Mr Bean (company)

Mr Bean (or Mr Bean Group Limited in full) is a listed retailer based in Singapore. It was founded 1995 as a hawker stall selling soy milk and soy beancurd.[1] It currently operates through its managing company, Super Bean International Pte Ltd, and sells a variety of soybean-based food and drink products.[2][3]

Not to be confused with Mr. Bean, a British comedy television programme.
Mr Bean Group Limited
Public
IndustryFood and Beverage retailer
FoundedPeoples' Park Hawker Centre, Singapore (1995 (1995))
Founder
  • Kang Puay Seng
  • Loh Jwee Poh
Headquarters
Singapore
Number of locations
Area served
South-east Asia
Products
ServicesFood and Beverage
ParentSuper Bean International Pte Ltd
Websitewww.mrbean.com.sg

As of August 2018, Mr Bean has chain of 67 retail outlets of which 4 are based overseas (2 in Philippines, 1 in South Korea and 1 in Japan) and the rest locally.[4]

History

Mr Bean was founded in 1995 by Kang Puay Seng, who is now the managing director of Super Bean International, and Loh Jwee Poh, executive director of Super Bean and Kang's best friend.[5][6][7] The first Mr Bean stall was located at People's Park Hawker Centre.[1]

Having found a machine that could make soya milk quickly and efficiently, they established small kiosks in accessible areas at shopping malls, hospitals, schools and MRT stations.[8][9] Subsequently, additional stalls were opened.[10][11][12][13] Today, Mr Bean operates more than 76 outlets worldwide and has overseas presence in Vietnam, Japan and South Korea

Outlets

Singapore

In 2013, Mr Bean has more than 30 local outlets in Singapore.[14] As of January 2020, Mr Bean has a total of 76 outlets, with some outlets located near Singapore MRT stations.[4]

Japan

In January 2010, in a partnership with Tokyu Gourmet Front, Super Bean International opened a Mr Bean outlet in Shibuya, Japan, at the Shibuya Train Station.[15][16][17][18]

Coming soon

In March 2012, the Mr Bean group announced that it will open twelve stores across the region by the end of the year, to add to its five outlets in Tokyo, Seoul, Malaysia and Shanghai.[19][20]

With the regional expansion underway, Mr Bean hopes to double the number of overseas stores to 34 by 2013 and eventually expand to other markets such as the United States.[21] However, due to franchising issues in China,[22] and poor sales and business failure in Malaysia, Mr Bean closes all its franchise store in Malaysia and China.

Branding

The company’s name, Mr Bean, originated when both founders wanted to differentiate their stall from their competitors. As the founders were selling soya bean drinks and both of them were men, they decided to call their company Mr Bean.[23] When Mr Bean was launched in 1995, their original logo had an ‘oriental’ look.[24]

Products

As of 2008, Mr Bean offered at least 28 products.[25] Its soya drinks range from plain soya milk to variations of soya milk that include chendol soya milk, fruity soya milk and icy mocha soya milk.[26] Mr Bean also produces a wide range of products that usesoya beans, such as various flavours of soya milk, biscuits, pancakes and ice cream.[26] The company also diversified to sell Mr Bean merchandise that appealed to the younger consumers.

Some of their merchandise includes towels, plush toys, bookmarks and bags.[24][27] Mr Bean sought to continually improve the quality of their products and invent new products. To do that, they invested in R&D to brainstorm and develop new product ideas, and also organised sample testing sessions.[24]

gollark: Can I teach classes on OS architecture and design or something?
gollark: Are you making a university or something?
gollark: Happy chicken!
gollark: So what events have been taking place within the craft of switching?
gollark: I thought you liked Ender IO?

References
  1. Salim, Zafirah (2018-05-31). "Soya, Mr Bean Went From Hawker Stall To International Chain With 62 Outlets in S'pore". Vulcan Post. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  2. "What's Yours? (Mr Bean)" (PDF). spring.gov.sg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-16.
  3. Chen, Gabriel (December 4, 2008). "Branding is key, even in tough times". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08.
  4. "Mr Bean - Life's Simple Pleasures". www.mrbean.com.sg. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  5. , Asia One Singapore, November 17, 2008, "Mr Bean's little pleasures Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine", Retrieved April 6, 2012
  6. "Mr Bean". SBS Transit Partners Listing. 2009-07-25. Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  7. "Mr Bean". Careers @ Enterprise. 2013-10-20. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  8. "Mr Bean | Singapore | Soy | Soy Brands | Online Brands | brandchannel.com". 2009-12-14. Archived from the original on 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  9. Lim Yann Ling (October 11, 2007). "Soya So Good". Asiaone Business. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  10. Gabriel Chen (5 Dec 2007). "Whipping up a true-brew winner". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  11. "Heng, J. (2007, Jun 05). Mr Bean takes a gulp of success. The Business Times, pp. 10. Retrieved from". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  12. "Aggarwal, N. (2008, Dec 03). Simple Pleasures. The Straits Times, pp. 142. Retrieved from". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  13. "Tan, M. (2012, Mar 28). Mr Bean to open more stores overseas". ProQuest 950008115.
  14. Paradise, Cuisine (2010-09-08). "Cuisine Paradise | Eat, Shop And Travel: Mr Bean Soy Beancurd". Cuisine Paradise | Eat, Shop And Travel. Archived from the original on 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  15. , October 12, 2010, "Mr Bean Soya Bean – Shibuya Station, Tokyo, Japan Archived 2012-09-17 at the Wayback Machine", Retrieved April 6, 2012
  16. "A little taste of Singapore in Japan". Asianews.net. November 11, 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  17. "USSEC GLOBAL NEWS UPDATE" (PDF). United States Soyabean Export Council. October 29, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  18. Yee, Lo (2012-03-07). "Benefits entice Singapore firms to do business in Japan". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  19. , Melissa Tan, March 28, 2012, "Mr Bean to open more stores overseas", Retrieved April 6, 2012
  20. Hong, Lynda (2012-03-30). "New ways to help companies venture overseas - Channel NewsAsia". Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  21. "News - Marketing Interactive". www.marketing-interactive.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  22. "Beijing franchisee wants refund from Mr Bean". news.asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  23. Chen, G (Dec 4, 2008). ". Branding is key even in tough times". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  24. "Archived copy". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  25. "Aggarwal, N. (2008, Dec 03). Simple Pleasures. The Straits Times, pp. 142. Retrieved from". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-18. Retrieved 10 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "Archived copy". Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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