Bayfront Pop-up Market - Our honest observations and analysis.

EDIT :

Footfall: From what we had noticed about the trends, Saturdays are the best, Sundays 2nd best and Fridays are mostly moderate, and may be described as good when there are special events on-going in the gardens.


Original post:


This is going to be very helpful to all vendors who participated if our opening edition, first and second month’s editions, particularly for those who are serious about making their businesses work, and for those who are considering participating in the Bayfront Pop-up Market, our regular weekend market at Gardens by the Bay.


It’ll perhaps provide insights to you on ‘what went right’, ‘what went wrong’, and what you can do, moving forward.

Here’s what we observed about the vendors that did well, as well as the vendors who we thought had great products but didn’t do well. Their names have been omitted to protect their privacy. :p


1. Vendors with nice looking displays : there are a few vendors who took the trouble to colour coordinate their table cloth and shelving display. They also used warm yellow light to shine onto their products.


Their displays had height, depth and width. Some of them also took advantage of our poor tent structures and hung their displays across the tents (they brought along their own twine, or strings). Their table cloths were mainly earth / beige / soothing colours that overlaid our purple ones, and with the warm light this accentuated their products. The price range of their products? From $5 to $60.

2. Vendors who were actively promoting. We had a vendor who sold delicious and unique snacks and they were actively promoting their products through sampling. That weekend they grossed a 4 figure sales. Their display was only so-so but they had pull up banners with them and had 3 persons running the sampling exercise.


We also had a vendor who apparently did well the first time, with sampling. But during the second time, they didn’t conduct sampling and so sales were low or almost non existent. We also noticed that their staff had sat comfortably behind their tables, probably enjoying the free wi-fi there. Oh, we saw a few vendors doing that.


3. Vendors who showed that their hand made products, are hand made, by making them, or showing that they are making them, on site! A picture paints a thousand words, a moving picture paints a million. But because I cannot post their videos or photos here, you’ll have to bear with my writing.


This means that they also brought along some of their work tools so that can get some production work done during the lull hours.

4. Sales promotion - freebie with purchase. We tested a program where merchants can give their customers a free ice-cream with a minimum purchase to be redeemed at our ice-cream redemption booth. This seemed to work in everyone’s favour as we have received a fair amount of coupons over the weekend. We will be tweaking the mechanics of this, so for folks who loved the program, it’s going to evolve. For other folks who’s wondering what is it about - sign up with our program and you will know.


5. Vendors who had banners with them. This is eye-catching and helps with non-verbal communications with their customers. Banners can also help to draw attention to your booth.


6. Our marketing plan - we can’t divulge too much of this because our competitors are watching us. :) For those of you who complained about footfall not enough, (but funnily, the vendors who did well also had the same footfall), this program is designed to bring footfall in. To find out, you’ll have to watch it unfurl. Bet some of you also had fun with our bubbles, yes?

7. Other factors that impact your sales positively or negatively would be your product selection - are you selling the right stuff? Are you pricing it right?

Here’s what we observed about the visitors
More tourists than local visitors from our 1st regular edition 19 - 21 Apr right up to 17 to 19 May.

Our first opening edition where Mdm President was the GOH, naturally had more locals.

As for what type of tourists - HINT : READ THIS LINK:

https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/statistics-and-market-insights/statistics-and-market-insights-overview.html

Come June we are expecting more locals as it’s the school holidays AND there’s Children’s Fest by Gardens by the Bay - Disney’s Toy Story is having a carnival at the Super Trees area!

Come August there’s going to be National Day celebrations, and the Mid Autumn Festival light up there.

Come December there’s going to be Christmas Wonderland

Not the mention the summer/winter breaks the other countries are having.

That’s it for now!

What type of entrepreneur are you, really!?

A must-read for those who are new to flea market or any other forms of entrepreneurship.

Lately we have been receiving questions by our vendors regarding entrepreneurship.


So we'd thought we'd like to share our points of view on this.

