2025 was the year of closure for many food chains in the city-state. Famed American chain Eggslut shut its last local store on Feb. 28, marking its exit from Singapore. The list goes on with the withdrawal of Burger & Lobster, Fluff Stack, Flor Patisserie and Keong Saik Bakery, among others.
But some major chains stood firm and continued to add stores to their network, as compiled in a list by The Business Times.
Chagee
The Chinese tea brand, known for its traditional oriental beverages, has expanded to 29 outlets in Singapore since its return in August 2024, opening three stores at Orchard Gateway, Plaza Singapura and Raffles Place.
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A Chagee store in Singapore. Photo courtesy of Chagee |
Chagee first entered the Singapore market in 2019, the same year it set up stores in Thailand and Malaysia. Operating on a franchise model, it grew to 12 outlets before exiting Singapore in January 2024.
It made a comeback several months later under a non-franchise structure, with all local outlets directly run by the brand.
The Nasdaq-listed bubble tea chain opened its first store in Yunnan in November 2017 and has since grown to more than 6,000 outlets worldwide.
Despite weaker sales and intensifying competition from rivals offering ultra-low prices, Chagee has held to its strategy of positioning premium products at higher price points.
Mixue
The Hong Kong-listed bubble tea giant is reported to have expanded to more than 30 outlets in Singapore since its local debut in February 2022, including locations at Grantral Mall in Clementi and Bugis Village.
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Inside a Mixue store in Singapore. Photo courtesy of Mixue Singapore |
Best known for its low-priced bubble tea and ice cream, Mixue was founded in 1997 in China’s Henan province, starting out as a street stall selling shaved ice before adding pearl milk tea to its offerings.
After adopting an affordability-driven pricing model and shifting towards soft-serve cones, the company gained traction and began franchising in 2008.
By March 2025, Mixue had overtaken McDonald’s to become the world’s largest fast-food chain, with more than 46,000 outlets globally, over 41,000 of which are in China.
Luckin Coffee
China’s fast-growing coffee chain, often seen as a challenger to Starbucks, has increased its footprint in Singapore to 68 outlets as at November, just two years after entering the market.
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A Luckin Coffee location in Singapore. Photo courtesy of Luckin Coffee Singapore |
It made its Singapore debut in March 2023 with two stores at Marina Square and Ngee Ann City, marking its first overseas expansion.
Founded in 2017 in Xiamen, where it remains headquartered, Luckin Coffee is widely known as the “Starbucks of China”.
The company overtook Starbucks as China’s largest coffee retailer in 2023. It opened its first US outlets in June and, as of November, operated more than 29,000 stores globally, the bulk of them in China.
Luckin has said it plans to relist in the U.S. after being removed from the Nasdaq in 2020 following the inflation of more than US$300 million in revenue.
Other chains with expansion activities included Scarlett Supermarket, Nong Geng Ji, Xiang Xiang Hunan Cuisine and A Hot Hideout.
