Maki-San
Maki-San is a sushi chain founded and based in Singapore. It is known for its customisable sushi, unconventional ingredients and localised menu items. As of June 2020, Maki-San is managed by Alvin Wong in his capacity as the brand's Director.[1]
Background
Maki-San was founded in 2012. The brand's concept was inspired by do-it-yourself sushi restaurants in the United States of America.[2][3]
Current management
As of June 2020, Maki-San is a brand associated with The Alchemy Partnership, a creative agency based in Singapore at which Alvin Wong is an executive partner and the Chief Executive Officer.[4] Alvin joined Maki-San as an official partner in 2013.[5] He has been working in the advertising industry since 1999.[6]
Founders
Maki-San was founded by Omar Marks and Raj Mulani.[7] Omar Marks was born in India and attended the Gujarat University from 1996 to 1999 where he was a student of chemistry.[8] Before founding Maki-San, Omar worked in the advertising industry where he was a copywriter.[9] He managed Maki-San as the Chief Executive Officer from 2012 until 2018.[10] In 2020, Marketing Interactive reported that Omar and Raj left Maki-San due to diverging views with the partners about the brand's future.[11]
Origins
Maki-San's first outlet was located at The Cathay. In the early days of its operations, the brand contacted bloggers and media sites as a way to market their products.[12] Singaporean food blogs like Daniel Food Diary[13] and Miss Tam Chiak[14] were among the sites that promoted the debut store at The Cathay. Maki-San proved to be a hit with the younger consumer base that frequented the mall and the business reportedly broke even in 15 months.[15]
Business expansion
Overseas expansion
Japan
In July 2018, Maki-San opened its first store overseas in Osaka, Japan. Omar and Alvin partnered with Yamamoto Masayoshi (Project Director) and Hitoshi Yokota (Franchise Owner) to secure the expansion.[16] As of June 2020, Google records the store as permanently closed.
Indonesia
Retail timeline
As of June 2020, Maki-san has 19 outlets across Singapore. In an interview with Vulcan Post that was published in April 2018, former co-founder Omar shared:
"For us, suburbs with a density of schools, universities and residences, as well as a sprinkling of office spaces work best."[17]
| Year | Outlet | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| SingPost Centre | ||
| Oasis Terraces | ||
| Parkway Parade | ||
| NorthPoint City | ||
| Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall | ||
| Katong Square Mall | ||
| Jurong Point Shopping Central | ||
| Junction 8 | ||
| JEM | ||
| Hillion Mall | ||
| Compass One | ||
| The Clementi Mall | ||
| Cineleisure Orchard | ||
| Century Square | ||
| Bedok Town Square | ||
| 2012 | The Cathay |
Jurong Point Shopping Central, 1 Jurong West Central 2 #03-54/55
Kampung Admiralty, 676 Woodlands Drive 71 #01-04
SingPost Centre #B1-165/166
Tiong Bahru Plaza, 302 Tiong Bahru Rd, #01-159
Woodgrove, 30 Woodlands Ave 1, #01-05
Product timeline
Over the years, Maki-san has offered unconventional sushi ingredients like tandoori chicken, chili crab sauce and satay sauce.[18]
In 2017, Maki-san collaborated with Spectra Secondary School to retail a sushi recipe created by three students. The roll was marketed as the 'Maki-Kita' and was sold in celebration of Singapore's 52nd birthday.[19] The 'Maki-Kita' featured the following ingredients - char siew, egg, cucumber, fried shallots and coriander mayonnaise.
Branding
Packaging
In 2019, Maki-San was featured as a part of National Gallery Singapore's exhibition programme titled 'Packaging Matters: Singapore’s Food Packaging Story from the Early 20th Century'.[20] Alvin Wong had been invited to speak about the brand's product packaging.
Social media presence
As of June 2020, Maki-San has 13,500 followers on Instagram.
References/ Citations
- ↑ "Alvin Wong". LinkedIn. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Chan, Melissa. "S'pore DIY Sushi Chain Maki-San Is On A Roll - Sells 5,000 Makis A Day And Has Now Expanded To Japan". Vulcan Post. April 11, 2018. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Maureen. "Maki-San : Design Your Own Sushi & Salad". Miss Tam Chiak. Updated on April 27, 2017. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ "Alvin Wong". LinkedIn. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Teng, Angela. "It’s a wrap: From ad man to sushi boss". Today. December 17, 2016. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ "Alvin Wong". LinkedIn. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Farzanah Farveen. "Maki-San founder starts new sushi brand Wooshi after 'incompatible views' on brand building". Marketing Interactive. May 14, 2020. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ "Omar Marks". LinkedIn. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Teng, Angela. "It’s a wrap: From ad man to sushi boss". Today. December 17, 2016. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ "Omar Marks". LinkedIn. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Farzanah Farveen. "Maki-San founder starts new sushi brand Wooshi after 'incompatible views' on brand building". Marketing Interactive. May 14, 2020. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Chan, Melissa. "S'pore DIY Sushi Chain Maki-San Is On A Roll - Sells 5,000 Makis A Day And Has Now Expanded To Japan". Vulcan Post. April 11, 2018. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ "Maki San – Design Your Own Sushi and Salads. It’s Fun!". Daniel Food Diary. November 30, 2012. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Maureen. "Maki-San : Design Your Own Sushi & Salad". Miss Tam Chiak. Updated on April 27, 2017. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Teng, Angela. "It’s a wrap: From ad man to sushi boss". Today. December 17, 2016. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Chye, Noella. "It 'felt like we managed to sell ice to the Eskimos': Singapore sushi chain Maki-San on venturing to Japan". Channel News Asia. July 14, 2018. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Chan, Melissa. "S'pore DIY Sushi Chain Maki-San Is On A Roll - Sells 5,000 Makis A Day And Has Now Expanded To Japan". Vulcan Post. April 11, 2018. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Teng, Angela. "It’s a wrap: From ad man to sushi boss". Today. December 17, 2016. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ Tay, Tiffany Fumiko. "Students roll out local-themed sushi to mark National Day". The Straits Times. August 2, 2017. Accessed on 12 June 2020.
- ↑ National Gallery Singapore. Facebook. April 23, 2019. Accessed on 12 June 2020. Retrieved from : https://www.facebook.com/National.Museum.of.Singapore/posts/in-the-first-a-lighter-side-of-history-programme-held-in-conjunction-with-nms-la/2249503691776997/