Mr Bean

Mr Bean is a Singapore-based food and beverage retail brand centered on soybean products, including soy milk, soy-based desserts, beancurd, pancakes and ice cream. The business began in 1995 when Kang Puay Seng and Loh Jwee Poh established a stall at People's Park Hawker Centre. Both founders were schoolmates, and the name was chosen as a straightforward way to distinguish their soybean business from competing stalls: they were selling soybean drinks and were both men. The brand's initial proposition combined a familiar traditional product with a more efficient retail format. The founders located a machine capable of producing soy milk quickly, allowing the business to move beyond a single hawker-stall operation and establish compact kiosks in high-footfall locations. These included shopping malls, hospitals, schools and Singapore MRT stations. This distribution approach made soy beverages available as convenient takeaway products rather than limiting them to conventional food-court settings. Mr Bean subsequently broadened its offer beyond plain soy milk. Its range has included flavored soy drinks such as chendol, fruit-based variants and iced mocha soy milk, as well as soy-based beancurd, pancakes, biscuits and ice cream. The company has also developed branded merchandise, including towels, plush toys, bookmarks and bags. Product development and sample testing have been part of the brand's approach to extending the use of soybeans across beverages, snacks and desserts. Super Bean International Pte Ltd serves as the managing company responsible for production and distribution. Mr Bean has remained predominantly Singaporean in its retail footprint, while pursuing regional expansion through company-operated and franchise arrangements. A partnership with Tokyu Gourmet Front led to the opening of a store at Shibuya Station in Japan in January 2010. The brand also developed outlets in South Korea and other Asian markets. Expansion plans announced in 2012 targeted additional stores across the region, although the company later withdrew from Malaysia and China after franchise-related difficulties in China and weak sales and business failures in Malaysia. The available reference material records 67 outlets in August 2018, including four overseas locations, and 76 outlets worldwide in January 2020. The overseas network described in the later account included Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Singapore has continued to represent the core of the business, with outlets commonly positioned in transportation hubs and other accessible locations. Mr Bean's identity therefore rests on the combination of soybean-based food expertise, convenient kiosk retailing, product experimentation and a Singapore-origin regional presence.

Mr Bean originated in Singapore in 1995, when Kang Puay Seng and Loh Jwee Poh opened a soybean-focused stall at People's Park Hawker Centre. The founders were schoolmates and built the business around soy milk and soy beancurd. They selected the name Mr Bean because it differentiated the stall from nearby competitors while reflecting the fact that both founders were men selling soybean drinks. The original branding had an oriental visual character. A significant early operational development was the founders' discovery of a machine that could make soy milk quickly and efficiently. This enabled a retail model based on small kiosks rather than only conventional hawker-stall service. Mr Bean placed these kiosks in shopping malls, hospitals, schools and MRT stations, emphasizing accessibility and takeaway convenience. The format helped the company increase its retail presence in Singapore while keeping soybean beverages at the center of the offer. The product portfolio expanded steadily. In addition to plain soy milk, Mr Bean developed flavored beverages including chendol, fruity and iced mocha variants. The business also sold soy beancurd, pancakes, biscuits and ice cream, and later introduced branded merchandise such as plush toys, towels, bookmarks and bags. Product research and development, together with customer sample-testing sessions, supported experimentation with new soybean-based products and formats. Super Bean International Pte Ltd became the managing company overseeing production and distribution. The brand subsequently pursued expansion outside Singapore. In January 2010, a partnership with Tokyu Gourmet Front resulted in an outlet at Shibuya Train Station in Japan. The company also operated or pursued outlets in South Korea and other Asian markets. In March 2012, the group announced plans for twelve additional stores across the region and expressed an ambition to increase its overseas store count. The expansion program was not uniformly successful: franchise difficulties in China and poor sales and business failures in Malaysia led to the closure of all franchise stores in those markets. The available record indicates that Mr Bean had more than 30 Singapore outlets by 2013. It reported 67 outlets in August 2018, four of them overseas, and 76 outlets worldwide by January 2020. The later footprint included Singapore as the principal market, with overseas presence described in Vietnam, Japan and South Korea. The brand's history is consequently one of local food-retail scaling, product diversification and selective regional expansion, rather than a transformation into a globally distributed mass-market food company.

• 2020

  Worldwide network reaches 76 outlets

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The brand was reported to operate 76 outlets worldwide, with overseas presence in Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.

• 2018

  Retail network reaches 67 outlets

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The reported network comprised 67 outlets, including four overseas locations.

• 2013

  Singapore network exceeds 30 outlets

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Mr Bean was reported to have more than 30 outlets in Singapore.

