Food outlets, retailers to get help with delivery costs, going online with reintroduced schemes in Singapore

• May 17, 2021

SINGAPORE (CNA) – Food outlets and retailers affected by COVID-19 Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions will get help to offset their delivery costs and to go online with reintroduced government schemes.

The food delivery and e-commerce subsidy schemes were first introduced in April 2020 during Singapore’s “circuit breaker” period and removed as restrictions eased.

They have been made available again to help businesses diversify their revenue channels and defray costs of going online, Enterprise Singapore said yesterday, the first day the tightened rules kicked in.

The support is available to businesses that are new to digital channels as well as those already selling via food delivery or e-commerce platforms, it added.

From now until June 15, Enterprise Singapore will fund five percentage points of the commission cost charged by the three food delivery platforms – Deliveroo, foodpanda
and GrabFood.

In the same period, the agency will fund 20 per cent of the delivery costs for food delivery orders made through third-party logistic partners, such as Lalamove, Zeek Logistics and Pickupp. “Collectively, these players serve a large majority of the food delivery market,” said Enterprise Singapore.

To be eligible for the Food Delivery Booster Package, F&B businesses must sell food that was prepared on-premises for immediate consumption.

This includes smaller establishments like hawker stalls and cafes, and larger ones like food caterers and restaurants.