Mr. Pang Lim BBM

CEO of Koufu Group Limited

In the 1990s, my name was often associated with the “Yuhua” coffee shop chain; since 2002, most people, when hearing this name of mine, would instead instinctively think of, “Oh, the boss of Koufu.” As a lifelong restaurant operator, I am proud of Yuhua and Koufu. But somehow, I have always felt that I could perhaps be achieving more; much more than just these two brands. After all, I am a person who is, and has always been, willing to accept various challenges.

I embarked on the vegan way of life in my twenties. Building a popular brand focused on vegetarian options has thus far been an ambition for me; a passion project of sorts. With the development and progress of society, a good many of the people of today find themselves increasingly yearning to return to nature, pursuing health for the body and soul before all else, and becoming more aware and conscious of their ecological surroundings. What seems to be more heartening, is the fact that with the improvement of education levels, the younger generation is increasingly respectful of life and nature.

After lengthy preparations, I decided to create a vegetarian brand in 2016 – it is what most would know today as “Elemen.” We have four major ethnic groups in Singapore; people living on this land would thus have varying tastes and preferences. After doing substantial market research, “Elemen” decided to adopt Singapore’s local unique ingredients, and incorporate delicious vegetarian food from Western, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisines, to accommodate the palates of diners from various ethnic groups. At the same time, the elegant and comfortable atmosphere, thoughtful service, convenient location, and moderate price all help us attract many loyal diners. After developing for five years, we have expanded from one restaurant to four, and I am very pleased that our brand seems to have made more and more people fall in love with vegetarianism.

Like many others in the industry, our business and operations were heavily affected by COVID-19 at the end of 2019. As many consumers had already been taking away food during pre-covid times, Koufu Food Pavilion can be said to have been fortunate to have its operations be less affected by restrictions that came in during the pandemic. The impact of “no dine-in” and other covid restrictions, however, was far greater for chain restaurants like Elemen. As such, we had to think of many ways to continue with our operations, such as increasing online services and cooperating with major food delivery platforms. COVID-19 also made me realize that we must continue to develop more new products to attract and maintain our current consumers. For this, our group has also specially set up an R&D center, aiming to develop some semi-ready-to-cook foods, which is convenient for those who want to eat Elemen’s food at the comfort of their home, with little preparation.

COVID-19 brought not only pressure but also a spur to us. We learn to pick ourselves up and improve our abilities to resist and overcome risks. There is an old saying in Chinese, “穷则变，变则通，通则久,” which translates to an understanding that change will, in turn, lead to an unimpeded state, which then leads to continuity. Thus, when things are bad enough, we will change with solutions.

If it weren’t for COVID-19, I would have planned to develop the brand of Elemen to overseas markets. For example, in an international metropolis like Shanghai, where the economy is developed, the per capita living standard is also relatively high, and the population is large. If it is said that Singapore’s unique multiculturalism had created the “food cabinet” culture, it is then my next goal to tap into overseas local cultures, to use that understanding to develop local dishes, and eventually to have Elemen make a lasting name for itself in the local vegetarian cuisine scene of these overseas locations. I hope for the speedy end to this pandemic, and for Elemen to move towards a bigger marketplace as soon as possible.