A futuristic new breed of coffee shops – at the vanguard of a $4.5 billion nation-wide IT transformation – could include features such as ordering via mobile apps or digital kiosks, and cashless payments.
Shopkeepers keen to meet the challenge of bringing in this type of innovation can bid in a tender for shops at two sites in Tampines and Choa Chu Kang later this month.
This is just the first step in the plan to transform the food industry – and 22 other key industries.
The Food Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) was launched yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, also Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies.
It is part of the Industry Transformation Programme announced in this year’s Budget.
The ITMs “lay out the growth and transformation strategies for the 23 key industries over the next five years… bringing together our initiatives for productivity, innovation, SkillsFuture and enterprise internationalisation for each industry,” he said.
These industries are divided into six clusters.
Food services falls under the lifestyle cluster whose oversight team will be jointly chaired by Senior Minister of State Sim Ann and Select Group managing director Vincent Tan. Spring Singapore will be lead agency for the cluster.
A pillar of the food services ITM – covering new-look coffee shops – is adopting innovative food formats.
By 2025, three out of eight dining experiences here will involve new formats like grab-and-go and vending machines, Spring estimates.
wrennie@sph.com.sg
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