Fancy local gourmet food at a ‘SinSeh-style’ grocery?

Luqman Hakim, 29, and his wife Rohaizan Abdul Rahman, 35, have a business named after a Chinese medical hall but instead of stocking traditional herbal products, their grocery uses “sinseh” jars to store gourmet food.

At the hip SinSeh: The Grocery at Jalan Pisang, which is opening its doors on Sunday (29 November), locally made gourmet goods, such as marmalades, handmade nougats and tea leaves, take pride of place in the shelves.

It is not the first time that the husband and wife team has injected a dash of creativity into their food business. Just two units away from SinSeh is The Lab SG, the experimental café owned by the duo where customers get to savour their cuppa in a laboratory-like setting. They can enhance their beverages using flavourings or sugar stored in equipment such as a giant syringe and a clinical bottle.

Luqman told Yahoo Singapore the couple believes that food & beverage concepts should stay flexible and avoid being pigeonholed.

“We needed a concept that is not too focused on one thing so it won’t be difficult to shift to something different. We wanted something that can be pegged to a lot of things, so we can experiment with food, or even lifestyle and music.”

Going local for gourmet food

When We Experiment was participating in pop-up markets previously, the newlywed discovered there was an untapped market for a wide variety of locally made gourmet food.

“During those times, I would chat with the owners of these gourmet goods and realise that they don’t have a physical space to feature their items.

“I thought, if I could open a grocery store, I can collaborate with them to put their products in my store,” said Luqman, who has worked at three different cafes. His wife has had eight years of experience in the F&B industry.

For now, 10 local gourmet brands, such as A.Muse Projects and Straits Preserves Singapore, are available at SinSeh with the number set to increase in the coming months.

Catering to the Muslim community

To meet the dietary needs of the Muslim community, the both of them carefully select the products that are sold at the store.

A Muslim himself, Luqman said that while their grocery store is not halal-certified, he and his wife ensure that the goods they sell do not contain alcohol or pork.

There are now about 10 gourmet groceries in Singapore but none of them caters to the Muslim customer segment, he pointed out.

“I can see that the Muslim community these days are more adventurous with their taste buds. They have a desire to venture where F&B is concerned, but have very limited options,” said Luqman.

Despite the stiff competition, Luqman and his wife believe that they have carved out a sustainable niche business with their innovative approach.

During the interview, Luqman was sitting behind an ice-cream case. Even bagel sandwiches or breads topped with ice-cream are on the menu at SinSeh.

“Food is a necessity, and people like to try something different all the time…That way, you’ll surprise customers, and make them happy.”

SinSeh: The Grocery is located at 9 Jalan Pisang.