NextOfKin Creatives

Designing Future Kopitiams.

Food & Beverage (F&B) Design and Innovation

Design Singapore Council commissioned NOK to research and design for local Food Courts and Kopitiams(Traditional coffeeshops).

Learning from the insights generated from the research and ideas co-created with local food & beverage(F&B) small medium enterprises (SMEs), innovative concepts were developed to inspire F&B businesses with the possibilities that design innovation can solve productivity issues and create delightful experiences at the same time.

1. LANE+

Lane+ introduces coloured lanes in the kopitiam that regulates the traffic flow by demarcating dedicated paths for waiting, cleaning trolleys and food browsing.

Kopitiams get very congested during rush hour, especially in front of the stalls where customers queue for food, browse stalls and collect food.

Lane+ alleviates the problem of congested aisles where customers enjoy better dining and queuing experience and cleaners can perform their job better with dedicated trolley lanes.

2. TRAY-BLE

Tray-ble rethinks the system of seating by requiring users to complete the tables by inserting food trays into slots at tables.

The infrastructure comes with radio-frequency identification (RFID) to track dining time and tray return rates. Users are incentivised to discourage seat hogging and encourage tray return habits.

Seat ‘chope-ing’ and seat hogging are two common issues faced by kopitiams / foodcourts that results in seat shortages.

Tray-ble concept helps increase turn-over rate by encouraging tray return and discouraging seat hogging, creating a more efficient and productive dining space.

3. MAGI

MAGI is a modular kitchen concept designed to create order and consistency in stall layouts.

When a stall cease operations, modules can be packed into a single mobile unit and stored away. The stall space can be freed up for other usages like extra seating/dining area, creating an adaptable food court space.

Stall layouts are used by staff on venue and shift rotation. However, they are tailored to the main chefs’ needs, resulting in inconsistent layouts that cause unfamiliarity and lower efficiency in other staff.

MAGI is designed to provide familiar standardised kitchen equipment, yet at the same time flexible enough to adapt to various space and user scenarios.

4. KPTEAM

KPTeam is a job matching platform for the kopitiam sector that seeks to address manpower shortages in the current kopitiam workforce by reaching out to younger generation through a digital platform familiar to them.

KPTeam creates a transparent and fair job hiring channel which both parties, the job seeker and the employer, can review and rate each other.

Manpower shortage has been one of the main challenges the kopitiam/food court sector face. There is an increased need to attract workers especially from the younger generation as current kopitiam workforce is largely made up of older generation workers.

KPTeam has the potential to create a more transparent and active job market that bridges the gap between food stalls and the job seeking community.