ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS ROUNDTABLE


Regional resilience and the evolving role of consultants


Held on the eve of Circle 2025, this wide-ranging roundtable discussion, sponsored by Te Middleby Corporation, brought together leading consultants from across the Asia Pacific region. Hosted by FCSI Asia Pacific and chaired by Foodservice Consultant’s Michael Jones and Tina Nielsen, the conversation covered the health of the foodservice sector, regional opportunities and risks, the impact of tariffs, and the future of consultancy


MJ: How would you assess the overall state of the foodservice industry in the countries you operate in? AW Generally, I think the industry has been struggling since Covid. Take Singapore, for example: 307 restaurants on average close every month. Closures are outstripping


the openings. AB You’ve got two distinct markets. Te hotel industry is struggling, but state- and federal-backed projects – stadiums, theater and government projects like prisons and


hospitals – are huge at the moment. BG Consultants tell me they’re busier than ever, but then you talk to the manufacturers and they say it’s not good right now. QSR business is flat – in Malaysia, for example, KFC and Starbucks are not doing anything new. Te hotels might be busy, but does that


trickle down to the manufacturers? MS In Western Australia, the international tourism market and the spend is back to


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pre-Covid levels. You’ve got the upper crust of hospitality foodservice – approximately 10–15% of the hospitality market – and approximately 80–85% is pubs, restaurants, cafes, malls. Good operators are flourishing. Tey’re redefining themselves rather than following trends.


MJ: What are the biggest challenges operators are facing in your markets? BG Te cost of labor is going up because there’s a lack of people entering the industry. In markets like Vietnam, younger people still see hospitality as a career, but in more mature markets like Singapore it’s difficult to get good staff – and six out of 10


staff have to be Singaporean. AW Covid changed the rules of engagement, made building a lot more expensive, and many achitects and engineers have left the industry. We can’t find chefs anymore. We can’t find waiters anymore. Nobody wants


to come into this industry. Gen Z aren’t joining hotel schools – they consider hotel


jobs blue collar. AB When you’re paying somebody a large wage, you end up with staff who don’t want to greet someone. Tey don’t want to make the extra effort if someone takes a couple of


minutes choosing what to order. MS Tere’s a lot of red tape and bureaucracy in Australia. One of our clients dropped AU$3m for a project and then was told they had to close by 7pm due to zoning regulations, so we have been engaged to take the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal to try to get that changed to midnight, because the area needs this amenity.


TN: Are operators changing working conditions to attract staff? AB Big operators are embracing things like sustainability, looking at food miles and the quality of food. With the smaller operators,


PARTICIPANTS: Mario Seqeuira FCSI (MS) Bruno Magro FCSI (BM) Ben Gregoire FCSI (BG) Andrew Brain FCSI (AB) Alburn William FCSI (AW)


Moderators:


Michael Jones (MJ) Tina Nielsen (TN)


Sponsor: Meghan Daro, The Middleby Corporation


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