When you google 'What is Entrepreneurship?' this is the first answer:

entrepreneurship

ɒntrəprəˈnəːʃɪp/

noun

1. the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.

   
   

   "the new business opportunities have encouraged entrepreneurship on a grand scale"

There would be other answers that would pop up, from Wikipedia , from Youtube and all, but it is pretty clear that in additional to financial risks entrepreneurship also involves hard work - it could be either mental and/or physical.

And of course, because there are risks, there are therefore no guarantees that your entrepreneurship venture will be profitable.  

This includes the programs and advertisements you see on social media and Whatsapp messages that 'guarantees' you wealth and 4,5,6 figures income (that you sometimes have to pay an arm and a leg to discover their 'secrets', that will also require you to put in your fair share of hard mental and/or keyboard work - of which you may not also achieve the 'guaranteed profits' they sold you into).

Ahem... we'd like to take this opportunity to promote our FREE e-book (no-frills reading nor complicated download processes or sales funneling you would be subject to) that you can purchase at $0.00 here !

Read it. Read it again and again. 

We've written the book and made it easy for you to read and understand what flea market entrepreneurship entails,and what strategies you can use to help improve your business (note : 'helping to improve' doesn't guarantee you profits).


Bookmark this blog, and check back to see what new stuff we're sharing.


What kind of entrepreneur are you?

Let's find out - click on the links below - all of them if you'd like, and discover for yourself. These tests / articles are from reputable sources.

https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/business-assessments/pages/self-assessment-test-your-entrepreneurial-potential.aspx

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247560

https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymyler/2012/09/19/want-to-be-an-entrepreneur-take-this-test-to-see-if-youre-ready/#326c0e0a4f7a


Have fun taking the tests! You might discover parts of yourselves you never knew!  

Remember, there are NO RIGHT NOR WRONG answers to these (psychometric) questions!

How to get more likes and shares for your posts FREE of charge?

The short answer is : Teamwork.


What groups of influencers are paid by advertisers to do is basically to post advertisements and messages to their followers and fans on Instagram, Facebook, websites, blogs or other media where followers can be amassed.


These group of influencers work in a team (some people call them Internet Brigades) and all of them would coordinate their efforts to 'like share, post' and make comments at a pre-arranged date and time.


The stuff they publish tend to arouse curiosities, with catchy headlines and sometimes controversial, and this is what we call 'click baits', because such articles attract eyeballs and clicks.


But, if you're reading this as a popup market vendor, chances are you won't want to be paying for online exposure because you aren't sure how it's going to direct benefit you and grow your sales.


So TGIF Bazaars has devised a collaborative approach - for every edition of every market we put together, we encourage all vendors to 'like, share, comment and post' one another's social media posts.

Your links should be shared in telegram chatgroups (don't worry your mobile phone won't be seen by others) created specifically for each event.

TGIF Bazaars would also do the same for all your links, so you can leverage our fan and follower base. Sometimes we will also invest in paid advertising for the events.

Now isn't this a compelling reason for you to begin or expand your social media marketing efforts?



Here are some tips on what can you specifically post - you know by sharing your generic social media link there's not much value you can get:


1. Sales Promotion centric - you can post something that promotes your sales - e.g. discounts, free gifts for first xx customers - there is an intent for you to increase your sales.

2. Marketing centric - this is to increase your own fan base, e.g. like and share your page or link to get discounts etc - there is a call to action.

3. Brand centric - tell customers about yourselves, your causes, your business stories etc - there is an intent to build or improve your reputation.

4. The rest is up to your imagination.

So start racking your brains and see what kind of wonderful posts you can create so we, the community can share them with everyone else!

Next post, we'll be sharing on hashtags #


Yours truly
Diana
Add me as friend on facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/tgifpopupmarkets

Secrets to making more money in Pop-up Markets!

Selling at pop-up markets such as flea markets doesn’t just mean clearing out some pre-loved junk from your cupboard, throw them onto a table, hope that people will buy from you (and laugh your way to the bank).

