Foodservice in Singapore: Retaining a place for hawkers?

ABSTRACT

Foodservice is a dynamic industry affected by multiple factors and forces. One potentially powerful influence is globalization, the outcomes of which are disputed; it has been deemed both a threat and opportunity. This article reviews the foodservice industry in Singapore, a prosperous and rapidly modernizing city state in South East Asia, and analyzes selected aspects of demand and supply. Issues are discussed within the context of globalization processes which are shown to affect consumption patterns and provision. At the same time, Singapore’s food culture and foodservice industry have had an international dimension throughout much of its history and retain features firmly rooted in the locality so that the global and local are not always distinct. Particular attention is given to hawkers as representatives of traditions which are exposed to modernizing pressures, suggesting an ongoing dialogue between continuity and change and the local and global with scope for accommodation and possibly tension. Future prospects of the industry as a whole are also considered and challenges to be addressed are identified.

KEYWORDS:

• Foodservice
• globalization
• hawking
• Singapore