enjoy different offerings in the same dining area. Landlords see value in this too, when you give more value to your customers.'
The group is now looking to secure the Popeyes master franchise rights for other regional markets, such as Malaysia.
Fei Siong has obtained RBI's approval to have a flexible 'food atrium' format for some Popeyes Singapore outlets, where the group's other brands share the space. PHOTO: FEI SIONG GROUP
Flying the Singapore flag high
Fei Siong still retains its hawker focus, as reflected in its move to take Encik Tan and Pao Pao abroad. As Jedrick Tan put it: 'Our strength is still in local cuisine.'
Indonesia was chosen as the first stop as its culinary scene has less overlap with Singapore's, with local delicacies such as laksa being harder to find there.
Fei Siong aims to take its local delights to the West too – in frozen form.
It has developed frozen meals for export to the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. These include Singaporean favourites such as fishball noodles and laksa.
These meals may be sold under its SG Hawker brand in supermarkets or Asian mini-marts. In the future, Fei Siong may even open SG Hawker outlets in these markets, with a retail section for these meals.
Said founder Tan: 'Our goal is to bring Singapore food culture to different parts of the world.'
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