Jerry always knew he wanted to share something meaningful with the world — the herbal Nanjing salted duck. A signature dish from his hometown, this flavourful speciality carries deep cultural roots. “Everyone in China knows that, from Nanjing, we have this salted duck,” he says.
That love for tradition led Jerry to start Gagaya, a food brand that brings the taste of Nanjing to Singapore. But turning a heritage dish into a business in a new market came with its fair share of challenges.
Sharing a Nanjing Classic With a New Audience
Salted duck may be a familiar staple in China, but in Singapore, it’s still a lesser-known gem. Jerry saw an opportunity and a gap in the market to introduce a dish close to his heart to a new customer base.
With a focus on quality and authenticity, Gagaya was created to showcase the unique herbal preparation style found in Nanjing cuisine. “This dish is very traditional,” Jerry explains. “It’s the signature dish of the whole city.”
He wanted the brand to reflect those roots, but in a format that would appeal to today’s delivery-first food landscape. The idea wasn’t just to replicate a dish, but to create a sustainable concept around it.
The Challenge
Like many new food entrepreneurs, Jerry had a strong concept in mind, but launching a restaurant from scratch would have required more capital and operational effort than he could take on.
- Budget Limitations: Opening a fine dining restaurant wasn’t financially realistic for Jerry. He needed a solution that would allow him to start small.
- Facility Demands: From walk-in chillers to meeting government regulations, the setup requirements of a traditional kitchen would have required far more resources and oversight.
- Need for Simplicity: Without a big team, Jerry needed a fully equipped space where core operations — from cleaning to compliance — were already handled.
“I wanted somewhere [where] I can start with a very low budget,” Jerry shares. “So I searched online: ‘common shared kitchen.’ It comes out [with] SCK [as one of the results].”
The Solution
Smart City Kitchens offered Jerry a practical alternative to the standard restaurant model — a delivery kitchen close to home, with the operational setup and ongoing support he needed to get started quickly.
- Ready-to-Use Facilities: No need to invest in infrastructure. The kitchen was already outfitted with walking chillers, freezers, fire extinguishers, and other essentials.
- Compliance and Admin Support: A customer relationship manager guided Jerry through SFA processes and coordinated with building management, easing a typically complex part of the process.
- Responsive Day-to-Day Assistance: Whether it was leaking pipes, lighting issues, or a faulty chiller, the SCK team resolved it quickly.
“It’s different from a restaurant, but it has what a restaurant needs,” he explains. “Everything can just be solved by just messaging.”
The Results
With the core setup taken care of, Jerry was able to focus on what mattered most — building a customer base and refining his signature dish. The lean cloud kitchen model allowed him to grow without stretching his resources.
- Foundational Growth: The environment helped him establish an initial flow of orders and build a consistent base of returning customers.
- Cost-Effective Scaling: Without high overhead or front-of-house staffing, Jerry could run his business efficiently.
- Operational Focus: By removing logistical burdens, Smart City Kitchens allowed Jerry to devote his time to product quality and brand development.
“Smart City Kitchens helped me build up my basic customer volume,” he says. “They help me expand my business somewhere that is more at a lower budget. That’s the case with my choice.”
Looking Ahead
With Gagaya now up and thriving in Singapore, Jerry continues to refine his offerings and grow his brand, one order at a time. He’s grateful for the foundation Smart City Kitchens has provided and is optimistic about what’s next.
For aspiring founders like Jerry, exploring how to launch a cloud kitchen in Singapore could be a smart first step, especially if you’re bringing something unique to the table.