Confectionery and food brand Janice Wong is expanding its reach both within Singapore and beyond as it chases a broader customer demographic.
In Singapore, the local foodie’s popular three-year old restaurant at the National Museum will close after its current lease expires this month, allowing the company to focus its attention on her retail business. Janice Wong plans to expand beyond Paragon, Raffles City Shopping Centre, T Galleria and Changi airport Terminal 3, working closely with brands and key partners, as well as developing the menu of the 2am Dessert Bar, which has just marked its 12th year.
Chairman of Janice Wong Singapore, Manoj M Murjani, says the company has created “a fun-loving and whimsical brand” that has brought joy to customers in creative and innovative markets like Japan, Singapore, Korea and even London.
“This is the right time to capitalise on our success and expand our presence in the region and globally. We believe the Janice Wong brand also provides a unique platform for strategic corporate partners who want to engage their customers in a bold and memorable way.”
In the first quarter of this year, Janice Wong has announced partnerships including new concessions at DFS T Galleria in February and at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 in March, allowing travellers to get a taste of a Singaporean creative chocolatier brand on home ground and broadening the brand’s exposure to a larger demographic.
Taking her edible art exhibitions abroad, Janice Wong launched her latest installation at the Solaria Plaza shopping mall in Fukuoka, Japan, a 10-day edible-art exhibition featuring 12 ‘edible-flower walls’ made from chocolate and lollipops.
In South Korea, Janice Wong’s longest-spanning exhibition to date, Wonderbox, in Seoul, will become a permanent work for the next three years, moving to South Korea’s newest indoor theme park, Paradise City in Incheon. It will feature creations such as her Lollipop Ceiling and a four-metre-tall Chocolate Drip Paint.
In addition to the long-term installation, Janice Wong’s first Wonderbox retail store in South Korea opened last month, featuring a selection of her signature products, such as boxed chocolate collections, chocolate bars and lollipops.
Three years after entering Japan, the company has formed a new local venture Janice Wong Japan Company. “This newly registered business represents the next steps in affirming a long-term plan in Japan and to significantly growth the brand within this market,” the company said.
Beyond Asia, Janice Wong is looking to follow up last year’s launch in Harrods in London, with forays into Dublin and Berlin by the end of this year.
Murjani says that as convenience becomes more significant, the brand will shift its efforts towards innovation and product development within the retail section of the company to meet consumer demands. That will see the brand focus on expanding its retail selection of chocolate-coated products and other confectionery offerings.