It was once 10 outlets strong
Singapore’s brutal F&B landscape has claimed another casualty: Kith Café.
While the brand has not shut down entirely, several Kith Café outlets have ceased operations in recent months amid a sharp drop in customer traffic, according to The Straits Times.
The chain now operates just two outlets, down from a peak of 10. Its most recent closure was the West Coast outlet, which shut on 5 Jan 2026, following the closure of its Millenia Walk branch in Oct 2025.
The West Coast outlet was run by franchisee Andy Lim, who shared in a Jul 2025 social media post that he had incurred losses of around S$70,000 to S$90,000 over a year of operations.
Andy, a former Republic of Singapore Air Force regular, told Christian online publication Salt&Light that he had used S$140,000 of his savings to take over the franchise, despite having no prior business experience.
However, between Sept and Dec 2025, he said the West Coast outlet had begun performing better, gaining traction and turning profitable. Nonetheless, according to Kith Café founder Jane Hia, Andy ultimately decided to close the outlet for “personal reasons.”
Other outlets were suspended due to weak footfall, shared Jane, adding that the team is reviewing and considering a refresh of the café’s concept.
Vulcan Post has reached out to Kith Café and Jane Hia for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
They’ve been around for 16 years
Kith Café started as a modest hole-in-the-wall coffee joint in 2009 along Robertson Quay, just as Singapore’s café culture was beginning to take shape.
Kith Cafe founder Jane Hia./ Image Credit: NUS
It was Jane’s passion for food and design that sparked the concept. A student exchange programme in Milan, Italy during her undergraduate years at the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment inspired her love for culinary experiences and cemented her decision to venture into the F&B industry after graduating.
Jane’s design background played a key role in shaping Kith Café. The outlets are known for their fuss-free, open layouts, featuring wrought iron shelves that display fresh produce and modular, custom-made furniture that can be rearranged to accommodate larger groups.
Despite her design expertise, Jane had to learn many aspects of running a café from scratch —from making the perfect cup of coffee to managing payroll, pricing menu items, and even operating a commercial vehicle.
To carve out a niche in Singapore’s competitive coffee scene, Jane positioned Kith Café’s coffee between local kopi at S$0.80 and global chains like Starbucks at S$5, settling on a price of S$3.80 per cup.
Her venture took off. Following the success of the first outlet, she opened a second café at the former Park Mall in 2012. Customer requests for simple breakfast items gradually led to full all-day menus, prompting Kith Café to bring in a former fine dining chef to elevate the offerings.
Its kids segment was a “high-ticket” contributor
Image Credit: NUS
Since then, Kith Café has steadily grown its number of outlets. In 2018, it introduced kids’ meals as more families began frequenting the cafés.
“We noticed the same young customers we started with were now having children. It was a natural transition,” said Jane in an interview with the Business Times last Aug.
Kith Café had been offering room bookings and office events since 2016, before expanding into hosting children’s birthday parties in 2021. Doing so meant that they expanded into the party planning business, which included planning activities, organising games, and providing food and cake. Jane positioned the business as a “one-stop shop” for parents, eliminating the need to source multiple vendors for a party.
The café also rolled out bento catering in 2021, followed by kids’ bentos the next year. In line with this family-focused strategy, Kith opened two outlets in collaboration with children’s edutainment brand Kiztopia—which are now the only two surviving outlets.
Kith Café’s workshops./ Image Credit: Kith Café
In 2024, Kith Café began testing cookie-baking activities for birthday events, which paved the way for its latest initiative: weekend workshops. Launched in Jun at their Millenia Walk outlet, the sessions feature creative cookie, pizza, and pasta-making activities for children. The business also brought in external vendors for workshops in other areas, such as pottery and robotics.
The strategy seemed to be paying off at the time, at least according to Jane. Vendor slots for the workshops were reportedly fully booked through the Jun school holidays last year. She added that its kids’ segment had become a “fast-growing, high-ticket” contributor to Kith Café’s business.
However, with the closures, the brand’s next steps remain unclear. In the Aug 2025 interview with The Business Times, Jane said she planned to grow the business-to-business side of the brand, aiming for more tie-ups to sell Kith’s cookies at corporate and large-scale events, while also increasing production.
“This era for cafés is harder than during COVID-19. It’s not enough to be trendy or Instagrammable. You have to move fast and keep evolving,” she said back then.
Read more articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Kith Café
