Mr. Coconut

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Mr. Coconut is a Singapore-based beverage franchise that specialises in coconut drinks. The franchise has a total of 23 outlets[1] in Singapore, with their newest branch opened at Jurong Point on 9 July 2021.[2]

Mr. Coconut offers a variety of coconut drinks and desserts on its menu, including ice-blended shakes, coconut juice, and ice cream. The brand was founded by couple Andrew Cai and Vivian Yeo, along with former real estate agent Lucas Lin in 2015[3].

Mr. Coconut’s signature coconut shakes. Photo from @hungrinna on Instagram.
logo for Mr. Coconut
The logo for Mr. Coconut. Photo from Mr. Coconut’s website.

Background

The business was birthed after Andrew and Vivian took a trip to Vivian’s hometown in Malacca, where coconut shakes are popular among locals and tourists[4]. When the couple identified that coconut shakes were not widely offered in Singapore, they decided to bring the drink over.

Origin as Xiang Yu Icy House

Andrew, Vivian, and Lucas launched their first coconut shake store at Far East Plaza in 2015. The store was known as Xiang Yu (相遇) Icy House at the time, in line with Vivian’s vision for the place to be a meeting hub for her customers to enjoy her freshly-blended drinks.[5]

Xiang Yu Icy House offered more than 30 different items on its menu, such as Coconut Mocha, Coconut Milk Tea, Avocado Icy Shake, and Mango Sorbet Icy Shake. It also sold artisan ice cream that came in a variety of flavours like Bubblegum, Golden Vanilla, and Rocky Road.

Xiang Yu Icy House did not fare well in its first year, with the business almost going bankrupt.[4] As Andrew recalls, “We nearly went bankrupt. The three of us had no experience in F&B and we bought machinery that we didn't end up using. Rental was high and customers preferred to drink bubble tea.[3]"

Rebranding as Mr. Coconut

Despite being faced with bankruptcy, the trio still saw potential in their product. Thus in 2016, they engaged a dedicated marketing firm, C.O. Enterprise, to repackage the Xiang Yu brand[6]. Mr. Coconut thus emerged as the rebranded version of Xiang Yu.

In light of Xiang Yu Icy House lacking a definitive focus with too many choices on its menu, the trio placed coconut water at the heart of Mr. Coconut’s business. The revamped brand also came with one-for-one promotions and a loyalty programme[7], along with a rigorous social media presence on Facebook[8] and Instagram[9].

Mr. Coconut uses young Thai coconuts as the main ingredient in all its products. According to Lucas in an interview with Channel News Asia[10], Thai coconuts are specifically chosen for their natural sweetness. Furthermore, young fruits are preferred as they tend to lose their sweetness as they mature.

A small sample of Xiang Yu Icy House’s range of drinks. Photo from ieat&eat.

Business growth

The revamp of Mr. Coconut afforded the brand many opportunities to expand their reach in Singapore. This was primarily done through the opening of new outlets across the country to make its products more readily available to local consumers.

(from left) Lucas Lin, Vivian Yeo, and Andrew Cai, founders of Mr. Coconut. Photo from The Straits Times.

Products

Though Mr Coconut’s products focus on coconut water, the brand doesn’t just offer juice on its menu. According to Vivian,

“Our exciting menu of coconut-based drinks blended with fruit juices, fruit purees, even with cookies or caramel sauce, is developed to suit everyone’s different tastes[11].”

Below is the most updated menu of Mr. Coconut’s offerings, accurate as of 10 July 2021[1]:

Signature Shakes
Product Name Medium (500ml) Large (700ml)
Coconut Shake $4.40 $5.40
Coconut Oreo Shake $4.80 $5.80
Coconut Strawberry Shake $5.30 $6.30
Coconut Mango Shake $5.30 $6.30
Coconut Avocado Shake $5.50 $6.50
Coconut Cappuccino Shake $5.90 $6.90
Bubble Coconut
Product Name Medium (500ml) Large (700ml)
Bubble Coconut $4.80 $5.80
Bubble Taro Coconut $4.90 $5.90
Bubble Honeydew Coconut $4.90 $5.90
Bubble Dragonfruit Coconut $4.90 $5.90
Bubble Chocolate Coconut $4.90 $5.90
Fresh Juice
Product Name Medium (500ml) Large (700ml)
Coconut Juice $4.60 $5.60
Desserts
Product Name Medium (500ml) Large (700ml)
Coconut Ice Cream $4.90 with 3 toppings

($0.50 per additional topping

Coconut Yoghurt* Small: $2.50

Medium: $4.50

Coconut Soft Serve** Cone: $4.60

Cup: $5.60 (comes with 1 topping)

Coconut Pudding** $2.80

*Only available at Waterway Point, Clementi Mall, Paya Lebar Quarter and Causeway Point.

**Only available at Causeway Point.

Local expansion

Mr. Coconut began its first wave of expansion in 2017, opening its second and third outlets at North Point and V Hotel Lavender, respectively. The V Hotel Lavender outlet has since shuttered[12], while the North Point one is still in operation today.

In the same year from 5 to 10 November, Mr. Coconut revamped its flagship outlet at Far East Plaza[13] and later reopened it on 11 November 2017[14].

In 2019, Mr. Coconut opened eight new outlets at Waterway Point[15], Jewel Changi Airport[16], Changi City Point[17], Westgate[18], Paya Lebar Quarter[19], IMM[20], Clementi Mall[21], and Causeway Point[22].

Growth amidst COVID-19

Mr. Coconut’s expansion was not hampered by the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. The brand continued to expand, opening another eight new outlets in 2020 at Hillion Mall[23], Anchorpoint[24], Parkway Parade[25], Tampines 1[26], Bedok Mall[27], One Raffles Place[28], Hougang Mall[29][30], and Junction 8[31][32].

