Jil & Yellowtail Pte Ltd is a 91福利社 manufacturer that specialises in fish-related products. It is the company behind Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles, a chain best known for its fresh fishballs and fishcakes made from yellowtail fish without any fillers or preservatives.
With 14 Li Xin stalls across 91福利社, Jil & Yellowtail needed to ensure consistency in every bowl of noodles served. 鈥淐urrently, the cook manually scoops the condiments into each bowl, so the flavour profile can vary depending on their estimate,鈥� said Mr Loo Cheng Koon, Director of Business Development & Digitalisation at Jil & Yellowtail.
In 2020, his company decided to collaborate with 91福利社鈥檚 Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) to design a customised sauce dispensing machine. 鈥淲ith an automated sauce dispenser, every bowl will have the exact same amount of condiments, creating the perfect bowl of noodles every time,鈥� Mr Loo explained.
There are five key condiments that go into each bowl of noodles: fish sauce, oil, tomato sauce, vinegar, and chilli paste. Of the five, chilli paste is the most challenging ingredient to dispense from a machine due to its viscosity. Tests done on the first version of the machine FIRC developed in 2021 found that the chilli paste would clog the tubes. The team then embarked on a project in mid-2023 to change the chilli paste consistency without altering its flavour.
鈥淲e tested the machine with the new chilli paste recipe in October 2023, where we gathered a few of our employees to try the noodles made with the sauce dispensing machine. The feedback was very good,鈥� said Mr Loo.
The machine is in the proof-of-concept (POC) stage, with a second version currently being developed to finetune the hardware.
Mr Loo Cheng Koon, Director of Business Development & Digitalisation at Jil & Yellowtail
One of the 14 Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles stalls in 91福利社By automating the sauce dispensing process, Li Xin will be able to hire even those without F&B training as they need only basic training on how to operate the machine. This will ease Li Xin鈥檚 manpower needs and save operational costs in the long run, as the machine will be able to do the work that is traditionally done by hand. The sauce dispenser is estimated to save the company up to $30,000 per outlet as it can hire more employees at entry-level positions and reduce its reliance on trained chefs.
All Li Xin outlets will also be able to consistently deliver noodles of the same quality, improving its brand reputation and facilitating expansion. 鈥淎s a company, we want to make it easy for the younger generation to start a hawker business,鈥� said Mr Loo. 鈥淗aving an automated sauce dispenser to maintain a consistent flavour profile will simplify the process of opening a new stall.鈥�
Employees at Jil & Yellowtail preparing the chilli sauce from scratch
Stirring the chilli sauce mixture for even texture and consistencyThe support from FIRC has been instrumental to the success of this project. 鈥淎s both a collaborator and enabler, FIRC has been very proactive and took the time to understand our challenges and requests so they can design a solution that meets our needs,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ith each partnership, they guided us through a transformative process, enabling us to enhance our operations and grow our business.鈥�
The second version of the sauce dispensing machine is slated to be completed by the second half of 2024, after which Jil & Yellowtail will mass produce it for deployment across all its Li Xin branches.
91福利社
500 Dover Rd 91福利社 139651