You can actually build a business around selling stuff (pre-loved, new and things that you make) at pop-up markets.

But you’ll need some business marketing and sales tips to really increase your sales and profits going forward.

Here are 10 practical tips that help you increase your sales at pop-up markets, making your business a great(er) success!

Like they always say, the journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step, and there are different routes to success!

1. Be Present Online, in social media platforms such as Facebook or  Instagram pages, or Selling Apps such as Carousell.

In today’s time and age, having an online presence is a must because so many consumers go online to search for items to buy.  So don’t miss out on this and ride the trend!

Since so many consumers use Facebook and Instagram already, it would be natural to use these platforms to connect with potential customers. Managing your social media account is time consuming so if you haven’t got too much time. So focusing on using Facebook (because it has more functions than Instagram at the moment) first, when starting your online presence.

Create a separate personal account (if you wish to separate this with your existing one) with a professional business name, add friends, join groups, and then post photos of your products, articles, write ups, comments.   You may also eventually create a business page through your personal account.

Tip for Facebook Personal accounts: Join groups, add friends, ‘like and share’ posts that are funny, meaningful, interesting and especially those that contain videos or images. Add on a two or three liner comments when sharing.

You can also invite your Facebook friends and followers who are online potential & existing customers to visit you at your pop-up market booths.

  

Throughout the week leading up to your pop-up market appearance, you can entice people on social media to shop with you by posting images of the items that you’ll be offering for sale. If they’re interested in something new they’ve seen on social, they are likely to show up that weekend at the market to buy it.

Operate this account as you would with do with existing personal one(s). Give your business a personality, so that it can eventually be the brand identify for your business that will set you apart from competitors.

For a start you can add us as a friend once you’ve created your account: https://www.facebook.com/tgifpopupmarkets and like our business page at www.facebook.com/bazaarsINSingapore.

If you do eventually build your own website using a platform such as weebly.com, (click on the link to sign up, you can create a free website) you might want to learn a bit about search engine optimisation that will help your website and products gain visibility.

2. Have a good mix of products - Sell what you want to sell + sell what people want to buy!

If you really want to treat this as a sustainable business, the sales numbers have to make sense to you.

We all like to think that whatever we want to display in our booth is what people want to buy.  Is this the case?

A few lucky ones will hit jackpot.  But many others will not.  So if you really want to see profits rolling in, you would have to include selling products that people want to buy – this means you need to do spend time to do some research.

There are many ways, such as going online to conduct desktop research relying on secondary data; or visit other markets and venues yourself to observe and learn what products move through field research.



Some venues come with the same group of shoppers going back repeatedly, some come with fresh shoppers going there sporadically or on ad-hoc basis – usually for specific reasons. So what does it mean to you?

Display and sell the same merchandise to the same shoppers, or display and sell the same stuff to different shoppers, or display and sell different stuff to the same shoppers?

We concluded that for your business to do well, there has to be a mix of stuff-you-want-to-sell + stuff-people-want-to-buy + stuff that attracts attention or opens conversations (that people may not want to buy, but love to see, we call them props)) displayed in your booth


This was what we had learnt when we sold products ourselves.

For example, at your booth you may put 55% of stuff you want to sell + 40% of stuff you know will be a hit with your regular customers + 5% props, or 80% of stuff targeted to new customers and 20% targeted for regular customers or in any other proportions.

3. Make your booth or stall attractive and different from the others

Your booth can also be a selling point for potential customers. So don’t make it just look the same as everyone else’s. If you are outdoors and have a choice, choose the organisers with orange canopies (Heh) instead of those dull red, blue or red ones.

Making your booth look nice and eye-catching can cause shoppers multiple rows away or elsewhere to notice your booth and make a point to stop by.

So consider investing in decorating your booth using banners or other props, such as:

Portable Roll up Banner : designing an attractive pull up banner that you can place at your booths, include your logo, social media links, websites, QR codes.

