Tiger Beer's first retail space aims glocal

In a bid to reinforce Tiger Beer’s local roots to global travellers, the brand has set up shop high on the canopy level of Changi Airport’s impressive new Jewel retail centre in Singapore.

Much like the Jewel where it’s located, which is part tourist experience (world’s largest indoor waterfall), part retail mall, Tiger’s new Street Lab concept store functions like a restaurant, merchandise store and brand interaction space all in one.

A year in the making, the concept was taken to Heineken’s innovation team in Amsterdam for input on how to make it more experiential. It was then brought back to Singapore, where several agencies had a hand in bringing it to life.

“This our very first global experiential concept store,” Faye Wee, marketing director at Asia Pacific Breweries explains. “Consumers really are keen on connections and experience. So for us it’s really a place to showcase the brand and connect with the consumers. It’s a place for us to show what the brand truly believes in.”

Local roots

And what it truly believes in, Wee says, is bringing out its local roots, evident in all aspects of the space. Not only did it use local artists for design and décor, but it also commissioned local fashion designer Amos Ananda Yeo to create the Tiger-branded streetwear sold at the store, from shirts and jackets to caps and handbags. 

“Honestly for me it’s a very passionate project, seeing the collaboration we have with artists and how grateful both parties are,” Wee enthuses. “It’s a spark you get as a marketer to see that we are doing something good to the community as well.”

The food at the Tiger Street Lab is cooked by local hawker owners who mix street recipes with Tiger beer ingredients to create new dishes like chicken cutlets with Tiger Lemon Radler sauce and other local favourites. 

“Jewel is iconic as a place where the world meets. So for us we really want to give this platform to all the hawkers we’re working with to come here and showcase their work to the world,” Wee says.

Tiger merchandise display & bottle customisation interface

Change it up

To keep the experience different and exciting, new local hawker chefs will rotate into the kitchen every three months and seasonal brews will also change every quarter.

To stimulate interaction with consumers, patrons can order customised bottles of Tiger beer with their names on the labels. But in future, Wee also sees more customer involvement in formulating new brews based on feedback. The event can also serve as venue to host local events the brands is involved.

“It’s about connection to the consumers. As a brand, we want more,” says Wee, who until now, mostly relied on its brewery tours and one-off events to engage with Singaporean consumers.

So could we see Tiger export this concept elsewhere?

“Why not?” Wee asks. “We’re always reviewing, learning and looking to adapt as we move along. So if this is really successful for us, you might see a Street Lab in another part of the world. It could be a possibility.”

Asia Pacific Breweries marketing director Faye Wee