For Bryan Lian, the breaking point usually arrives at the five-figure mark. As the operator of Shiki, a company supplying ingredients to roughly 150 restaurants, Lian has spent years navigating the precarious credit cycles of the hospitality industry. But lately, the traditional tools of recovery—lawyer’s letters and the Minor Claims Tribunal—have felt like relics of a more trusting era.
Now, Lian is increasingly turning to debt collectors. It is a move he describes not as a preference, but as a necessity. “It’s not what we would like to do,” Lian says, “but when the amount owed is five figures and the restaurant is still running, it just shows how much these errant business owners disregard suppliers.”
The tension reflects a systemic fracturing in Singapore’s food and beverage ecosystem. For decades, the relationship between wholesalers and restaurants was built on a handshake and a credit line. Today, that trust is being replaced by High Court winding-up applications, strict cash-on-delivery mandates, and a desperate pivot toward direct-to-consumer retail.
The Cost of Credit in a Tightening Market
The shift toward “hardball” tactics is backed by sobering data. Figures from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) reveal a steady climb in food business failures. In 2024, 3,047 food businesses shuttered; by 2025, that number rose to 3,148. The trend has persisted into 2026, with 1,021 businesses closing between January and March alone.
| Period | Food Businesses Closed | Trend/Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 (Full Year) | 3,047 | Baseline industry volatility |
| 2025 (Full Year) | 3,148 | Increasing failure rate |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | 1,021 | Closures nearly equal to new startups (1,047) |
The legal battles have reached high-profile establishments. In June 2025, Toh Thye San Farm applied to the High Court to wind up The Banana Leaf Apolo, a staple known for its fish head curry. Kenny Toh, the farm’s chief strategy officer, noted that the restaurant eventually paid $85,000—covering a $73,000 debt plus legal fees—after a year-long dispute. “We sold to them on credit terms; they sold to their customers on a cash basis,” Toh says. “For them to not pay us is really unreasonable.”
Similar scenes have played out elsewhere. In February 2026, debt collectors were spotted at several restaurants owned by the Lao Huo Tang Group, sent by a wholesale supplier who had been owed money since 2024.
Reading the Signs of Collapse
Suppliers are often the first to sense a restaurant’s demise, long before a “closed” sign hits the door. For Hong Junchen of Gyoren, a Japanese seafood supplier, the warning signs are sensory. He frequently dines at the establishments he supplies to gauge their health.
“We do a store check and a credibility check,” Hong says. “And you can usually taste it in the food. You know when a chef has lost his heart.”
Other suppliers report a pattern of erratic behavior. Joan Tan of Soshinsen recalls a surge in desperate, last-minute requests for extended credit terms—some asking for up to 90 days. “On multiple occasions, I got calls at 1 a.m. Asking for massive orders,” Tan says. “The moment we asked for pre-payment… They went silent.”
To mitigate these risks, some are enforcing rigid financial boundaries. Chua Shengyu, founder of Meat Co, has maintained a strict 30-day credit policy or cash-on-delivery since 2016. “If we don’t get payment, we are giving away the product,” Chua says. “Why do we work so hard to give away product?”
The Fall of a Family Dynasty
The human cost of this volatility is perhaps most evident in the collapse of FoodXervices. The company was the evolution of Ng Chye Mong, a provision shop started in 1934 by the late Ng Lim Song, who emigrated from Shantou, China. For nearly a century, the business grew from selling shark’s fin on Rochor Road to a $65 million portfolio supplying giants like Marina Bay Sands and Singapore Airlines.
The downfall began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nichol Ng, who ran the business with her brother Nicholas, recalls monthly revenues plummeting from $5 million to $500,000. The company was burdened by a $50 million warehouse facility at Pandan Loop, completed just as the world shut down. By 2022, banks began to panic over the asset’s weight on the balance sheet.
The end came swiftly. In November 2024, the bank forced the sale of the building to an Australian fund. Subsequently, five other banks cut the company’s credit lines, strangling its ability to purchase inventory. On March 26, 2026, the siblings announced they had lost all access to their warehouse. Liquidators are now winding up the business.
“I continued what my family started out of responsibility,” says Nichol Ng. “Failure is a comma in this chapter, not a full stop.”
The Pivot to the Home Kitchen
Faced with the instability of B2B credit, suppliers are aggressively expanding into retail. The pandemic proved that home cooks were willing to invest in premium ingredients, and wholesalers are now capturing that margin directly.
- Toh Thye San: Expanding its “Mr Farmer” platform to include ready-to-eat items and bone broth kits.
- Meat Co: Opening physical retail stores at Cluny Court and Paragon mall, including a new line of meat pies launching in May 2026.
- Shiki and Soshinsen: Developing online storefronts and dedicated retail spaces to ensure immediate payment.
This shift is supported by broader consumer trends. A 2025 YouGov Singapore Dining Out Report found that one in three Singaporeans are dining out less frequently, with 65% citing rising restaurant prices as the primary cause. External pressures, including geopolitical conflicts driving up costs and the upcoming 2027 Rapid Transit System link to Johor Bahru, further threaten the viability of smaller local eateries.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice regarding debt recovery or corporate liquidation.
The industry now awaits further data from ACRA’s second quarter of 2026 to determine if the rate of food business closures is stabilizing or accelerating. As credit lines tighten and the “handshake deal” vanishes, the survival of Singapore’s culinary scene may depend less on the quality of the food and more on the rigidity of the ledger.
Do you think the shift toward retail will save the supply chain, or is the restaurant industry facing a permanent contraction? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
