Situated at the intersection of major trade hubs, Singapore—with its strategic location and outsized physical, digital and trade connectivity—offers easy access to Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific, home to 60% of the world’s population today. The city-state has one of the world’s busiest airports for international air cargo, and the world’s leading container port, connecting to more than 600 ports worldwide. Upcoming developments such as Changi Airport Terminal 5, Tuas Port expansions and cross-border initiatives such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone will strengthen supply chains in Asia.
Meiji’s Regional Hub in Singapore for Next-Generation Food & Beverage Innovation
When Japan’s Meiji Group set out to strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia, Singapore emerged as the natural choice to import raw materials, export finished products and reach international customers. In 2025, the global health company established its regional headquarters (RHQ) overseeing its four entities in Southeast Asia, building on a presence that began over 50 years ago when Meiji Seika Singapore became the company’s first overseas venture. From Singapore, confectionery such as Chocorooms, Hello Panda and Yan Yan are produced and exported to more than 40 markets worldwide.
Within months of establishing its RHQ in Singapore, Meiji began harmonizing frameworks for its regional subsidiaries across functions to improve efficiency and long-term talent management. The Singapore hub handles human resources, regional sales and marketing activities, manufacturing, R&D and quality control, including halal certification to meet Islamic dietary laws. New products, such as the Halal-certified “Hello Panda 30% Less Sugar” snack launched in April 2026, were developed in Singapore and will be launched globally.
“Singapore is one of Meiji Group’s core bases in the ASEAN region. We believe Singapore is the ideal base, with excellent connectivity via Changi Airport. Furthermore, Singapore boasts one of the most stable and competitive business environments in ASEAN, including taxation, public safety and legal systems, and we believe this provides great value to our company.”
Tomofumi Omura
Manager, Overseas Strategic Planning Department, Meiji Co. Ltd.
Meiji is also leveraging Singapore’s Industry Transformation Map for food manufacturing to grow its health and nutritional product categories across Southeast Asia. With the Singapore Economic Development Board’s facilitation, Meiji is exploring collaborations with other food manufacturing players in Singapore to drive local product development and better understand consumer tastes and preferences.
