Huggs Coffee

SINGAPORE: After being “completely blindsided” by the COVID-19 pandemic, local specialty coffee chain Huggs Coffee embarked on an overhaul of its business ...

“Do you know why the bear is looking to the side and at a certain direction? “Essentially now, franchisees just have to invest and Huggs will run the show for you.” If not, you can be transferred back to the headquarters to be a trainer at the academy, or be involved in R&D at the roastery and bakery. Huggs does not want to be “held hostage” by suppliers amid rising costs and supply chain disruptions, said Mr Lee. These in-house capabilities can also help the firm to grow its business-to-business operations. Beyond that, it also hopes to convince people that there are opportunities for career development in the industry. The business had so much potential but to survive, it really needed to restructure and think out of the box,” he said. These customers disappeared overnight when the “circuit breaker” was called in April 2020, and never quite returned as people continued to work from home for most of the past two years. The company is also expecting its brand-new headquarters in Tai Seng to be up and running next month. There was also the consideration that competition is no less stiff in residential areas, from coffee shops with affordable local kopi to cafes with artisanal coffee. The unit, left vacant for months before Huggs came in, is also located on the same floor as a supermarket which sees high footfall. “Ben shared with me how much COVID-19 was affecting them ... and it felt like they could barely hold on because business in the CBD and business parks was completely dead. “Over the next 12 months, we should have another six to eight outlets coming up.