As Singapore’s fertility rate falls, its baby businesses boom
- Singapore’s birth rate is in the doldrums – so why are baby products proving such fertile ground for businesses?
The acronym BYOB has taken on a different meaning these days in Singapore – Bring Your Own Baby, whether to the office or even the theatre.
Trehaus, now in its third year, is the first co-working space in the city state with childcare and learning facilities. Set up by working mums for working parents, it has two areas separated by glass partitions and doors, allowing parents to work while keeping an eye on their children.
“Trehaus is that proverbial modern village; they say it takes a village to raise a child,” says chief operating officer Elizabeth Wu. “Our community has become the ecosystem for work-life integration to happen for working parents with young children. We have had so many people walk through our doors to find the support they need as working parents.”
At The Artground, a spin on the traditional theatre where silence and attention are expected, audiences can crawl, eat, cry and even touch performers and props. Taking their cue from similar events in the United Kingdom, BYOB comedy shows are also attracting attention, offering toys, baby-changing facilities and loads of laughter.
These innovative businesses are booming in perhaps the most unlikely place: given Singapore’s low fertility rates, the consumer base for such services is actually diminishing.