Props: using props to create talking points with your customers, such as flashing LED lights, other display props like vintage typewriters, bird cages, or quirky toys – your imagination’s the limit – but make it relevant, make it a conversation opener with your customers, we also mentioned about this in point 2 above).

Still no idea on what to do? Just Google for the images using 'attractive flea market booths' to get inspired!

4. Sell More by Appearing Regularly at the Same Markets

You can also garner repeat business even from those who don’t follow you on social media simply by being consistent. If someone collects a particular item that you specialize in, maintain a consistent appearance schedule so that they know where to find you when they’re ready to shop. That doesn’t mean you have to only ever sell your items at one location, but you could have a consistent schedule where you sell at the same market every Sunday or on the first weekend of every month. 

There are pros and cons by being consistent in the same markets, but we mentioned earlier that some venues have got fresh faces (shoppers) most of the time, some venues have got regular faces all the time.


Your strategies for each type of venue will naturally have to be different.

If you participate regularly at a market with regular shoppers, your products may not interest them after a while.  So you might want to refresh your products from time to time and display something new products.

The advantage of being a regular participant here is that you can invite your social media customers to visit you and collect merchandise they purchased (they can save on postage), and you can also invite the shoppers there (potential new customers) to visit your social media / e-commerce page (where can they purchase even after they have left your booth).  

As a tactic to drive both online and popup market booth sales, you can set aside some products exclusive for online purchases, and some for face to face purchases. You might also wish to work in some discounts as a form of promotion for your products.

Another advantage of participating regularly, you also get a chance to create a brand for your business, harvesting the synergies of online and physical presences.

Regular participation in a market with fresh shoppers, and having the same range of products would be fine, because to the shoppers, it would be refreshing to them anyway. But if this is a market with regular shoppers, you would have to keep the popup market shopping experience refreshing for them – this could be in the done if you refresh your products, booth displays decoration, music etc.

By the same token, some merchants participate in different markets, going on a circuit of markets because they would like to keep the products that they have been selling (whatever the mix is) relatively new to each market.

5. Make yourself easily contactable by customers : Have your Name Cards Easily Accessible

Some customers at pop-up markets might not be ready to buy from you even if your booth looks great and your products are awesome. So you should give them an easy way to connect with you later. Provide business cards that passers-by can pick up so that if they see something they like, don’t buy it, but return home and decide they want it, they can reach you and make the purchase.

Have QR codes that customers can scan to immediately like and follow your social media pages with their smart phones.

You can also offer shipping as an option so that those customers don’t have to make a return trip. In addition, provide your social media, or e-shop (or website) links so they can follow you from market to market each week.

6 Give your customers good deals!

We can narrow down the type of customers (i.e. people who buy from you) to TWO types:

First, the regular and repeat customer and;

Second the one-off customers.

Depending on what you sell, and the constraints you have, you can encourage that repeat business even more by offering deals to loyal customers.

If someone purchases from you every week or month, and they’ve done so at least three times, make the first move by giving them good discounts. You may get a bit less for the item than you intended, but you will sell more in the long run because they’ll be sure to keep purchasing from you if they feel you’re treating them like a special VIP customer.

If someone is likely to be a one-off customer, you can bundle products as a package deal, for example if you sell ladies’ fashion, you might want to offer a complimentary piece of costume jewellery at 50% off, or for free!

You can also offer special discounts to your social media followers to encourage repeat customers. For example, if you’re selling at a particular market on Saturday, blast that out to your followers and provide them with a 20 percent discount offering if they mention your social media post, or show that particular post to you.  On site, if there are curious customers who happen to overhear about that 20 percent discount, just ask them to visit your social media page, like and/or follow, and they get that discount as well!

In addition, your followers who may not have intended to go to the market that weekend may be enticed to go if they know a 20 percent discount is waiting for them.

Whatever deals you offer, just make sure your costs are accurately calculated!

7. Price Display Tactics

Whilst we’re talking about offering deals such as 50% off, why not have some products that are priced really cheap placed and scattered across other products that are pricer?


