How to Promote & Market a Bagel Shop in Singapore
When I first started the bagel shop, The Bagel Bunch, I didn’t have any formal marketing experience and honestly had no idea what I was doing.
Everything was super DIY — we were taking orders through Instagram DMs, handling payments manually, and even relying on my parents to boost our posts on Facebook.
But as things picked up, I realised that promoting a food business is about way more than just good food.
It’s about creating something people want to talk about and share — from the visuals to the story behind it, from brand collabs to how we engaged with our community.
In this article, I’ll walk you through what worked for us when we had no big budget or agency help, and how we grew using platforms like Instagram and Facebook, design choices that made us stand out, and customer-driven buzz that helped carry the brand further than we expected.
1) Using Instagram and Facebook to Drive Awareness
Early Adoption of Instagram for Orders
In the beginning, Instagram was basically our entire order system. We didn’t have a website or any kind of backend set up, so everything came in through DMs.
People would message us to place their orders and we’d just jot them down manually. It was super messy but kind of charming in its own way.
There was no CRM or structure — just me checking my phone constantly, making sure nothing slipped through. But the thing is, that direct connection with customers built trust early on. It felt personal.
People liked that they were ordering straight from the person making the food. Eventually, as things started to grow, we had to move toward more structured systems, but that raw start on Instagram really helped shape our brand voice and build momentum.
Facebook Presence-Driven by Parents’ Support
Facebook was a bit of a surprise. We weren’t really pushing content there intentionally at first, but our parents and their friends started sharing our posts and tagging us.
That gave us unexpected visibility with a slightly older crowd — people who wouldn’t normally find us on Instagram. It was actually kinda cute.
My mom and dad would repost everything we put up and that ended up reaching a whole different group of customers. Some of them came in just because they saw something their friend’s aunty shared.
It just showed that your community can play a big role in spreading the word, especially when you’re starting out and don’t have a big marketing budget.
So yeah, Facebook worked in a totally different way, but it definitely helped drive awareness during those early stages.
2) Developing Visual Identity and Aesthetic Branding
Bagel Characters with Eyes and Fingers
So the bagel characters with the eyes and fingers kind of became our signature without us fully planning it.
It started as just a fun, slightly weird way to make our bagels feel more alive — more like little characters instead of just bread. I think people remembered us because of that.
It gave our brand some personality, something playful that made it more than just food. And we kept that visual identity really consistent across everything — our Instagram posts, our stickers, the packaging, even the menu designs.
It wasn’t super polished in the beginning but it was ours and people started to associate that look with our shop. Over time, it helped us build a brand that felt distinct and approachable, not too serious but still thoughtful.
Standing Out from Competitors Through Design
When I look at other bagel spots like Two Men Bagel House, they’ve got their own vibe — very clean, very structured.
Ours is a bit more chaotic, more DIY, but that’s the charm. I didn’t want to just copy what was already out there. The idea was to use design and branding to reflect what we were doing with the food — bold, fun, a little unexpected.
And honestly, that helped us stand out. We’re not trying to compete on size or scale, but on experience and connection. People are willing to pay for something if they feel like there’s intention behind it, not just in the taste but in the full brand experience.
The way we designed everything was our way of saying this isn’t your average bagel shop and we’re okay with being a little weird if it means being memorable.
3) Word-of-Mouth and Organic Growth Through Positive Customer Experience and Reposts
A big part of our growth came from people sharing their experience online without us even asking.
We put a lot of effort into how everything looks — not just the bagels but the packaging, the way the menu is designed, even the little details like stickers.
It’s not overdone but it’s visually fun enough that people want to take photos and post about it. That user-generated content became a big thing for us. When someone tags us in a story or post, it’s like free promotion that actually feels more genuine than a paid ad.
It creates a ripple effect where their friends see it and then they show up to try it too. And because everything is so visual, it helps make our brand more memorable. That kind of organic attention is really what helped us grow without having to pour money into ads.
4) No Paid Delivery Services or Promotions
So from the beginning, we made a conscious decision not to use delivery platforms like Grab or Foodpanda.
It’s not that we’re against them or anything but it just didn’t feel aligned with how we wanted to build the brand.
We’ve kept it pretty old-school in the sense that people either walk in or DM us to order. That also keeps the experience personal and lets us control the quality from start to finish. Plus, we didn’t want to rely on discounts or promos to get people through the door.
We wanted them to come because they were excited about the food and the vibe. It might have slowed our reach in the short term but in the long run it helped build a stronger base of loyal customers who actually engage with what we’re doing.
5) Product Expansion as a Marketing Strategy
Launching Kombucha as a Trend-Responsive Move
The idea to start offering kombucha didn’t come from some big strategy meeting or anything. It was just something we noticed people were getting into more and more.
You’d hear customers asking if we had drinks to go with their bagels, and kombucha just felt like a good fit. We didn’t start brewing it ourselves — other local vendors actually reached out and asked if we’d be open to stocking their products.
So we gave it a try, and it turned out to be a great move. People liked having the option, and it gave us another way to tap into what our community was already excited about.
It also helped reinforce our brand as one that stays current and open to new things, without losing focus on our core menu.
6) Brand Collaborations and Cross-Promotion
Working with Other Local Brands (e.g., Lume Cafe)
One thing we’ve found really effective is teaming up with other local businesses, like Lume. It’s not just about putting someone else’s product on our shelf and calling it a day.
First few batches of bagels in my home oven!
We actually work together to figure out how our stuff can complement each other. So if we carry their drinks, they might carry our bagels, or we’ll feature each other on socials.
It’s very mutual. We even get the details down in writing just to make sure everything’s clear — stuff like how we’ll promote each other and what we can expect on both ends.
Collaborations like this help us reach new audiences while keeping the partnership grounded and real.
Beyond Product — Marketing Synergy
What makes these collabs work isn’t just the products. It’s the shared mindset behind the brands.
7) The Importance of a Brand Narrative
So something I’ve been thinking about more lately is how other industries — like activewear for example — are really big on storytelling.
LSKD’s brand mission of enabling people to become “1% better every day” is clearly communicated through all their social media posts
You look at brands like Nike or LSKD and yeah, the products are solid, but what really gets people hooked is the story behind the brand.
It’s the vision, the mission, the way they show people working toward something bigger. That kind of stuff really sticks.
And I’ve been wondering how we can bring more of that into F&B. It’s not just about making good food anymore. It’s about what you stand for, what your brand represents beyond the menu.
We’ve always had personality in how we talk online or how we design our stuff, but I think there’s still room to go deeper — to actually build a narrative that people can connect with emotionally.
If you do it right, I feel like that kind of brand storytelling can be a huge growth lever because it creates meaning, not just transactions.
Bagels, Branding, and Building It From Scratch
Looking back, promoting and marketing the shop wasn’t about chasing trends or throwing money at ads. It was really about being scrappy, staying true to what we believed in, and letting the brand grow in a way that felt personal.
From taking Instagram orders by hand to building out a visual identity people remembered and teaming up with other local brands, every part of our growth came from doing things our way and staying connected to the community.
We didn’t rely on delivery platforms or gimmicky promotions. Instead, we focused on making something worth talking about and letting word-of-mouth do the rest.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that authenticity beats strategy every time when it comes to standing out in F&B.
