Love at first bite: Sugar Toast bosses in their 20s quit banking jobs to fulfil F&B dream

In this series, AsiaOne speaks to individuals who find themselves changing careers and steering their lives in a new direction, whether by choice or circumstance. 

When he was a boy, Brian Chien would look keenly on as his mother baked birthday cakes and other sweet treats for their family.

A love for baked goods was entrenched from that point and it became a dream for the former banking professional to set up his own bakery.

Two decades on with Sugar Toast, it finally became a reality.

"I have no experience in setting up an F&B business so I was actually quite nervous when I decided to quit my relatively stable job and start from zero," says the 28-year-old, who up till 2019 had only enjoyed baking as a hobby during his downtime.

Brian first came across Sugar Toast in his hometown of Johor Bahru in Malaysia, where the Chinese bakery chain has two outlets. In China, its stores span over 130 locations.

The baking aficionado naturally gravitated towards the attractive poster which stood outside the shop. Stepping into the store, he remembers the aroma of the freshly baked loaves completely overwhelming him — in a good way.

"I think it was the first time that I've ever purchased almost everything on the shelf. It was close to 12 or 13 flavours," says Brian.

He immediately fell in love with the taste and texture of the hand-made flavoured milk loaves, which he later discovered take a painstaking four hours to prepare.

Barely two months after chancing upon the brand, Brian quit his job of close to three years and bought the franchise, diving headlong into the business of bringing the concept to Singapore. At the same time, he pulled his colleague and friend Joseph Low, 27, along for the ride.

"Brian shared the idea with me, and it was an opportunity that could achieve my dream as well, so that's why we started Sugar Toast," says business partner Joseph, who had to first convince his family members, who were naturally apprehensive about him forsaking a stable income for the uncertain territory of an F&B venture.

But just like Brian, having his own food business was a lifelong dream for the bachelor, who used to discuss the idea with his siblings back in his hometown of Malacca.

However, with Joseph gunning for a promotion, it took almost a year before he took the leap to join Brian full-time in their venture.

It was a much easier process for Brian, who is grateful that his family was supportive from the get-go. He managed to get his wife's blessings to quit his relatively new and stable three-year career in a local bank to start Sugar Toast.

From chasing after sales targets in their previous jobs — "spending more time on the MRT than in the office" in order to meet clients — jumping into the F&B business was a completely new experience for the pair.

Starting from scratch

[[nid:520990]]

Both first-time bosses had to get their feet wet in learning how to bake the artisanal loaves by hand.

Due to the pandemic, Brian was not able to fly in a head baker from China to teach him all the skills he needed. Instead, he had to travel across the Causeway to JB in order to learn them from a trainer at the brand's Malaysian headquarters.

That meant having to do the mandatory 14-day quarantine in both countries as well.

"I basically spent one month in a hotel," Brian shares.

Because of the travel restrictions, he also had a tight timeline of only a month to learn the ropes, from baking to managing the daily operations.

"I was working daily from 6am all the way till 9pm just to master everything," says Brian, who was the one who subsequently trained Joseph when he joined the business.

When asked about the biggest adjustment the pair had to make, it was definitely the transition from a white-collar, sales-based job to a more laborious, physically intensive life as a baker-owner.

And the pair have the burn marks to show for it — their "badges of honour" — from scalding themselves on the hot baking trays.

"I'd joke with Joseph and tell him, 'eh see I got a new tattoo from Sugar Toast today'," says Brian with a laugh. "It's like a new achievement," chimes Joseph.

They had to roll up their sleeves for the shop's renovation as well. The pair had decided to do some simple fixtures and paintwork themselves to save on costs.

Before he quit his job, Joseph remembers heading to the store immediately after work to help in the painting, even when he didn't bring a change of clothes. "I remember I was so worried about dirtying my long-sleeved shirt, pants and shoes at the time," Joseph recalls, laughing.

The baking itself is a time-consuming affair that requires "a lot of practice", especially on the lamination (folding) process to create the layers, shares Brian.

Besides the time and effort, there's also the hefty monetary cost as well.

Brian estimates their investment in Sugar Toast to be close to $300,000, including the franchise fee and rent of the space at Wisma Atria, which costs a five-figure sum.

Were they ever worried that being in business would destroy their friendship though?

"I think what's most important is to have respect for each other," says Brian, adding that "we may see things differently sometimes, but the main thing is to come to a decision that we both can agree upon".

"Communication plays a part as well," shares Joseph. "It's also about trusting each other and airing any grievances so we can solve it together."

Opened on 11.11 to long queues

Sugar Toast opened its doors on Nov 11, 2020, to snaking queues, typical of food fad-hungry Singaporeans. At its peak, they had up to 700 loaves flying off their shelves.

Did opening a shop during the pandemic, especially in F&B, worry them at all?

Brian describes how he saw it as a "make it or break it" moment for them, but with that much invested, they decided to plough on full steam ahead. The pressure for Sugar Toast to be a success is certainly more keenly felt with Brian about to be a first-time dad at the end of the year.

In order to cope with the drop in footfall during the height of the pandemic, they introduced islandwide delivery as they realised that "relying on in-store purchases is not enough".

Pre-orders are encouraged on their website for customers to "secure their favourite flavours before they run out", and online group-buys have also formed an important component in their business model.

Despite the challenges, Brian remains heartened by the response so far, sharing that they currently sell about 500 loaves per day.

"We actually have a base of loyal customers who visit our store on a daily basis," shares Brian proudly.

Both partners have put their full-time baking days behind them, now that they have a team of about 10 people handling the operations at the store.

Joseph currently focuses more on the business development aspect of things, while Brian manages the store's daily operations and is involved in R&D.

The pair are focused on growing the demand for their products at the moment, but expansion plans are definitely on the horizon if all goes well. A cafe or restaurant too could be in the works we hear, but plans are still "in the developing stages".

Even though they are earning slightly less than what they used to take home as bankers, both young bosses share that the most satisfying part of the business is definitely the response they get from customers.

"When they come back and tell me, 'hey I tried your original toast and it's super nice, do you have something else you can recommend to me?'

"It's the best part I enjoy about the business," Brian shares.

And it looks like there's no turning back for the duo, who don't foresee themselves returning to the banking industry.

Says Joseph: "We have worked very hard and we are proud to have achieved so much in such a short period of time, especially in an area we are not experts in."

And with the positive response from their customers so far, "there's still the motivation for us to continue in this journey".

candicecai@asiaone.com