SINGAPORE - Consumers can look up the prices of food and drinks at 23 coffee shops and foodcourts run by Chang Cheng Mee Wah on Price Kaki mobile app from Tuesday.
While there are currently 28,000 food and beverage items from 114 hawker centres listed on the price comparison app by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), this is the first time a coffee shop and foodcourt operator has added its offerings.
More than 900 items sold in 23 of Chang Cheng's coffee shops and foodcourts will be added to the listings.
Prices vary across the Chang Cheng outlets, which are typically located in heartland areas such as Toa Payoh, Tampines and Yishun.
As many Singaporeans patronise coffee shops and foodcourts daily, the expansion of the listings will help consumers make more informed choices about the food they eat or take away, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling.
It will also enable them to better manage their everyday expenses, she added.
She was present at the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday by Case executive director Lee Siow Hwee and Chang Cheng chief executive Erik Wang at the company's headquarters in Woodlands.
Case president Melvin Yong, who was also at the signing, noted that the prices of cooked food have risen significantly over the past year. Higher inflation has been attributed to factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions.
"During my visits to hawker centres and coffee shops, I have observed that some stallholders have tried their best to maintain the prices of their cooked food and drinks, while others tried to minimise price increases to remain competitive, especially those located in the residential estates," he added.
Previously, Price Kaki - which has had more than 113,000 downloads since it was launched in 2019 - listed cooked food and beverages sold only in hawker centres.
"This collaboration with Chang Cheng kick-starts our drive to expand Price Kaki's coverage of cooked food items beyond the hawker centres, and help consumers make better informed purchasing decisions," he said.
Case is looking to add at least 200 coffee shops and foodcourts on the app by the end of the year and is engaging industry stakeholders such as coffee shop associations and chain operators.
Besides Chang Cheng's economy mixed rice, for which the chain is best known for, Price Kaki will also list items from the group's other brands, including Ming Kitchen Seafood and Rong Kee Roasted Delights.
"We leverage on our centralised procurement and automated processing facilities in both Singapore and Malaysia, and the wide network of coffee shops and stalls... to reduce cost and maintain a high level of consistency in food quality," said Chang Cheng's Mr Wang.
He hopes that Chang Cheng's Price Kaki move will be a catalyst for coffee shop and stall operators to work together to provide a wider selection of competitively priced food choices.
Price Kaki also allows users to compare prices of groceries and house brand products at supermarkets, while Case's Fuel Kaki website tracks prices at petrol stations.
