There can be little confusion between the two Mr Beans of popular renown. One Mr Bean is the name taken by a rubber-faced comedian who appeals to the child in all of us. The other Mr Bean is an altogether more serious proposition - the rapidly growing soyabean food and beverage retail chain developed by Singapore company Super Bean International.
Slurping it up: Super Bean keeps its product range fresh by introducing drinks to keep up with the latest food trends. (Above) Mr Loh and Mr Kang hugging their company's mascot, a result of a rebranding exercise to appeal to a wider cross-section of the Singapore market.
Co-founders Kang Puay Seng and Loh Jwee Poh have grown Mr Bean from a humble stall in People's Park Hawker Centre into an islandwide chain of 28 outlets. A strong brand proposition - and a dedicated team behind it - are the reasons for the company's success, say the two men.
Mr Bean began as a simple soya milk stall. At an exhibition, current Super Bean managing director Mr Kang and executive director Mr Loh saw a machine which could make fresh soya milk in a very short time.
'During that time, if you wanted to consume fresh soya milk, you had to get it from the market,' says Mr Loh. The two men saw a business opportunity in making soya milk more readily available. With just $3,000 each in start-up capital, they sowed the seeds of Super Bean International in 1995.
The company now has over 200 employees, and seven more outlets will be sprouting up - for a total of 35 - by the year-end. Mr Bean opened its first shopping mall outlet in 1998, and launched its Mr Bean pancakes in the same year. The pancakes were the first in a long line of food and beverage products, from biscuits to icy mocha soya milk.
But Mr Bean still operates on a chain basis and not by franchising. Doing so makes it easier to ensure the dedication of employees, the co-founders said.
Mr Loh says: 'If you're running a franchise, you're managing bosses. If you're running a chain store, you're managing your own employees.'
And the employees are an integral part of the company. Every month, Mr Kang and Mr Loh meet the supervisors of each Mr Bean outlet to discuss feedback and ideas, including new product possibilities - which are often followed by sample tasting sessions. Mr Kang says: 'By doing do, we created an open management culture, with a free flow of communication and ideas.'
The practice has paid off, with many Mr Bean products created during the meetings. 'All the employees are our R&D team members,' says Mr Loh. Innovations include pearly soya milk, introduced to meet the bubble tea craze, and soya milk in various fruit flavours.
'I think the success of Mr Bean belongs to the team,' emphasises Mr Kang. More than 70 per cent of the company's employees are over 40, with a majority being female - and these 'aunties', says Mr Kang, have shown tremendous commitment to the company.
The Mr Bean team is also behind the company's other innovation: its strong branding. The original Mr Bean logo was very 'oriental', said the co-founders, who were classmates at The Chinese High School.
The company embarked on a full rebranding in 2005, which included changing its mascot design and adopting the slogan 'Life's Simple Pleasures'. It also introduced products targeted at a multicultural market, such as pearly bandung soya milk and chendol soya milk. 'We needed to reposition ourselves,' says Mr Kang. 'Mr Bean is a truly Singaporean Mr Bean, rather than a Chinese-Singaporean Mr Bean. 'Our dream is to make it a Singapore brand.'
Already, the dream seems to be coming true. In 2006, Mr Bean won the Singapore Promising Brand Award and the Most Popular Brand Award at the 5th Singapore Promising Brand Awards. It also received the My Favourite Consumer Brand Award from the Singapore Food Manufacturers Association and Shin Min Daily News.
'We realised that the product itself is not enough,' says Mr Kang. 'That's why we got very focused on branding.'
To endear the company to a larger audience, Mr Bean mascots visit schools, educating students on the health benefits of soya milk and selling Mr Bean's low-fat soya ice-cream.
There is even merchandise which features the company's cuddly soyabean mascot. Products range from red packets during the Chinese New Year season, to towels and handphone accessories.
How far will the brand grow? Mr Bean is willing to relax its franchise policy for overseas ventures, say the co-founders, since the franchise is a 'proven international business model'. They will not rule out overseas joint ventures, either.
But for now, the company is focusing on home. 'We're going to continue to strengthen our presence in Singapore, and at the same time to blend into the Singaporean lifestyle,' says Mr Kang. He hopes that Mr Bean outlets will have a strong presence across the island's MRT system, and in satellite malls.
The company is aiming not just for geographical presence, but emotional and social presence as well. This month, Mr Bean is holding the Adopt a Bean campaign to raise funds for the Pathlight School Building Fund.
Pathlight, a school for children with autism, is looking to raise another $3.7 million to reach its construction fee target of $6.7 million. During June, Mr Bean outlets will sell plush toys of the company's mascot, with half the proceeds going to Pathlight.
'We want to plant this seed of kindness in everybody's heart,' says Mr Kang. The co-founders hope that the Mr Bean brand, too, will set down its own roots in the hearts of consumers.
