Does bak kwa still sell well outside of Chinese New Year?

No Chinese New Year celebration is complete without bak kwa. 

The popular barbecued sliced-pork snack is such a staple that customers are still willing to pay for it despite price increases. 

But outside of the Lunar New Year period, do people still buy bak kwa even when there is no special occasion to eat it?

Apparently yes, and the demand — while not as much as it would be during Chinese New Year — is still pretty big. 

Husband and wife duo Zeng Genghui and Xu Liping, who own Jia Hui BBQ at Bedok South Market & Food Centre, told AsiaOne that they still get orders for bak kwa regardless of the season. 

A number of customers who patronise their business, which has been around since the 1980s, are families who buy bak kwa for gatherings. 

Another popular option all year round is bak kwa on a stick, where meat is cut into small pieces and skewered onto bamboo sticks.

"This makes it convenient for customers to try our bak kwa," Liping told us. 

Kelvin Ng, who owns Kim Hua Guan, told us that the business, which his father started in 1969, "still is well" even when it isn't the festive period. 

"We have a good number of tourists patronising our business," the 47-year-old second-generation owner said. 

The business, which has outlets at People's Park Food Centre and Balestier Road, sees many foreign customers from Indonesia, Hong Kong and Brunei.

"They have lived in Singapore before and some of them are third-generation customers," Kelvin explained, referring to his customers whose grandparents and older relatives have also long patronised the business.

He added that apart from that, Kim Hua Guan also does corporate sales with local hotels and exports vacuum-packed bak kwa to supermarkets in Hong Kong. 

For Bee Cheng Hiang, which was founded in 1933 by Teo Swee Ee and has stores locally and internationally, consumers purchase their bak kwa all year round. 

"For Singapore customers, we do have a strong seasonal effect during Chinese New Year," Jessica Wong, spokesperson for Bee Cheng Hiang, told AsiaOne. 

"But thanks to our variety of products and new flavour launches, we have a steady pool of customers during non-Chinese New Year periods as well," she shared, citing the example of their Seoul BBQ bak wa, which was launched last October and was sold out in less than two months. 

Even overseas, Bee Cheng Hiang has consumers purchasing their bak kwa for gifts, no matter the occasion. 

"As we operate in 11 countries and territories, we noticed that in other countries where Lunar New Year does not necessarily equate to bak kwa, there is also strong demand," said Jessica. 

Other smaller brands like Kim Joo Guan and Fyre see a steady flow of tourists purchasing bak kwa across the year too, no matter the season. 

"This is because bak kwa is a delicacy unique to them," explained Kristy, who did not reveal her surname, store manager of family-owned Kim Joo Guan.

Kim Joo Guan was founded by 47-year-old Arthur Ong in 1977 and has stores at South Bridge Road and Royal Square Medical Centre. 

"For locals, there are customers who buy regularly and others who only purchase during Chinese New Year," Kristy added. 

While only being established in 2019, the owner of Fyre, Kim Yann Ong, shared that her family has been in the bak kwa business since 1945 and she started Fyre to "redefine traditions". 

For Fyre, their bak kwa is available in limited batches throughout the year. These are not only purchased by tourists, but as gifts from Singaporeans for overseas friends, clients and associates when they come to visit.  

Preparing for the busiest period of the year 

Though business is good all year round, Chinese New Year is undeniably the busiest period for all the bak kwa sellers we spoke to. 

In fact, things are so hectic that many of them start preparations way in advance. 

For Bee Cheng Hiang, work starts a whole year before. 

"We have already started planning for Chinese New Year 2026," they shared.

"Corporate enquiries started since early November [last year], as corporate customers were eager to secure customised gift sets for their festive gifting." 

As for the owners of smaller businesses like Jia Hui BBQ, they start a few months before Chinese New Year and spend time sourcing the best cuts of pork.

After that's done, they prepare the meat by marinating it for 12 hours and smoking it on rattan for another 12 hours. 

Similar to Jia Hui BBQ, the folks at Fyre get ready for their bak kwa sales by marinating, drying, smoking, grilling and packaging the meat, Yann Ong told us. 

Their preparations started as early as October last year and it progressively gets more exhausting. 

"The whole month leading up to Chinese New Year is the most tiring time of the year for us," she said. 

Preparing and cooking the bak kwa aren't the only stressful parts about the Chinese New Year crowd — businesses have to ready themselves for the massive crowds. 

And it can be quite physically demanding. 

Jessica shared that many of Bee Cheng Hiang's outlets have extended operating hours and four of their stores will even run for 24 hours closer to Chinese New Year. 

"Besides the increase in retail orders, we also experience an increase in corporate orders," she shared.

"This means more work for the support team, such as production, logistics and operations." 

Kim Joo Guan has implemented several strategies to manage the increase in demand. 

This includes an online pre-order system that allows customers to place their orders up to two months in advance. They also have the flexibility to choose either delivery or pick-up options. 

"To ensure smooth operations, we also hire extra manpower at both our retail outlets and factory, helping to maximise efficiency during this busy season," said Kristy.

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melissateo@asiaone.com