Singapore – As a complementary part of the tourism board’s ongoing “SingapoRediscovers” campaign, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched the “Made With Passion” campaign that puts focus on local lifestyle products in the country.

The campaign, made possible in partnership with the Singapore Brand Office and support from Enterprise Singapore, will feature local products from these categories: beauty & wellness, fashion & accessories, homeware & décor, and packaged food and beverage (F&B).

Initial stages of the marketing campaign will include a new brand mark for the partner local brands, whether in product packaging, in-store, and online. This then ensures brands show a strong connection with the Singaporean local community.

“Passion is at the heart of our Singapore story. We are also home to a host of innovative and iconic brands that have been created with passion.  By sharing the stories behind both established and up-coming brands, we hope that more people will be able to rediscover well-loved brands and be wowed by the myriad of brands that speak of our passion and creativity,” stated Lynette Pang, advisor to the Singapore Brand Office and assistant chief executive (Marketing Group) of STB. 

Local trade association support will also be also seen within this initiative, with support coming from the Association for Small Medium Enterprises (ASME), Restaurant Association of Singapore, Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association, Singapore Furniture Industries Council, Singapore Retailers Association, and Textile and Fashion Federation.

“The Made With Passion initiative is most timely. ASME is very pleased to support this initiative as we recognise that it takes great passion and commitment to build, nurture and grow a brand. The launch of Made With Passion also reflects a maturing of our market in appreciating homegrown brands.  We can be proud of local brands and help them flourish,” said Chew Lee Ching, vice-president for awards and special projects at the (ASME).

Dilys Boey, assistant chief executive officer at enterprise Singapore commented, “The Made With Passion initiative is a gateway for Singaporeans to discover more of our local brands. With greater awareness and interest, Made With Passion will be able to amplify positive brand attributes of our Singapore brands across the wider lifestyle sector. We hope that Made With Passion will elevate Singapore brands collectively and help them achieve greater success.”

The campaign will be amplified online via the campaign’s upcoming website and social media pages.

Hong Kong – The Hong Kong Tourism Board is launching its Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival by means of offering an “offline + online format” to local and international audiences and will run from November 11 to December 15.

The Wine and Dine Festival will feature four notable events, which range from cooking masterclass and wine tasting discussions.

The first of these events would be 34 online masterclasses, catered directly to global audiences. Topics ranging from wine tasting, food plating, and fine dining will be tackled and can be accessed directly from the festival’s official website during live streams by the organizers of the festival.

Second of these events would be livestream cook-along lessons, which will include mentorship from Executive Chef Adam Wong of Forum Restaurant, Shane Osborn of Arcane and Cornerstone, and Vicky Cheng of VEA Restaurant & Lounge.

For wine lovers, audiences can tune to wine talks presented by critic James Suckling and Master of Wine Debra Meiburg, wherein they will share new wine recommendations.

Lastly, five masterclasses will be hosted by influencers that shaped the local food and beverage industry, under the theme Lady’s Talk. The classes will be hosted by Shirley Kwok of The Cakery, Head Chef Vicky Lau of TATE Dining Room, sake sommelier Jamie Lo, Master of Wine Sarah Heller, and actress-turned-winemaker Bernice Liu. 

“Although the HKTB’s mega events have been suspended for some time, we are drawing on our ingenuity and resources to optimize and adapt promotions against the backdrop of a pandemic. That’s why we have decided to resume the staging of mega events, and adopt a new ‘online + offline’ format for the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival 2020. It is a new venture designed for the new normal in which we find ourselves. The HKTB is doing this to ensure people can join this annual event in spite of the pandemic, and to help our hard-hit businesses to promote their products and open up new business opportunities in these challenging times,” HKTB Chairman Dr. YK Pang stated.