Darussalam Enterprise’s (DARe) food and beverage (F&B) facility Kontena Park is inviting local entrepreneurs in the sector to apply for tenancy from April 2022 to March 2023.
DARe has revamped the Kontena Park tenancy for businesses to include a fully-fledged business development programme that will offer training, mentorship and financing.
With a monthly rental of $350 and a built-in audience from the surrounding buildings of iCentre, Design and Technology and Knowledge Hub, Kontena Park offers local F&B businesses – especially those that are home-based – to the opportunity to test their products and service quality, while building up their customer base in a real-market setting.
Kotena Park looks to groom emerging F&B businesses in yearly cycles, with a view of helping them ready their expansion into commercial spaces after leaving the facility, ultimately leading them to establish their own retail chains or franchises.
The upcoming fourth cycle of Kontena Park features a modified selection criteria and development programme. Applications are open until December 12, with vendor evaluation and training taking place in January and February 2022.
The selected eight vendors can move into their units by March and begin operating the following month.
The vendor training will be in the form of a two week workshop under DARe’s Industry Business Academy (IBA) in January 2022. The training covers nine key areas for operations including financial management, food safety, marketing and customer service.
After training, vendors will have to submit a business plan with financial projections. DARe will also engage established foodpreneurs to sample their menu.
DARe said the two-layered assessment will help identify tenants with both business competency and product quality.
During their tenancy, vendors will also have complementary access to a digital point of sales (POS) solution which also has the capability to create their own online vendor store which customers can order from.
DARe will also engage an external marketing agency to produce digital content to promote vendors on Kontena Park’s social media accounts, as well as run media campaigns for vendors on Biz Brunei.
Kontena Park has recorded more than $1 million in sales since its opening in 2017. The space was re-designed and welcomed its second cycle vendors in 2019, who collectively recorded nearly $600,000 in sales during their year-long tenancy.
Tenants will also have the opportunity to apply for DARe’s co-matching grant which provides up to $20,000 in financing, and have mentoring sessions with established F&B owners.
To apply or learn more about Kontena Park, visit DARe’s website.
