Have you tasted a sauce at a restaurant that was so delicious you wished you could use it in your home cooking? Or, at a cafe, sipped a tea so fragrant that you wished you could serve it to your guests?
Thanks to a growing number of eateries that produce in-house food products such as jams, sauces, condiments and beverage blends for retail, diners can now take home the flavours they enjoy.
At least nine eateries have expanded into food retail in the last nine months.
New entrants include Chinese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, which will roll out its sauces from Oct 13, and The Marmalade Pantry, which launched jams on Oct 17.
D’Good Cafe, known more for its brunch and coffee, introduced its tea brand, DGC Tea, at its second outlet in Ngee Ann City last month. Its first outlet is in Holland Village.
Some eateries see food retail as a side business to cater to diners who have asked to buy their food products.
A spokesman for Din Tai Fung says: “Our customers haveasked if they could buy our condiments home.” It will sell its sauces at its 12 outlets.
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Other eateries see food retail as another source of revenue and produce their goods on a large scale.
Three-month-old Japanese dessert kiosk Matchaya in Tanjong Pagar is selling the Japanese tea blends that are used in its soft serve, drinks and sweets, which helps diversify its revenue.
The products are also sold at lifestyle shops such as Naiise and Megafash and flea markets. Co-owner Kevin Chee, 29, says this helps “expand the brand’s exposure”.
Selling its products across various platforms also draws people to visit the shop to try out its soft serve and sweets.
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This is also what d’Good Cafe owner Mike Chin, 49, hopes to achieve with DGC Tea, which comprises teas ranging from white and oolong teas to adventurous flavours such as pineapple green tea and rum and raisin.
Of the more than 100 types of tea under the brand, 51 are available for retail.
Mr Chin says: “Diners who come for the food and coffee can go over to the tea bar to sample the teas and chat with our tea sommeliers.”
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Chinese restaurant chain Crystal Jade made its foray into food retail in April by bottling three sauces – Hong Kong-style chilli oil, shrimp paste and premium XO sauce. The restaurant’s chefs worked with a sauce manufacturing company.
Food merchandise may also be in demand among tourists and Singaporeans who live overseas.
Ginger-themed restaurant Halia, which has outlets at Raffles Hotel and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, pushed out its retail line, Halia Provisions, in July.
Products include dressings, jams and condiments used in its signature dishes, such as the ginger flower sauce which is drizzled over its lemongrass and ginger prawn salad. It sells about 300 items monthly.
Ms Esther Wee, 45, managing director of The Halia Group, says: “Tourists make up half of our diners and they want to bring our products back as gifts.”
The food products by these eateries are also sought after by diners who want more interesting alternatives to mass-market brands.
Mr Yudi Debeer, 42, a manager in the oil and gas industry, who recently bought matcha powder from Matchaya, says: “Although its tea powders are more expensive than those sold in supermarkets, they are of better quality.”
Sports scientist Samantha Tay, 35, who tried the teas at d’Good Cafe, says: “Its rainforest oolong tea has a strong aroma. I want to check out the rest of its tea range, which has interesting flavours.”
This article was first published on the Straits Times.