We recommend you place these cheaper products with larger sized priced tags at eye levels (if you don’t use price tags, use price signs instead) to the left, right and centre of your product displays.


If you visit a stall yourself, what are the chances that you would look into the centre of the product display first, followed by the left, and then right? 

After which you would then walk to the next booth?  

If you agree with us, then it would make sense for you to use the left-right-centre tactic for price tags / signs displays. Yes?

Why? 

Human Beings tend to read from from left to right, and then move on to the next line.  Whilst no research has been done on this, it becomes a matter of habit after years of reading in class.  So when the customer looks into the centre, he sees a cheaper price tag, when he looks to the left, he sees another cheaper tag, and when he moves to the right after he’s done browsing, he sees the final cheaper price tag.

What are the chances that he or she will think your products are reasonably priced?

“The Yeekea Effect”

Look at these photos, what can you make out of them?

 

Amidst their pricier furniture such as cabinets and wardrobes we see a generous sprinkling of cheap items.

How many of us walk away from Yeekea furniture store (yes, imagine it’s the one that originated from a Nordic country in Europe with the yellow and blue logo) happy that we just spent a few hundred dollars over what we could get for cheaper elsewhere, only to go back to Yeekea on another day to buy even more products that we’re happy to pay more for?

The first and last things we see in any Yeekea store are the best deals. $2 for a plastic photo frame at the entrance (or other cheaply priced items)  $2.00 for a hot dog and drink combo meal at the exit?

Whilst queuing to pay for our purchases we are exposed to a super large banner that says ‘Hot Dog $1’. After our purchases, large signs of great deals are shown into our faces – hot dog + drink $2.00!

Whatever negative emotions or feelings that were generated when paying for that hundreds of dollars, some may even spend a few thousands would have been neutralised by these great deals. Oh, they have a great family restaurant too with very reasonable menu prices.

And we go back there regularly don't we, and every time we leave, we leave happily. Well, with the tactics they use, why wouldn't we?

Can you create a ‘Yeekea effect’ with your popup market booth that translates into sales for your business? You bet!

8. Sell More by Providing Many Payment Options

Pop-up market customers have a huge variety of different payment preferences. Some want to pay with credit cards, some with cash, and some with e-wallets.

If you can give customers options, you’ll be more likely to increase your sales over the course of each day. That means using payment gateways such as Paypal that also accepts credit card payment, getting yourself registered as merchants of e-wallets such as DBS Paylah, and also having enough change for people who just want to pay in cash.


Oh, if you're a POSBANK or DBS Account savings account holder you can download Paylah! here!  https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/promotion/paylah-mgm

Get $5 FREE when you sign up with our referral code TGIZTN571. T&Cs apply. Note : When installing the APP, do it slowly, or you may miss out keying in the codes and not get the $5.

THIS IS NO SCAM!

9. It’s about the experience – bargaining is fun (to the shoppers)

Regardless if you have price-tagged your products or not, Bargaining is a huge part of running a pop-up market business. Whether the shoppers realise it or not, it comes to them as an instinct to bargain and get a few cents or dollars off the price tags. And if they do it, they walk away satisfied and contented – with the impression they got a good deal!

While you don’t have to accept every single offer that comes your way, at least being open to reasonable offers can help you increase sales and clear up space for new inventory. The longer you hold onto things, the less space/money you have to acquire new things to offer for sale, and the more your money is tied up in inventory that isn’t selling.

So what you can do is price-tag your products slightly above your targeted selling price, and allow some room for discounting.

BUT never ever offer a discount as an opening line. Psychologically it tells the customer that your prices are marked up to be discounted, making this a cheap tactic.

Note: Some of the shoppers are also savvy sales people who do the same as what we’ve described above. So you have to be prepared to say ‘no’ to business if the bottom-line isn’t attractive enough.

10. Approachable Body Language and other visual cues.

At a pop-up market, you are the literal face of your business. People will be more likely to stop and look at your products if you look friendly and approachable. And if they stop and look at your products, they’re more likely to buy. If you are sitting and do not smile or attempt to engage passers-by, they will actually pass you by.

