by Diana Teo, Charles Lesmana, Siti Muzalifa, Yvonne Low, Stefanie Tung, Ajay Halwasiya (Singapore)
Named after the Grade Point Average (GPA) System in Singapore Management University (SMU), 4point3 symbolizes the highest achievable grade (A+) possible in SMU. Our tagline ‘A+ food, A+ fun’ encapsulates our aspiration to serve the highest quality food in an environment conducive for fun. Despite being located in the heart of the SMU campus, 4point3 seeks to provide a ‘Third Place’ for students to experience joy and comfort away from home and classroom. 4point3 is offers a high- quality option to fast-food chains and food courts, and a low-priced option to established cafés.
4point3’s commitment to the highest quality food is not a pledge taken lightly. 4point3 serves food that is conceived, cooked and served with the customer in mind. The mixture of ingredients used in every dish is thoroughly thought-out and backed by insights from culinary experts. The emphasis on suitability of each and every component that goes into each dish creates the perfect combination of taste and uniqueness.
4point3 will focus on one primary target market: SMU students and faculty members. Being located at the heart of the SMU campus allows 4point3 to actualize their vision of being the leading campus café in Singapore. 4point3 is fully-run by SMU students, who are familiar with the needs and demands of the student population and are involved in constant interaction with the target market in both academic and non-academic settings. 4point3 will capture the hearts and minds of the target market by continually innovating its product offering and business processes, while incorporating the valuable feedback they are able to constantly gather by nature of being around their peers all the time.
4point3 aims to continually excite and please its customers with its drive to innovate. 4point3 will be the first campus café in Singapore to pioneer a cutting-edge ordering system by adopting a holistic iPad ordering system. The system helps to streamline their back-end operations, while providing a highly user-friendly interface that is easy to use and navigate. The cutting-edge technology caters to the fast pace of life in SMU by providing an efficient ordering experience to the busy students and faculty members in campus. Essentially, the concept was derived because innovation, uniqueness and modernness are characteristics synonymous to SMU and its students and faculty members – their home and target market.
4point3 has a sincere commitment to give back to the community. 4point3 has a solid social responsibility strategy that is based on a multiplier concept to exponentially increase the impact of their contributions. 4point3 has pledged that 10% of the profits will be dedicated to the SMU Term Fund, which will be distributed to various local and international-based initiatives.
4point3 enjoys enormous financial advantages by virtue of being a student-run SMU café. Rental is priced very lowly at $500, and labour costs are mostly offset by the Memorandum of Understanding that 4point3 signed with SMU Real Business (SMURB). With low overheads and a tax exemption granted by the Government of Singapore, 4point3 runs on a lean financial model and is able to break even in 8 months. In this regard, there is very little risk of 4point3 ever being unprofitable, allowing the Management Team to be less distracted by cash-flow management issues and focus more on delivering superior performance and achieving unparalleled customer satisfaction. The only catch is that the lease for 4point3 expires in two years, thus creating a need for relocation and a new strategic direction.
