Yangon – March 21st, 2016 – Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) and Unilever Food Solutions (UFS), a world-class food service provider, recently co-hosted a networking session to connect Singapore and Myanmar F&B operators in joint opportunity discussions. The networking session, held in Yangon, was part of a 5 day business trip for Singapore F&B professionals, which also consisted of visits to local F&B establishments and workshops with local F&B experts. The participants are members of RAS and span a range of backgrounds - from food manufacturers and food distributors, to bar and restaurant owners.
Mr. Vincent Tan, President of Restaurant Association of Singapore and Managing Director of Select Group, stated, “Our objective of this trip was simple - to facilitate knowledge exchange between F&B professionals in both countries, with the hope that such interactions will eventually lead to opportunities. This is our first organized trip to Myanmar and we are happy to have UFS team in Singapore and Myanmar helping us in this event and for sharing their deep knowledge of the local F&B landscape with our participants.”
In the networking session held on Tuesday in Chatrium Hotel, participants had a chance to mingle with their F&B counterparts in Myanmar. One of the key attendees included U NayLinn, Chairman of the Myanmar Restaurant Association (MRA).
When asked for his feedback, he responded, ‘MRA has a commitment to raise the standards of Myanmar restauranteurs, and part of that means seeking inspiration from other countries. We are excited to participate in this event . I had a very good discussion with Mr Tan, and we talked about the possibility of even more exchanges between the Myanmar and Singapore associations in the future.’
This is not the first time that Unilever Food Solutions, the food service arm of the FMCG company Unilever, has partnered with associations on industry building initiatives. The company has had an established history of collaborations with associations and considers it a critical part of their strategy to winning in the marketplace.
Ms. Ng Seow Ling, Managing Director of Unilever Food Solutions, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, stated, “As one of the key players in Food & Beverage industry, we believe it is not enough to just be in the industry, but also to actively build it. That is why we work closely with associations in their capability building initiatives. In Singapore, we have worked with RAS on Chefmanship Academy, a programme supported by Spring Singapore, to help F&B operators boost productivity.
Our team in Myanmar recently worked with MRA to host a 4-part seminar series “Your Restaurant Tomorrow” to give Myanmar restauranteurs a headstart in the fast growing economy. We were also the official catering consultant for Myanmar’s 27th Sea Games back in 2013. We believe we have a role in helping the F&B industry develop and increase productivity which will in turn result in stronger growth for our business."