How To Start A Food Business (Restaurant) In Singapore

Starting a successful restaurant or food business is many people’s dream, especially in a food haven in Singapore. There are many foreigners who love to bring their speciality cuisines into Singapore.

The process in Singapore is not complicated but controls are in place such as certain licenses will be required before your business can operate.

The purpose of this article is to guide you on the steps needed to begin your food business.

1. Incorporating a company in Singapore

Your first step is to set up a private limited company in Singapore through a corporate secretary. You need to specify your primary business activity (SSIC code) for your new company, during the incorporation process. For the food and beverage (F&B) business, you will be selecting from the following:

2. Decide On The Place Of Operation

After incorporating the company, the next step is to decide on where to operate your food business. There are many choices such as a hawker stall, in a coffee shop, within a commercial mall or in a stand-alone shopfront such as a shophouse. You can check out more here.

Most landlords will advertise in the major newspapers or via an online property portal.

One caution here is you need to ensure the premise that you are going to rent is allowed to be operated as an F&B outlet. You may need to apply for a change of use permission for the property if the original intended use is not for a restaurant.

In such instances, you should offer the landlord a Letter Of Intent, and state clearly that your offer is subjected to the approval of change of use.

Most commercial leases are signed for a period between 2 to 5 years in Singapore. Besides paying monthly rent, you will need to place a security deposit with the landlord. This security deposit is typically directly correlated with the number of years signed in your tenancy agreement, i.e. 3 years lease = 3 months security deposit.

At the end of the lease, the security deposit will be refunded to you. Any cost required to restore the property back to its original condition will be deducted from the security deposit. You can watch what is a security deposit here.

A rent-free period, which is a common practice here, is that the tenant will request from the landlord a reasonable period of time to renovate the premise before the lease officially begins.

3. Obtaining The Required Licenses To Operate

You need to obtain a food shop license before commencing operation. The total time needed for the application can vary from a week to a few months. If you do not wish to encounter any delays in the license approval, you need to meet the requirements set out below:

1. Approval from the relevant land agency e.g. URA and HDB (referred to as planning permission from land agencies)*
2. Tenancy agreement#
3. Details of the applicant – one of the following (where applicable):
   i. Individual – Front and back of NRIC
   ii. Company – Information Business Profile purchased from the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)
   iii. Society – Certificate of Registration from Registrar of Societies
4. Basic food hygiene certificate/Refresher food hygiene certificate of food handlers
5. Food hygiene officer certificate (for Food caterers, Restaurants, Foodcourts and Canteens only)
6. Cleaning program
7. The layout of premises (in scaled metric units)
8. Letter of authorisation (if the application is not submitted directly by the licensee/director of the company that is holding the licence)
9. Pest control contract in respect to the controlling of rodents, cockroaches and flies during the licensing period. The frequency of inspection of the premises in the contract should be at least once a month to detect any signs of pest infestation.
10. Supplementary Information form must capture the business name, type of food sold, business operating hours, etc.
11. Food Safety Management Plan (critical control points must be identified) or proof of registration for the “WSQ Apply FSMS for Food Service Establishments” course. (For Food Caterers & premises with permission to cater only). For more details, refer to the following link.
12. Clear photos showing the exterior and interior of the vehicle used for catering
13. Rental agreement or vehicle log card for the vehicle to prove ownership of catering vehicle
14. Cleaning program/schedule for catering vehicle

*Do note that this is a potential pitfall for the applicant. The applicant needs to ensure the relevant planning permission has been obtained, before signing any tenancy agreement (TA) and investing in equipment/renovations for the premises.

#Take note that submission of a TA is not needed during the initial stage of application for a licence. The TA will only be necessary at the final stage before the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approves and issues out the licence to you. You should not sign any TA until the relevant land agency has approved the relevant use for the premises, and you are reasonably confident you can meet the licensing conditions. You should also verify with the owner/landlord on all necessary renovations such as the installation of the exhaust system, pipings for sinks etc.

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Additional License

If you intend to sell alcohol for your food business, you will need to apply for a Liquor Licence. There are different classes of Liquor Licence. The type of Liquor Licence you need to apply for will depend on

1. The type of alcohol being sold (beer, wine, etc)
2. The operating hours
3. Type of business establishment (restaurant, bar, convenient store, etc)

The licenses are typically valid for 1 year and you can apply for renewal. You can renew your licenses only if you have fulfilled conditions that come with owning a Liquor Licence, such as disallowing any drunkenness, gambling or disorderly conduct within your premise. Selling alcohol without a valid licence or not complying with the conditions is a punishable offence with a fine of up to S$10,000.

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Being a cosmopolitan city with many different cultures, a significant number of Muslims live in Singapore. If you wish to do their business, you can apply to be a Halal certified establishment.  

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If your restaurant is serving speciality food, most probably you have to import special ingredients from overseas. The Singapore government is very strict about food safety therefore you need to get a license before you can import food ingredients. You can do so by registering with the Singapore Food Agency.

4. Relocation and Hiring Manpower

As a foreigner looking to establish your brand of food in Singapore, most likely that you have to be physically working in Singapore. Applying for an Entrepass will give you the work visa needed to work and live in Singapore.

You will need to employ people to work in your restaurant and we recommend that you consider hiring Singaporeans before you try to employ a foreign worker. In the event you really need to hire a foreigner, their skill level and salary amount will determine if you need to apply for an Employment Pass, S Pass or work permit. For S-Pass and work permit holders, you will be subjected to quotas and levies so it is not so simple and straightforward as you think.

Are you ready to start a food business or restaurant in Singapore? Here at Sg Company Services, we have a team ready to assist you through the entire process to help you to start operating successfully. From the incorporation of your company, sourcing for rental locations, applying for licences, relocation and work passes. Talk to us today!

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