Don’t look as if as you’re itching for a fight. If you’re a smoker try to get rid of smokers’ breath.

Dress to the theme of your booth – if you’re dealing with vintage products, you might wish to dress to the theme, for guys you might want to look unshaved, or for ladies that sell cosmetics you might want to apply some cosmetics. For merchants dealing with kids products you might want to dress in bright colours adjourned with cartoon characters.

Last but not least, TALK to your customers. Don’t start by asking ‘May I help you?’  Instead, start talking about the features and/or benefits of the products he or she is eyeballing at.  (Yes it also means you need to know your products well).

How your home-based food business can participate in flea markets

We wrote about this before, and for the benefit of the multiple inquiries we've received lately on food products in our flea markets, we thought we should re-share this.

So If you are thinking of being a home-based food entrepreneur, and you're thinking of improving your business.  Here's what you can do:

In order for any merchants to sell food at flea markets, bazaars, trade fairs and events in Singapore, this is what you must know about Singapore regulations so that you do not violate them:


1. NEA Regulations pertaining to merchants selling food and food hygiene;
2. Restrictions of Home Base Business scheme;
3. Your Organiser's own operating policies


This is going to be wordy, but trust us you MUST know this if you are a food entrepreneur participating in flea markets and bazaars.

Under Section 35 of the Environmental Public Health Act, Chapter 95, no person shall promote, organise or stage any temporary fair, stage show or other such function or activity without first obtaining a permit from the Director-General of Public Health.

1. NEA REGULATIONS AND THE LAW 

NEA is the final government organisation to give their approval before Organisers can be allowed to stage any temporary fair, stage show or other function or activity.

Before this permit can be issued by NEA, here are the documents from other government agencies / organisations  NEA must see that Organisers must produce:

Approvals from:

1. Fire Safety & Shelter Department, SCDF 
2. Site owner
3. Neighbourhood Police Post / Centre (for set-up of carnival rides/game stalls, if any)
4. Energy Market Authority (for use of generator, if any)
5. Land Transport Authority (Road Management Department)
6. Land Transport Authority (Development & Building Control Division, if fair site is within 40m of MRT station/ rail structure)
7. National Parks Board (for use of grass verge/ roadside tables, if any)
8. Consensus from neighbourhood shopkeepers

​The proof of consensus from shopkeepers in the neighbourhood should be in the form of:

• Letter from neighbourhood shopkeepers’ association, or
• Written agreement signed by neighbourhood shopkeeper, or
• Letter from Advisor stating that the shopkeepers have given consent

All Organisers whether private or government entities must apply for this permit 2 weeks ahead, which means, the respective documents from points 1 to 7 must be provided and applied for, at least 1 month or so ahead before applying for the NEA permit. 

SELLING FOOD AT FLEA MARKETS, BAZAARS, TRADE FAIRS & EVENTS

This is our compilation from public-domain information sources:

There are normally 3 types of food categories that are classified by NEA where it comes to food, trade fairs and events:

1. Pre-packed from licensed NEA source 

This refers to foodstuff that is packed and sealed in NEA approved premises.  Approved premises would be food factories, central kitchens, hawker stalls, bakeries, coffee shop stalls, restaurant kitchens and central kitchens. Home bakeries are not NEA licensed premises so therefore, disallowed.

All foodstuff from such approved NEA sources must also be properly labelled, including the date / time of expiry. 
For food that is packed by caterers or restaurants, the shelf life of the food is 4 hours and this too has to be labelled.

Foodstuff such as crackers, biscuits from Khong Guan, Oreo cookies are factory pre-packed and have proper labels.

