In April 2019, Changi Airport unveiled a revolutionary development - Jewel Changi Airport. Five years later, Jewel has blossomed into a beloved landmark in Singapore and continues to redefine the airport experience for both visitors and travellers. Central to Jewel’s success story lies a vibrant mix of retail and dining offerings, each brand adding a unique dimension to the multi-faceted Jewel experience.
In this story, Changi Journeys speaks to Mr Kwang Lee, CEO at Shake Shack Singapore and Ms Jessica Wong, Assistant Manager of Sales & Marketing at Bee Cheng Hiang on what were the highlights and memorable events at Jewel through the years. These long-standing brands bring to life Jewel’s proposition as a place ‘where the world meets Singapore and Singapore meets the world.’
Changi Journeys: As one of Jewel's tenants since its establishment, how would you describe your journey over the last five years?
Jessica: I think to use the word tumultuous to describe the journey is an understatement, and this is probably echoed by other establishments that receive a lot of tourists. We faced plenty of ups and downs in the last five years. When Jewel opened, we started on a high but dropped to a low when Covid-19 hit shortly after. During the darkest times, we are grateful for Jewel’s support to its tenants and its strong marketing efforts to boost local and foreign patronage. We are happy to share that we’re seeing strong recovery now, with growth of this year’s sales to date at almost two times that of last year’s.
Agnes, a store manager who has been with Bee Cheng Hiang Jewel outlet since Day 1, serving a customer
Kwang Lee: Serving as the world’s gateway to Singapore as a world-class multi-dimensional lifestyle destination which integrates Nature, Play and Retail elements, Jewel was an ideal location for Shake Shack’s first foray into Singapore to introduce the brand to locals and visitors from around the world. We celebrated the opening of Shake Shack Jewel with a bang in 2019 and received great responses. (Snaking queues were seen outside Shake Shack on its first day.)
Changi Journeys: What were some of the unique features or concepts that your brand introduced when your Jewel outlet first opened?
Jessica: Jewel was the first outlet, outside of our flagship store at Serangoon Road, to offer the Bakkwa Wine Pairing experience. The response was very well received, and both our customers as well as the Jewel team loved the concept. It was also an opportunity for us to introduce a local favourite snack to tourists through a familiar yet unique experience.
We chose to open an outlet at Jewel because we knew Jewel was going to be a different shopping experience for all visitors (differentiating it from the shopping experience within the airport terminals). We have the benefit of hindsight now to see that Jewel has achieved that goal, because it is a “must visit” for all visitors to Singapore. We wanted to tap on that vision to open a store that could provide a different shopping experience for our customers. This is what inspired us to offer the wine pairing experience and to create a beautiful barbeque theatre at our Jewel outlet.
Bee Cheng Hiang’s wine-pairing experience at Jewel
Kwang Lee: For Shake Shack Jewel, we collaborated with local artists ‘8 Eyed Spud’ to create a 10-metre-long wall mural filled with quirky characters, Shake Shack goodies and familiar local sights. Exclusively available at Shake Shack Jewel, we’ve created Jewela Melaka – a special concrete boasting unique local flavours such as coconut salted caramel, gula melaka and our local partner brand Lemuel’s chocolate chunks.
Shake Shack's Jewela Melaka, with the 10m-long wall mural seen in the background
Changi Journeys: How have your offerings or services evolved over the past five years to better cater to the needs and preferences of Jewel’s diverse audience?
Jessica: As part of Bee Cheng Hiang group’s effort to continually surprise and delight our customers, we regularly launch seasonal products like the Applewood Sliced Pork, and new gift packaging. Since last year, we have been launching new products every month, to encourage customers to visit our store regularly. One example is the Crispy Pulled Pork Twist, a new innovative snack. It has been very popular among tourists who buy it as a souvenir to bring back for family and friends to share.
Kwang Lee: We introduced limited time menus to provide new flavours to our guests, which include collaborations to inject local flavours into some of our products. Some past examples include the Buah Keluak Burger, in collaboration with Chef Malcom Lee’s Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant Candlenut, and the Sambal Mayo Burger, made with exclusive sambal from Batu Lesung Spice Company, created by local renowned Chef Jeremy Nguee.
Just this month, we launched our limited time White Truffle Menu, which includes the White Truffle Burger, White Truffle ‘Shroom Burger, and Parmesan Fries with White Truffle Sauce. We will also be teaming up with Moët & Chandon to offer our White Truffle Burgers and Moët & Chandon Imperial Mini Brut 200ml Bundle on delivery platforms and our membership programme ‘Happy Point App’.
We also launched our brand-new Shack Breakfast menu, available daily between 8.30am to 11am, which will be a great option for visitors who arrive in Singapore in the mornings. This is currently only found at Jewel and Gardens by the Bay.
Shake Shack Singapore's past collaboration menus inspired by local flavours: Sambal Mayo Burger (left) & Buah Keluak Burger (right)
Changi Journeys: How did you navigate through the uncertainties and disruptions brought about by Covid-19?
Jessica: We stopped our dining-in section and focused on retail sales. Thankfully, we were still able to operate our retail section. Despite the drop in footfall, we focused on maintaining product quality and service for our existing customers.
Kwang Lee: We focused on delivering the Shack experience to guests via delivery platforms & self-pickup orders, while continuing to introduce limited time menus to bring new flavours to our guests. During the pandemic between 2020 to 2022, we launched 8 more Shacks across Singapore and we have 10 Shacks in total to date.
As Jewel continues to flourish, the tenants are looking to elevate their presence beyond just a store.
Changi Journeys: Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals for your Jewel store in the coming years?
Jessica: We hope to remain a strong representative brand for Singapore, to which overseas visitors can look forward to patronising when they visit Singapore. We also hope to continue to grow and serve our customers better, in the form of better service, and better product variety.
Kwang Lee: At Shake Shack Jewel, 5% of our sales from Shack Attack™ (frozen chocolate custard dessert with toppings) is donated to the Children’s Wishing Well, a local non-profit organisation supporting the needs of disadvantaged children and youths from low-income families. This is line with our mission to Stand For Something Good – which includes taking care of our team, sourcing premium ingredients from partners with the same dedication to quality, supporting our communities through donations, events, and volunteering, and much more. We will also continue to introduce limited time only menus from other Shacks around the world for our guests to enjoy a one-stop Shake Shack dining experience of global flavours at Jewel.
Since Jewel’s inception, both Bee Cheng Hiang and Shake Shack have grown alongside Jewel, offering visitors a unique blend of Singaporean heritage and American indulgence within the captivating surrounds of Changi Airport. As Jewel embarks on its next chapter, visitors can continue to anticipate new and novel retail and dining experiences.
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