Hipster restaurants are invading Singapore’s CBD

They’re catering to health-conscious consumers.

Growing in-house organic food? Check. Made-to-order menus? Check. A new obsession with healthy options is changing retail in Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD), according to a report by JLL.

JLL highlighted that the city-state is seeing a new trend towards mixed-use developments incorporating retail and food and beverage (F&B) components. The result is a demand for products and services, such as gyms, juice bars, organic gardens and new F&B concepts that meet the needs of the growing number of health-conscious consumers.

The trend includes F&B outlets with gardens to grow their own produce, organic foods, cold-pressed juice bars and menus that are made to order for the growing health and lifestyle market.

“Singapore consumers are becoming more aware of their lifestyle choices what they eat and where their food has been sourced as well as placing more emphasis on their fitness regimes,” sais Tom Hamilton, Director, Retail at JLL in Singapore.

As a result, Hamilton said, many food operators are looking at bringing in more healthy food concepts to meet the growing demand. Meanwhile, operators and developers are looking at sustainability, such as development around urban parks and green spaces and how these can be incorporated into the healthy lifestyle.

Examples of this trend can be found in the new developments of Tanjong Pagar Centre and South Beach.

Both developments are mixed use projects incorporating Office, Residential, Hotel, Retail and F&B accommodation in meeting the government’s new “Live, Work and Play” requirement. 

Tanjong Pagar Centre will contain a 100,000 sq ft Urban Park surrounded by F&B units as part of its retail component, while South Beach contains F&B and retail accommodation under a sustainable microclimatic canopy further enhancing both developments sustainable credentials.

“The landscape in the CBD has changed,” added Gary Nonis, JLL’s National Director for Retail. “Prior to today it was simply offices and office workers. Now there is a big residential component coming in, in line with the government’s ‘Work, live, play.’ And they value a healthy lifestyle, open space, green credentials and sustainability.”