BreadTalk: The story of the aspiring artist who built a bakery chain across Asia (2024)

Looking for a quick snack? Follow the smell of freshly-baked bread to BreadTalk. Founded in Singapore, they now have over 700 stores mainly across Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries.

In 2019, the BreadTalk Group made a revenue of $209M from BreadTalk bakeries alone. But did you know that BreadTalk’s Singaporean founder, George Quek, originally planned on being an artist?

Now, he proudly owns BreadTalk Group, which has brands like Toast Box and Food Republic. This is the story of the bakery that’s won us over with its wide range of pastries that satisfy any craving.

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🇸🇬 An artist at heart

Since he was a kid, George Quek knew he’d have to fight for his own dreams. Quek was born to a Singaporean vegetable farmer-turned-seaman and a housewife.

He didn’t enjoy school, preferring to sketch the views by his house. He was so talented, he won many art competitions! But his parents couldn’t afford primary and high school, so he worked as a cable technician to pay for school.

He studied sketching and calligraphy at the Singapore Art Academy before formally joining the army.

Even then, he still dreamt of being an artist. He made a living off of wood carvings and metal engravings for a handmade art store at a shopping mall.

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🐉 Carving a new path

Quek’s father saw how passionate he was about art. He gave his son his entire savings, $1,500 (S$2,000) so he could study at a famous art school in Taipei. But Quek felt that he wouldn’t make enough money as an artist.

He stopped studying and used his father’s savings to set up a sugar candy stall. This candy was so popular that Quek began to make over $178,000 (S$240,000) a month!

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🍜 Trying something different

He then thought of bringing in Singaporean dishes like fishball noodles and bak chor mee to Taipei. He used up his own savings of $74,000 (S$100,000) to set up a stall named “Singa” in a shopping mall.

Quek stopped studying art, working his stall from 5 AM to 10:30 PM everyday. But Taiwanese customers weren’t interested in Singaporean food. Quek had to temporarily close the business after only 3 months.

But he didn’t give up! He found a chef who added a Taiwanese twist to dishes like satay, Hainanese chicken rice, and prawn noodles. Eventually, Singa reopened. It became so popular that he opened 21 outlets!

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👀 Back to his roots

Quek sold Singa in 1992, returning to Singapore to take care of his parents, who were getting old. He saw that Singaporean bakeries focused on their pastries, instead of decorating their shops like those in Taiwan and Japan.

“In Taiwan and Japan, the food and beverage industries were pretty advanced,” he said. “But I saw room for improvement and opportunities in Singapore. It felt like the time was right for something new.”

Quek named his store BreadTalk because “I believe each bread has its own story to tell,” he said. He opened the first BreadTalk branch in Singapore at the Bugis Junction shopping mall in 2000.

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🥐 Attention to detail

Quek and his wife made sure that every detail of the stores was perfect. They started with sourcing high-quality ingredients like New Zealand butter and Japanese-milled flour.

Quek may have changed careers, but he didn’t lose his artistic eye! From the start, he made sure that his BreadTalk branches looked like fashion boutiques. He wanted his customers to have a fun, elevated shopping experience!

Some of the branches have stainless steel interiors. Others look like boutique jewelry shops. Their most recent branches are wabi sabi-themed. The neutral colors and natural woods make the customers feel at home!

And while customers wait in line, they can watch chefs prepare the fresh bread. Sometimes, they’ve even got award-winning chefs on board like World Bread Champion Johnny Chen Yung-Hsin!

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🥖 Things don’t stop there

This attention to detail meant it was expensive to run. They had to make $1800 (around S$2,500 a day) at their first branch to survive.

People immediately loved the delicious pastries with quirky names like Cheesy Earthquake Bread, Hot Chic, and of course: their signature Flosss buns. The Flosss buns became so popular, one is sold every 10 seconds!

In their first year, they got over 1,000 franchising inquiries from Singaporean firms and other countries. And just 3 years later, BreadTalk became one of Singapore’s largest bakery chains.

They opened a Jakarta branch, where monthly sales reached $222,000 (S$300,000), even more than their Singapore branch! They also opened a Shanghai branch, adapting their flavors to local tastes. In the same year, BreadTalk Group was successfully listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange!

Now, 60% of outlets are franchised, while 40% is owned by the company.

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😋 Staying one step ahead

BreadTalk stays popular by introducing new products every six months.

When China sent their first astronaut to space, BreadTalk released rocket-shaped bread! And to raise funds for victims of the Sichuan earthquake, they sold panda-shaped pastries.

“70% of our product line-up has been phased out,” Quek says. “We constantly innovate our culinary approach to bring a wider variety of ingredients and techniques to our customers.

He mentioned how brands sometimes become famous for a while, then disappear. “To avoid that, we need to keep learning and feeling the pulse of the market…and I’m ready to make very drastic changes, if necessary.”

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🫂 Here and now

They didn’t stop at just a successful bakery.

BreadTalk Group now owns nine brands operating across 15 markets, including BreadTalk, Toast Box, Food Republic. They even operate partner brands like Din Tai Fung in select markets too!

And it’s all because George Quek fought for his dreams, persisted against challenges, and stayed an artist at heart with his creativity. So keep an eye out for whatever BreadTalk bakes up next—it’s sure to be the talk of the town.