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Former home-based F&B operator turned hawker calls for regulation, licensing & fairer playing field

A Singaporean F&B hawker recently posted a TikTok video criticising home-based food businesses (HBBs), claiming they operate under “unfair” conditions and threaten the livelihoods of those running brick-and-mortar stalls.

In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday (22 July), Jason — a 33-year-old hawker — pointed out that, unlike traditional F&B owners, HBB operators do not have to pay for licensing, rental, and manpower costs.

Source: @bengwhocooks on Tiktok

“You guys are destroying other people’s rice bowls,” he declared. “It’s not fair for a lot of FNB owners.”

Singapore F&B owner said home-based businesses are getting on his nerves

Jason, who goes by @bengwhocooks on TikTok, captioned the video: “Good for consumer. Bad for owners’ rice bowl.”

In the video, he listed responsibilities and expenses that F&B owners have to factor into their operations:

Foreign employee quota

Rental costs

Tenancy agreements

Pest control licensing

Fire safety checks

Audit checks

Source: @bengwhocooks on Tiktok

In contrast, he claimed that HBB only require a basic hygiene certificate.

He also expressed frustration that HBBs can rely on domestic helpers, who he described as “a free person” to help with the business’s operations.

But the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has clarified that this is illegal.

In a statement to The Straits Times (ST), the manpower ministry stated that domestic helpers are not allowed to assist in home-based businesses.

They are only permitted to carry out household chores for their employers, within their registered residential address.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) told ST that HBBs do not need an SFA licence because “the food safety risk is limited by the scale of their business operation”.

Still, if food safety incidents occur, the SFA can take action, such as issuing recalls or requiring businesses to cease operations.

Once a home-based F&B business too

Jason shared with MS News that he had once operated an HBB F&B model himself.

“I pivoted to home-based business (HBB) to pay off the rent for the new house and the kid. Because I felt it was so unfair for my wife to be paying and shouldering alone for 1-2 months. So I did HBB for 2 days a week for lunch. This was 2 years ago.”

But he eventually stopped because he couldn’t shake the guilt.

Source: @bengwhocooks on Tiktok

“Legitimate local businesses under my block are suffering, from seven stalls now close until only left two stalls,” he said.

“I don’t want to sleep with a regret knowing I’m also one of those contributing to destroying our food culture.”

Jason is now running a grain bowl hawker stall in a canteen.

‘It will snowball and crash our food culture’

Jason, who began in a hawker stall at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre in 2018, said he felt compelled to speak out after reading an article about HBBs not being subjected to the same regulations as traditional restaurants.

The 8Days article, written by an ex-restaurant owner, argued that “home-based food businesses operate in a seemingly parallel universe of minimal oversight”.

While Jason acknowledged that some HBB owners have genuine reasons, he stressed the need for rules.

“I’m not here trying to eradicate all HBB, but rather naming and balancing the playing field,” he told MS News.

Source: @bengwhocooks on Tiktok

“Yes, I do agree, they can operate as long as it’s legal. But I’m not SFA. I’m not a hygiene officer. So if establishments like ours are dealing with food poisoning cases, and we are harshly punished, what about them? What is their punishment?”

According to a statement, the SFA said it takes enforcement action against food safety breaches, including recalls or ordering HBBs to stop operations. Six such cases were recorded last year.

Jason added that he understands how some HBB owners resort to running their businesses due to personal issues or family commitments.

“I do have to empathise,” he told MS News. “Some HBB businesses should be encouraged as they do these businesses due to personal issues in their health or family.”

“But definitely, some sort of licensing and safety checks must be done before this issue snowballs and crashes on all of us.”

Also read: MS Investigates: Why is S’pore still so obsessed with mala after all these years?

MS Investigates: Why is S’pore still so obsessed with mala after all these years?

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Featured image adapted from @bengwhocooks on TikTok.