To date (as of 10 July 2021), Mr. Coconut has opened another five new outlets at Bugis Street[31][33], Boon Lay MRT station[34], Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Hub[35], NEX[36][37], and Jurong Point[38][39].

List of outlets in Singapore

Below is a list of all 23 Mr. Coconut outlets opened in Singapore to date[1] (10 July 2021):

Location Address Opening hours
Far East Plaza 14 Scotts Road, #01-14C, S(228213) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Northpoint City 930 Yishun Avenue 2, #B1-42, S(769098) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Waterway Point 83 Punggol Central, #01-K7, S(828761) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Jewel Changi Airport 78 Airport Boulevard, #B2-268, S(819666) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Changi City Point 5 Changi Business Park Central 1, #01-K7, S(486038) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Westgate 3 Gateway Drive, #B2-K17, S(608532) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Paya Lebar Quarter 10 Paya Lebar Road, #B2-K8, S(409057) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
IMM 2 Jurong East Street 21, #01-K05, S(609601) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Clementi Mall 3155 Commonwealth Ave W, #B1-K13, S(129588) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Causeway Point 1 Woodlands Square, #B1-K02, S(738099) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Hillion Mall 17 Petir Road, #B2-35, S(678278) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Anchorpoint 370 Alexandra Road, #B1-53/54, S(159953) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Parkway Parade 80 Marine Parade Rd, #B1-83J, S(449269) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Tampines 1 16 Tampines Central 1, #B1-K4, S(529536) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Bedok Mall 311 New Upper Changi Rd, #01-K1, S(467360) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
One Raffles Place 1 Raffles Place, #B1-35, S(048616) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 8pm

Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays

Hougang Mall 90 Hougang Ave 10, #01-14, S(538766) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Junction 8 9 Bishan Pl, #B1-K6, S(579837) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Bugis Street 3 New Bugis Street, #01-201, S(188867) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Boon Lay MRT Station 301 Boon Lay Way, #01-29, S(649846) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
Ang Mo Kio Hub 53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, #B1-69/70/71, S(569933) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm
NEX 23 Serangoon Central, #03-K16/17, S(556083) Monday - Sunday: 10:30am - 10:30pm
Jurong Point 1 Jurong West Central 2, #01-K1, S(648886) Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm

Future plans

Mr. Coconut will be shifting to a bigger central kitchen in the near future[3], where the manual labour of breaking open the coconuts and extracting the juice and flesh will be concentrated. At present, staff do it as part of their daily operations at all outlets.

The brand also intends to implement a leadership training programme for potential leaders in their current staff of 140 people.[3]

References/Citations

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Mr. Coconut: Home." Mr. Coconut. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  2. "New Outlet Opening!Facebook. July 9 2021. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tan, Hsueh Yun. "Loco over coco.The Straits Times. April 25 2021. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Natalia, Eva. "Mr Coconut Serves Made-to-Order Coconut Drinks for the Health-Conscious in Singapore!” RunSociety. December 21 2017. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  5. "Coconut Icy Shake - Xiang Yu Icy House Review.” I Eat And Eat. March 13 2016. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  6. "Mr Coconut - Singapore - CO Enterprise." C.O. Enterprise. Accessed on 9 July 2021.
  7. "Mr. Coconut Loyalty." Mr.Coconut. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  8. "Mr Coconut Singapore." Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  9. "Mr. Coconut Singapore (@mr.coconutsg)." Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  10. "Mr. Coconut Interview with CNA." Mr Coconut Singapore. January 11 2018. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  11. "A Fresh Start for a Fresh Juice: Mr Coconut’s New Look and New Menu." The Wellness Insider. December 4. 2017. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  12. "Mr. Coconut (V Hotel Lavender).” HungryGoWhere. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  13. "Mr. Coconut - Coming Back Soon." November 4 2017. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  14. "Mr. Coconut - Far East Plaza Revamped." November 11 2017. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  15. "Waterway Point opening." March 7 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  16. "Jewel Changi Airport opening." April 20 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  17. "Changi City Point opening." June 7 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  18. "Westgate opening." July 17 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  19. "Paya Lebar Quarter opening." August 30 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  20. "IMM opening." September 18 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  21. "Clementi Mall opening." November 4 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  22. "Causeway Point opening." December 9 2019. Facebook. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  23. "Hillion Mall opening." March 16 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  24. "Anchorpoint opening." July 23 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  25. "Parkway Parade opening." August 8 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  26. "Tampines 1 opening." September 2 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  27. "Tampines 1 opening." September 2 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  28. "One Raffles Place opening." October 5 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  29. "Hougang Mall opening." November 25 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  30. Bowers, Beatrice. "Mr Coconut To Open New Stall In Hougang On 25 November.EatBook. November 19 2020. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  31. 31.0 31.1 Lim, Ashley. "Mr Coconut Opening In Bishan Junction 8 And Bugis Street This December.” Eatbook. December 14 2020. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  32. "Junction 8 opening." December 24 2020. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  33. "Bugis Street opening." January 11 2021. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  34. "Boon Lay MRT opening." January 29 2021. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  35. "Ang Mo Kio Hub opening." June 11 2021. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  36. "NEX opening." June 11 2021. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  37. Bowers, Beatrice. "Mr Coconut To Open Outlet In NEX This June.EatBook. June 2 2021. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  38. P., Michelle. "Mr Coconut To Open First Concept Store In Jurong Point This July.” EatBook. July 8 2021. Accessed on 10 July 2021.
  39. "Jurong Point opening." July 9 2021. Instagram. Accessed on 10 July 2021.