SINGAPORE: Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and Grab announced on Monday (Jan 19) that they will work together to support Singapore’s food and beverage sector.

The two entities said they signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on strengthening the sector’s resilience by addressing key challenges such as rising operating costs and manpower constraints.

"The three-year partnership will see over 12,000 companies gain access to key data and industry insights to help refine their growth strategies," said EnterpriseSG and Grab in a joint media release.

Each year, more than 400 companies will also participate in masterclasses to build their capabilities while gaining increased visibility through Grab’s Dine Out page, they added.

Two key focuses of the collaboration will be helping businesses enhance their market visibility and customer demand, as well as providing them with new capabilities and data insights to drive transformation and growth.

INCREASING VISIBILITY WITH GRAB’S DINE OUT

The use of Grab’s Dine Out page to help eateries boost their visibility will help them navigate "softening consumer demand and reduced footfall", EnterpriseSG and Grab said.

The page currently helps users discover spots to eat by displaying nearby promotions, suggesting eateries for various occasions and allowing users to make reservations.

Under the new collaboration, targeted campaigns will be launched in selected precincts through Grab’s Dine Out page to drive demand for participating merchants, said the platform and EnterpriseSG.

"The campaigns will comprise a combination of consumer promotions and marketing efforts to profile participating businesses to Grab’s extensive pool of users," they said.

The first group of precincts to see the campaigns will include Jalan Besar, Holland Village and Tanjong Pagar, with additional locations to be identified.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, MASTERCLASSES

EnterpriseSG and Grab also noted that many businesses may struggle to keep pace with new technologies and effectively leverage them for growth.

The partnership will address this by providing F&B businesses with free access to industry insight reports that focus on areas such as consumer trends and best practices for digital marketing, they said.

"These reports translate Grab’s extensive industry insights into actionable data for F&B businesses, providing them with a better understanding of consumer preferences to anticipate market trends," added the two entities.

GrabAcademy will also conduct workshops and masterclasses on refining business strategies and operations optimisation to help businesses apply the data from the reports.

The workshops will comprise practical, hands-on sessions as well as panel discussions with industry experts and insights from both Grab and EnterpriseSG.

"Each workshop will engage up to 50 companies at a time, to ensure focused and interactive learning for businesses," said Grab and EnterpriseSG.

Ms Jeannie Lim, assistant managing director for services and growth enterprises at EnterpriseSG, said the collaboration underscored her organisation’s commitment to working with the industry to create tangible value for local businesses.

"The F&B sector’s resilience depends on its ability to adapt and innovate in response to evolving consumer behaviours and market conditions,” she said.

"Partnerships with key industry players like Grab help us provide our F&B businesses with meaningful data insights and the digital capabilities needed to stay ahead, especially in times of uncertainty."

Grab Singapore managing director Alejandro Osorio said the platform hoped to offer support that goes beyond numbers through the partnership, delivering the digital tools and precinct-level support merchants need to thrive in an evolving landscape.

"As the lifeblood of our neighbourhoods, local F&B businesses underpin Singapore’s cultural and economic vibrancy," he said.

"We are fuelling the revitalisation of local businesses and building the resilience required to safeguard livelihoods and keep our communities thriving for the long term."