• 2012

  Regional expansion program announced

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The group announced plans to open twelve stores across the region and grow its overseas network.

• 2010

  First Japanese outlet opens in Shibuya

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Mr Bean entered Japan through a partnership with Tokyu Gourmet Front and opened at Shibuya Train Station.

• 2008

  Expanded soybean product range documented

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  The brand was reported to offer at least 28 products, spanning soy beverages, beancurd, pancakes, biscuits, ice cream and merchandise.

• 1995

  First Mr Bean stall opens in Singapore

  [1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Kang Puay Seng and Loh Jwee Poh founded the brand with a soybean drink and beancurd stall at People's Park Hawker Centre.

A convenient Singaporean soy-food and beverage retailer offering accessible traditional soybean products alongside flavored drinks, snacks and desserts.

• Beverage · 1995

  Soy milk

  Soy milk is the brand's core beverage category and was part of the original hawker-stall proposition. The range includes plain soy milk and flavored variations designed for takeaway consumption. Mr Bean's kiosk locations and efficient production equipment supported the beverage's role as an accessible everyday product across Singapore's malls, schools, hospitals and MRT-linked retail sites.

• Beverage

  Flavored soy beverages

  Mr Bean extended its basic soy milk offer with flavored products, including chendol soy milk, fruity soy milk and iced mocha soy milk. These variants combine the brand's soybean base with dessert or coffee-inspired flavor profiles, broadening the appeal of the range beyond customers seeking only traditional plain soy milk.

• Dessert · 1995

  Soy beancurd

  Soy beancurd was one of the products sold by the original Mr Bean stall and remains a central example of the brand's use of soybean ingredients. It extends the offering from drinks into a soft dessert or snack format and connects the modern kiosk concept with familiar soy-based food traditions.

• Snack

  Pancakes

  Pancakes form part of Mr Bean's broader snack range. Their inclusion demonstrates the company's strategy of using compact, convenient foods to complement soy beverages and increase the variety available at retail kiosks. The reference material identifies pancakes as a recurring product category but does not specify individual flavors or recipes.

• Frozen dessert

  Soy-based ice cream

  Mr Bean has diversified into ice cream made with soybean-based ingredients, extending its brand platform into chilled and frozen desserts. This category sits alongside beancurd and pancakes as part of the company's effort to develop multiple consumption occasions around soy rather than relying exclusively on a single beverage format.

• Merchandise

  Branded merchandise

  The brand has sold merchandise including towels, plush toys, bookmarks and bags. These products supplement the food and beverage business with branded lifestyle items and provide physical extensions of the Mr Bean identity beyond the retail kiosk and packaged food categories.

• 2012

  Announce accelerated regional expansionStrategy

  Background

  The group was developing outlets beyond Singapore and had a presence or planned presence in several Asian markets.

  Action taken

  Mr Bean announced plans to open twelve stores across the region and to increase its overseas store count.

  Aftermath

  The expansion encountered market-specific difficulties; franchise stores in Malaysia and China were later closed.

  Source

• 2010

  Enter Japan through a station-retail partnershipStrategy

  Background

  Mr Bean sought to extend its Singapore kiosk model into an overseas transport hub.

  Action taken

  Super Bean International partnered with Tokyu Gourmet Front and opened an outlet at Shibuya Train Station.

  Aftermath

  Japan became one of the overseas markets associated with the brand's regional network.

  Source

• Withdraw from Malaysia and China franchise operationsStrategy

  Background

  The reference material cites franchise issues in China and poor sales and business failures in Malaysia.

  Action taken

  The company closed all of its franchise stores in Malaysia and China.

  Aftermath

  The brand's documented overseas focus shifted toward markets including Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

  Source

• 2020

  Mr Bean reaches 76 outlets worldwide[1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  As of January 2020, the brand was reported to operate 76 outlets worldwide, with overseas operations described in Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.

• 2018

  Mr Bean records 67 outlets, including overseas locations[1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company was reported to operate 67 retail outlets, with four outside Singapore in the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.

• 2012

  Mr Bean announces regional store expansion plans[1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The group announced plans to add twelve stores across the region and pursue a larger overseas network, including expansion in markets such as Tokyo, Seoul, Malaysia and Shanghai.

• 2010

  Mr Bean opens a Shibuya Station outlet through a Japanese partnership[1]Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  Super Bean International partnered with Tokyu Gourmet Front to open a Mr Bean outlet at Shibuya Train Station in Japan.

1. 1Mr Bean (company)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Mr Bean Brand Expands with New Global Licensing Partnerships - License Globalnews.google.com