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Businesses cash in on ‘Tharmania’ with pineapple offerings after presidential election

2023-09-08 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – Popular bakery chain SunnyHills usually sells about 300 boxes of pineapple mooncakes daily, but sales have more than tripled after Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s landslide win in the presidential election last week.

The bakery sold more than 1,000 boxes last Saturday. As for its well-known pineapple cakes, sales jumped by 30 per cent during the presidential campaign.

SunnyHills general manager Damian Lee said: “We were caught by surprise and were out of stock for our pineapple mooncakes within two days. In the past few days, our staff had to clock more hours to manage the demand.”

The Taiwanese bakery, which has branches at Raffles Hotel and Ngee Ann City, managed to restock its pineapple mooncakes only on Wednesday, he added.

A box of six mooncakes costs $61.30 at the bakery, while the pineapple cakes cost $16.10 for five pieces.

SunnyHills sold more than 1,000 boxes of pineapple moon cakes last Saturday. PHOTO: SUNNYHILLS SINGAPORE

Local businesses have fallen head over heels for pineapples and pineapple-themed products – from cocktails to balloons to flowers – since the former senior minister’s victory last Friday at the polls, where he secured 70.4 per cent of the vote.

Mr Tharman, who will be sworn in as Singapore’s ninth president on Sept 14, adopted the pineapple as his campaign symbol, and was often presented with the fruit and greeted with chants of “ong lai” and “huat ah” during the hustings.

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Ong lai means pineapple in Hokkien, and the fruit is seen as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.

In the wake of Mr Tharman’s victory, businesses have been inspired to find creative ways to feature the humble pineapple in their products, leading to online commentators dubbing the phenomenon “Tharmania”.

For instance, Indian eatery Semma Bistro in Springside Walk along Sembawang Road is offering a pineapple ong lai cocktail to mark Mr Tharman’s win. The drink will be available until the end of the month.

Every night, the bistro has been selling between 10 and 15 glasses of the $24 cocktail – a blend of pineapple, gin and rum, said bistro owner Stan Ganesh, 41.

He added: “We used to make cocktails for the Trump-Kim summit, which were a hit with the customers. I thought, ‘How much further can we spice things up at an Indian restaurant?’

“We wanted to have some fun and jump on the election fever by creating our own cocktail.”

Semma Bistro owner Stan Ganesh said the bistro has been selling between ten and 15 glasses of the pineapple ong lai cocktail every night. PHOTO: SEMMA BISTRO

Ms Doreen Lee, owner of Joyous JellyArt, which offers artisanal jellies, created an intricate pineapple jelly to show her support for Mr Tharman.

More than 20 pieces were sold by Thursday after the 51-year-old posted a photo of her creation on social media last Saturday. Each jelly costs about $88.

Joyous JellyArt owner Doreen Lee created an intricate pineapple jelly to show her support for Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. PHOTO: DOREEN LEE

Others have come up with pineapple balloons, pies and fruit baskets.

Mr Benny Foo, co-founder of fruit hamper business The First Fruits, said: “When our team first heard that Tharman’s campaign symbol was a pineapple, we immediately burst out laughing.

“As a fruit hamper business, our team couldn’t pass on this opportunity to celebrate the occasion with a pineapple.”

Happyairheads’ pineapple balloon and The First Fruits’ fruit hamper. PHOTOS: HAPPYAIRHEADS, THE FIRST FRUITS

Over in Mr Tharman’s former ward of Taman Jurong, hawkers at a food centre said business increased by between 20 per cent and 70 per cent when Mr Tharman and his wife Jane Ittogi turned up last Friday and Saturday.

Hundreds of supporters gathered at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre to greet the couple with pineapples in hand and raucous chants of “ong lai” and “huat ah”.

Hawker Yuki Su, 45, who runs a congee stall at the centre, said: “Business was so good on the two days Tharman came to the food centre. The hawkers are hoping he can return and introduce Taman Jurong’s food to the rest of Singapore.”