The Niche Collective

With a fresh dose of ideas, independent grocers are offering alternatives such as zero-waste cereals, vegan-friendly wines, hormone-free meat and other mindful goods.

- June Lee

Big is not always better. Large supermarkets can come across as impersonal and mass market. And even when brands innovate, they may not capture market loyalty – witness the meltdown of Emporium Shokuhin in 2018, billed then as the largest Japanese speciality supermarket, and the ongoing struggles of Habitat by Honestbee, a high-tech lifestyle store.

Niche and nimble food stores have always filled the spaces not occupied by supermarkets. Hipsters from the previous generation pushed the demand for healthy and organic food in the noughties, giving us Brown Rice Paradise and Supernature. Here are the niche stores to shop at.

#1 FARMER’S MARKET SINGAPORE

Expatriate entrepreneur Emma Pike started Farmer’s Market, an online business, in Hong Kong in 2006. When she moved to Singapore in 2017, she saw a need for sustainable and affordable meats, and launched Farmer’s Market here in May 2019.

“Often, at the butcher, we’re not aware of what we’re getting, where it is from, how it was raised, and so on. It’s not enough these days to say you sell meat from Australia – you need to tell people exactly where in Australia it is from.”

Pike says Singapore already has businesses doing this, but they charge a premium for it. “This is how we are different: We want to bring high-quality meat that is traceable, sustainable yet affordable to the market.”

Pike is outspoken about what drives her. “Anyone who isn’t trying to be ethical and sustainable these days probably won’t be around in a few years’ time. People are more aware of the impact food has on their bodies as well as our planet.”