Koufu (company)

Before opening their own coffeeshop, Pang Lim and his wife operated a stall selling bee hoon and nasi lemak in a hawker centre in Hougang.[1] In 1990, Pang Lim and his wife, Ng Hoon Tien, opened their first coffeeshop, Aik Hua and expanded the business in 1992, when the government launched the Sale of Tenanted Shop Scheme, which gave business owners operating out of shops leased from the Government in the public housing estate to buy over their shops instead of renting them, resulting in more business owners renting out the newly bought shops. In 1994, the government further introduced a policy of selling shop houses at subsidised rates to help local enterprises, which enabled Aik Hua to become the largest coffeeshop chain at that time with 56 outlets across the country.[1]

In the late 1990s, as food courts became more common, Pang Lim ventured into the food court business with his first food court, Happy Times Food Court in 1996. With increasing competition from the food court industry, Pang found the management of the 56 outlets of coffeeshops difficult as each coffeeshop was run as an independent entity without much synergy to one another.[3] In 2002, Pang Lim sold Aik Hua to the Kopitiam Group for SGD10 million before founding Koufu in that same year.[1] Other than Koufu food courts, the company branched out and operates different concept food courts such as Fork & Spoon, which is a halal food court, The Gallerie, which is inspired by Peranakan cuisine, 1983, which is a coffee shop selling toast and coffee and local cuisine.[4] Koufu also manages Punggol Plaza, a shopping mall located in Punggol through its subsidiary, Abundance Development Pte Ltd.

Most of Koufu's food courts have a modern contemporary design. Other brands of food courts such as Cookhouse by Koufu has different concepts and design at each outlet, taking inspiration from the location the outlet is located in.[3]

Food Republic

• Official website