If the pre-packed foodstuff to sell are imported, please ensure that these are imported by proper channels, including clearance from AVA. If you are buying from a supplier, please ensure that these are credible suppliers to protect yourselves.

http://www.ava.gov.sg/explore-by-sections/food/bringing-food-into-singapore-and-exporting/commercial-food-imports

2. Food prepared on the spot

This refers to food that is freshly prepared on-the-spot, such as Ramly Burgers you see at Pasar Malams, grilled sandwiches and coconut shakes, kebabs, satay, roti prata wraps etcetera.  A PUB water point connected to a sink and sewerage point is a must for each stall. (Imagine the of the costs involved to set these up),  because there is on-site food preparation and handling.

Food prepared on the spot must also have proper display casings, such as display chillers, food warmers, glass or transparent acrylic display shelves with doors.

​Please click the link below to see NEA's requirements from organisers in the application form:

http://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/services-and-forms/licences-permits-building-plan-clearances/trade-fair-application-form-(updated---04042016).pdf
​
3. Food that requires handling, for which you require a certified food handler

Food handling is a technical issue - it means when the server has to serve the food, e.g. taking a  bun from a steamer and putting it into the plastic is handling, scooping rice into a box is also handling, dispensing beverages from a bar gun, mixing cocktail drinks.are also handling. Using tongs, spoons, chopsticks, forks or spatulas to pack the food on site is also considered handling. 

Licensed food handlers are required to be at the stall to perform the food handling functions. To be licensed you need to attend a course on food handling and hygiene.

Here's a list http://www.wda.gov.sg/content/wdawebsite/L207-AboutWSQ/L301-WSQIndustryFramework-FoodandBeverage/WSQ_Follow_FnB_Safety_and_Hygiene_Policies_and_Procedures.html

Please click the link below:.

http://www.nea.gov.sg/public-health/food-hygiene

​

4. HDB / URA HOME BASED SMALL SCALE BUSINESS SCHEME
​
The Home Based Small Scale Business Scheme by HDB and URA allows residents to carry out activities in their HDB and private residential premises to supplement their income. Under this scheme, residents can prepare small quantities of food for sale to their friends and relatives without turning their residences into a commercial outlet.

A licence is not required from NEA. Nonetheless, residents preparing food under the scheme can refer to these guidelines on good hygiene tips to adopt.

What this means: You can't sell to the public, so you can't participate in flea markets to sell.... BUT you can participate in flea markets to provide sampling of your products and introduce your own brand... as well as to make friends!  Get them to become your Facebook, Instagram, Wechat, Snapchat friends! And then you can sell to them thereafter.

As long as you understand what the above 2 points mean, you'll be able to participate in our flea markets and bazaars without breaking any laws or government regulation.

5. YOUR ORGANISER'S OWN OPERATING POLICIES

Now that you know what happens behinds the scenes for Organisers to ensure you are able to legitimately conduct your business without the risk of legal repercussions, we leave it to your own judgement on what Organisers tell when you ask them about participating in their markets, as well as make your own business decision on participation.

TGIF Bazaars requires interested and qualified participants to provide the necessary relevant supporting documentation before participation.

Sometimes, due to curation and managing conflicts of interest, the answer may not be what you had wished for.

Too wordy above?  Here's the above information in a diagram

Still too wordy?

Here's a summary if you want to participate in TGIF Bazaaars' markets

1. If you are selling commercial pre-packed food or snacks, you must produce proof of origin (i.e. paperwork that these products are produced in an NEA approved factory or licensed premise). You may also need to provide your own equipment to keep the pre-packed food in good condition.

2. If you are dealing with home-made food - You cannot sell such food products even though they are prepacked at our flea markets. 

BUT you can use our flea market to conduct market sampling, get them to like you on your facebook page, or as a point of collection for your friends who buy from you via social media or online or via apps such as Hcook.sg or Fieat.co .   

You must have a valid food handling certificate.

3. Your participation is subject to curation, and final approval by the organizer and venue owner. You agree to indemnify the organizer and venue owner of any damages that may arise as a result of your participation. 

If you have further questions, please feel free to check with us, OR you can check with NEA directly.

Cheers!

The Team from TGIF Bazaars