Singaporean cupcake and dessert business Twelve Cupcakes has ceased operations after being placed under provisional liquidation.
The chain announced its closure on its website, which stated that its last day of operations was Oct 29, though it did not provide any further details about the shutter.
According to its website, Twelve Cupcakes has 20 outlets islandwide. A Google search at the time of writing showed that the majority of the stores were listed as open, though two outlets at Victoria Street and Northpoint City were marked as “temporarily closed.”
Their story was sweet, until it wasn’t
Twelve Cupcakes was founded in 2011 by former radio DJ Daniel Ong and Miss Singapore Universe 2001 winner Jaime Teo. It became Singapore’s largest cupcake empire just three years after its launch, with 43 locations across Singapore and other Asian markets.
The duo’s love story was one of the main drivers of the brand’s success, but their 2016 divorce announcement after nine years of marriage marked the beginning of Twelve Cupcakes’ downfall. According to an article by ladyironchef, the pair sold their business to Indian tea production company Dhunseri Group in 2017 for S$2.5 million.
However, things took a turn for the worse, as both Ong and Teo were charged S$65,000 each in 2021 for underpaying their foreign staff over three years, a TODAY report wrote. The bakery chain was also fined S$119,500 earlier in Jan 2021 for underpaying eight foreign employees from 2017 to 2019.
The Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) announced plans to unionise Twelve Cupcakes following the 2021 controversy, stating that it aims to protect employees and partner with management to recover from the episode.
Vulcan Post has reached out to Twelve Cupcakes and the union for comment.
- Read more stories we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Aloysius L. via Google Maps, Twelve Cupcakes
0 Comments