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Ministry of Trade and Industry
2. Speeches

Speech by SMS Low Yen Ling at Restaurant Asia 2026

15 July 2026

  1. Good morning, and welcome to Restaurant Asia and SIGEP. I am delighted to be here with you. This is my fifth consecutive year at these two iconic F&B events. I am heartened to see so many businesses here today.

  2. We have about 14,000 visitors this year, up from 13,000 in 2025 and 11,000 visitors in 2024. The programme has also expanded to three coffee competitions this year. Each time I attend, I am always energised by the lively gathering of industry players, government and diplomatic representatives, as well as international trade missions - all under one roof. Events like the Restaurant Asia and SIGEP play a vital role in creating a platform for knowledge sharing, discovering new solutions, and forging promising F&B partnerships.

  3. Singapore is known as a food capital, a gateway to Asia and a global city. Our strong ecosystem and global connectivity make Singapore a natural launchpad for F&B innovation and a strategic base for businesses looking to expand. The continued co-location of Restaurant Asia and SIGEP Asia reflects exactly our commitment to connect our operators to global supply chains, fresh innovations, and new buyers.

Resilience & Innovation in our F&B Sector

  1. Singaporeans love food. It brings families and friends together, showcases our multicultural heritage, and strengthens our appeal as a vibrant global hub. The dedication of our F&B merchants and the wider ecosystem in building and sustaining our food culture cannot be overstated.

  2. Even as the operating environment evolves and consumer trends shift, our F&B sector has shown admirable resilience and strong adaptability. Businesses need to fundamentally rethink how they operate, compete and grow. This is why this year’s theme for Restaurant Asia and SIGEP – Resilience and Innovation – is so timely.

  3. Amid a fast-changing business landscape, many F&B businesses have tapped on government support to refresh concepts, redesign menus and improve operations.

  4. For instance, they relied on Enterprise Singapore’s F&B Process Optimisation Programme (POP) to review their end-to-end operations, identify bottlenecks, redesign workflows, and adopt practical solutions that help them do more with less.

    1. One such business is Buta Kizoku. The Japanese casual dining outlet rebranded itself to a new name, Gochiya, and re-engineered its menu to offer fresh choices. It also redesigned its workflows to streamline operations. Diners now enjoy an experiential dining concept in which  they complete the final 20% of the cooking at the table. In addition, the restaurant’s adoption of just-in-time rice cooking reduces waste. As a result, the outlet’s monthly revenue improved by 80% and sales per manhour increased by 20%.

Improving Operations with AI and Technology

  1. There is a huge potential for more improvements in the F&B industry with the rise of AI. The Government has made AI adoption a national priority. This commitment extends to the F&B sector. AI is not just for large corporations or tech companies, but for every business owner and operator.

  2. AI can help you achieve better operations in F&B.  For instance, it can assist in demand forecasting, staffing optimisation, inventory management and task automation. AI can also enhance customer experience through personalisation. The potential is significant. But realising the benefits of AI takes more than simply deploying the latest tools.

  3. Businesses that invest in understanding data, upskilling people and redesigning processes will be the ones that thrive. I am glad that many F&B operators have taken steps to digitalise – from implementing digital ordering systems to harnessing inventory tools and customer management platforms.

  4. However, these solutions often operate in silos, limiting the value they can deliver. A UOB AI and Digitalisation survey of F&B businesses in Singapore conducted in June 2026 found that 6 in 10 F&B operators have most of their digital solutions operating as standalone systems, and about 1 in 3 have yet to adopt any AI tools. For many F&B enterprises, the hardest challenge may not be finding the many AI solutions out there, but in knowing which ones are right for their business and how to begin in a practical and sustainable way.

  5. The same survey found that 80% of F&B operators are interested in solutions that improve operational efficiency, and 70% are keen on tools that help them acquire new customers and deepen loyalty.

New Programme to help F&B enterprises use AI

  1. To support our F&B sector’s AI transformation, I am pleased to announce the launch of the F&B AI and Digital Integration Programme by EnterpriseSG and UOB. Under this programme, F&B businesses can:

    1. Access advisory support from UOB SME Banking to identify digital and AI-enabled solutions best suited to their needs; and

    2. Leverage a suite of AI-enabled solutions and digital integration services, with up to 50% funding support by EnterpriseSG.

  2. Our goal is to enable F&B enterprises to use and integrate AI into their business and operations to benefit from its power and efficiency.

  3. Indeed, when businesses get this right, the results speak for themselves.

    1. For instance, Kopifellas, a modern Asian café, integrated an automated document capture tool into its accounting system. This saved the business two full man-days a week as its staff no longer had to travel to over 20 outlets to collect hardcopy invoices. Kopifellas also used AI to issue digital invoices instantly whenever an outlet placed an order, eliminating the manual processing of over 40 invoices each week.

    2. Another F&B operator and caterer, Elsie’s Kitchen, integrated its back-office system for order management, invoicing, inventory and accounting. Today, data is consolidated and flows automatically between these different functions. The enhancement has saved around 20% of man-hours that its staff spent on manual data entry and repetitive tasks. It has also reduced the time spent reconciling the data and minimised  human error. The caterer’s staff can better focus on strengthening customer service and analytics. Building on this foundation, Elsie’s Kitchen is now exploring the use of AI to improve resource planning in their central kitchen and logistics fleet and to support food safety monitoring and earlier risk detection.  

  4. The experiences of these two businesses show that digital integration and AI are not just technical upgrades. They can transform and enhance business performance.

  5. This year’s Leadership Symposium theme, The Intelligent Restaurant: Less Admin, More Hospitality, encapsulates these benefits. RAS has invited industry practitioners who are applying AI in their operations to share their candid experiences. We will hear from them how they built AI-powered teams, operated AI tools, and used AI for smarter decision-making.

  6. I encourage you to also hear and learn from industry partners and solution providers on the show floor. You can see that Restaurant Asia and SIGEP Asia this year is quite different compared to five years ago. It is really focused on experiential, knowledge sharing, networking and deal making. They are here not just to showcase their products, but to also help you understand what technology can do and how to make it work for you.

Building A Resilient F&B Sector

  1. The global operating environment continues to be challenging. Supply chains face uncertainty while competition for customers and markets intensifies. How we respond to these pressures will define the next chapter of Singapore’s F&B story.

  2. To harness the AI advantage, we need to constantly learn and use new skills. The government is committed to reskilling and upskilling our people and investing in their development.

  3. We will continue to empower and enable our workforce and businesses through technology. For instance, by freeing our F&B workers from repetitive and time-consuming tasks, we allow them to focus on delivering exceptional service, warm hospitality, and heartfelt human connections that no technology can replicate.

  4. Let’s journey together, up this pathway to better jobs, stronger businesses and a more resilient F&B industry.

Conclusion

  1. May you gain fresh insights and new connections. Expand your business potential through transformation and technology. Seize exciting opportunities in this dynamic food capital.

  2. It is now my pleasure to declare SIGEP Asia and Restaurant Asia 2026 officially open. Thank you.

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