Hypha Vending Retail Brings Johor Bahru's Famous Banana Cake to Bukit Panjang with Hypha Vending Retail's PR Agency Saltine Communications
Let's take a closer look at how Saltine Communications as Hypha Vending Retail's PR Agency helped the home-grown vending company share how one machine at a Bukit Panjang hawker centre brought Johor Bahru's famous banana cake closer to Singaporeans.
For many Singaporeans, a trip across the Causeway to Johor Bahru often includes a stop for the famously moist banana cake from Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory. In May 2025, a chilled vending machine at Senja Hawker Centre in Bukit Panjang made that trip unnecessary, selling the cake at the touch of a button. Each box of 10 pieces was priced at $8.60, compared with RM13, or about S$3.90, in Johor Bahru. The machine could hold 48 boxes at a time and was restocked twice a day, at 11.30am and 4.30pm.
The story was featured in The Straits Times, which reported long queues after the machine's launch on 17 May, with the cakes selling out within one hour. Supported by Hypha Vending Retail's PR agency, the company shared how it brings well-loved treats to the places where people already gather.
Ms Serene Ong, 41, is the founder of Singaporean company Hypha Vending Retail, which supplies and operates the vending machines. She said the focus at the time was on selling the iconic banana cake. Ms Ong has been in touch with Hiap Joo Bakery for many years, importing its cakes for group-buy orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2025, she approached the owners with the idea of reselling the cakes through a vending machine. She did not rule out bringing in Hiap Joo Bakery's other products in future, and was exploring more locations for these cake machines.
The banana cake machine was not Hypha Vending Retail's first. The company is also behind Butter Town bakery's “shio pan ATM” and an Uncle Lee Confectionery cake machine, both at Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre, and Ms Ong said both sell out every day. It also runs another Uncle Lee Confectionery dispenser at Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre, and a panna cotta vending machine at Buangkok Hawker Centre in Sengkang Grand Mall, which stocks panna cotta from Muslim-owned business Rohmini.
It is a practical model for small food brands. Ms Ong said the aim is to be “the platform for small businesses to have a physical presence”. She decides what to sell based on her group-buy experience, reviewing the treats people tell her they want to try. Hypha Vending Retail's PR agency helped bring this approach to a national audience.
By placing trusted local favourites in busy community spots, Hypha Vending Retail is giving small businesses a new kind of shopfront. At the time of the report, its machines were all in hawker centres, and Ms Ong was looking to expand into shopping centres and other communal spaces with high footfall. In the long run, she hopes to offer more products from local businesses, as well as overseas delicacies from countries such as Thailand and China. With the support of Hypha Vending Retail's PR agency, the company continues to bring these stories to Singaporeans.
Saltine Communications is proud to be Hypha Vending Retail's PR agency on record for this campaign in Singapore. We're honoured to celebrate our clients' achievements alongside them as their dedicated PR agency in Southeast Asia! Drop us a note at hello@saltinecomms.com to find out how we can get your brand onto the media at affordable rates.
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