The concept of Sweet Stone began in the beginning of 2007 as an idea
that struck one of the owners, James Lee after meeting with a friend
from Belgium. This friend had all of the equipment and some knowledge to
prepare delicious gelato, waffles, and other European dainties. The
equipment had been nearly unused in his residence for over a year with
the exception of the occasional private function and home party for his
friends. James felt that instead of letting this be a waste of
resources, it could help generate not only income, but a great taste
phenomenon in Singapore.
Due to the expenses of introducing a new
business in Singapore, James began his search for a lower cost approach to
begin this new business venture. A storefront or restaurant rental is a huge
financial killer in this area and many new set-ups will not survive the
harsh but true fact of 'working' then paying the landlord a large
portion of revenue at the end of the month.
James brainstormed,
trying to find more and better ways of tackling this huge problem.
Instead of bringing a large financial gain to a landlord, it was time to
find more affordable avenues of introducing a great product to the
masses.
It was at this time that James hit upon the idea of using
the hawker centre as a platform to start this business venture. In
these areas, rentals can be significantly lower than traditional
shopping malls and high streets. As this is his first F&B venture,
it makes good sense to begin his experimentation in knowing the popularity of
the product.
Through market research, James had found an ideal
location. He had to be sure that the experiment would be a success or at
least for the initial phase of the business development. Just offering a great product
is not enough; the marketing strategy had to capture the attention of
his target customers and the media. Instant attention would be
needed to give the venture a great start. That's where this great
tasting product started in the heartlands of Singapore.
Within
two weeks of operations, the first media opportunity came. James was
being asked to be featured and part of a television program that
showcases products that are good and affordable for consumers.
According
to James, this was a great stroke of luck. He says, "I think there was
also a huge part on luck here. However, we have to make sure we maintain
and keep product quality and service quality at tip-top conditions as
well. This has helped us gain many good raves on the internet, blogs and
forums too."
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