Huggs Coffee expands from retail cafes in CBD to supplying corporate pantries and hospitals
This is under its business-to-business (B2B) division Huggs Professionale, which focuses on corporate and healthcare workers.
The chain began in 2008 with cafes in the CBD, offering both traditional Nanyang-style kopi and artisanal Western-style coffee.
After Huggs became established among office workers, the company decided to venture into another industry where caffeine is key: hospitals.
'For us, it is a natural extension – looking outside of the CBD and into hospital spaces,' said Clarissa Choo, brand director of Huggs Coffee and a second-generation leader of the business, which was founded by her father Ron Choo.
Huggs made its first foray into healthcare with a cafe at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in 2017, followed by one at National University Hospital in 2022, and another at the National Cancer Centre Singapore in October 2023.
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It was also in 2023 that the company launched Huggs Professionale, offering coffee beans, coffee machines and vending machines – with a selected range of freshly brewed coffee – to businesses.
'This really allows us to diversify our footprint – not just within the retail space, but also in corporate pantries,' said Choo.
In 2024, Huggs opened cafes in Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Hospital, with the latter also featuring the first Huggs Professionale vending machine.
As hospitals run around the clock, their staff may need coffee at any time of the day. But this has implications for labour costs, Choo noted. 'It's not commercially viable to open our cafe 24/7.'
Vending machines solve this problem. Even after the cafe closes at 5 pm, staff can still get a fresh brew from the vending machine.
Choo looks forward to setting up vending machines in other hospitals while improving both the coffee – with a wider range of blends – and the machines themselves.
For instance, Mount Elizabeth worked with Huggs to create its own coffee blend for staff and patients named 'It's Possible', after the hospital's tagline.
Custom brews
Huggs has already been offering packaged coffee beans for retail in their CBD cafes. But the B2B division allows the company to look at retail and customisation in a 'more structured manner', said Choo.
With corporate offices, for instance, Huggs works with clients' requests for coffee blends and coffee machines.
For those unsure of which blends to stock, Huggs holds blind tasting sessions – similar to those for Mount Elizabeth – where clients can taste Huggs' coffee blends in different variations, as well as its non-caffeinated drinks.
'We introduce a realm of different taste profiles and dive into a very extensive R&D (research and development) session,' she said.
These range from fruiter, tropical blends to ones that are thicker and more chocolatey, the director added.
Local, international expansion
Other than corporate clients, Huggs is strengthening its consumer presence, aiming to reach Singapore's speciality coffee drinkers.
In June 2024, Huggs launched its first Sojourner outlet in the Royal Group Building along Phillip Street. The new concept is part of the so-called 'fifth wave' of coffee: modern, business-centred cafes that serve high-quality, artisanal brews.
The aim is to reach more coffee connoisseurs and those who are more 'discerning and adventurous' with their coffee, said Choo.
Sojourner brings in premium beans such as Ethiopia Bensa and those from less common regions such as Papua New Guinea, as well as brewing its own artisanal blends.
A second Sojourner outlet was later opened in private vault The Reserve, and is exclusive to its employees. Similarly, one of the Huggs Coffee cafes is exclusive to Apple employees.
This June, Huggs will open its third Sojourner outlet in Capital Tower and its 19th Huggs Coffee outlet in Punggol Digital District, with the help of an SME Working Capital Loan from UOB under the government's Enterprise Financing Scheme.
The Punggol branch will include a Huggs Professionale showcase and a vending machine that remains accessible even after the cafe closes for the day.
Choo wanted to live up to the district's name: digitalising the cafe experience, as well as taking the opportunity to showcase Huggs Professionale's automation.
Regionally, Huggs Coffee plans to expand to Malaysia and the Philippines, and is considering Japan and Dubai.
The company is still in preliminary discussions with partners and master franchisees, and has not yet decided which market to enter first. Obtaining adequate information is key, said Choo. 'Otherwise, it's uncharted territory for us.'
Going abroad may require some adaptation, as the Nanyang-style coffee offered in Huggs outlets here is tailored to the local market.
In overseas ventures, Huggs may have to tweak the intensity and composition of its coffee, such that it is more familiar and attuned to the locals' tastebuds, said Choo.
Overseas menus may incorporate artisanal coffee, as well as the new market's own version of kopi.
'Depending on the market that we penetrate, we need to see what their version of everyday coffee (is), and localise.'
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