Why Singapore
One city to read the consumers of Asia.
Chinese, Malay, Indian and expatriate households buying the same brands, in the same shops, under the same 32 °C. Add English as the working language, a strict regulator and next-day logistics, and Singapore becomes the fastest place in the region to get a consumer answer you can act on.
- 3major Asian ethnic groups in one resident population: Chinese, Malay, Indian
- 32°Cand 80% humidity, all year: the conditions your product will actually live in
- ENEnglish is the working language: one questionnaire, no translation loss
- 48hfrom brief to survey live; kits delivered island-wide the next day
The mix
The region’s skin tones, tastes and routines, at one address.
About three quarters of residents are Chinese, one in seven is Malay, one in eleven is Indian, and a large expatriate community adds Western, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian profiles. No other city lets you recruit Fitzpatrick II to VI, halal and non-halal kitchens, and Korean, Japanese and Western skincare routines from the same list, in the same week.
- BeautyShade ranges and pigmentationPhototypes from light East Asian to deep South Asian skin, so a shade range or a brightening claim is judged by the people it is made for.
- FoodChinese, Malay, Indian and Western palatesSweetness, spice and umami read differently across the three kitchens. One test tells you where a recipe lands with each.
- HomeHDB flats and private homesSmall kitchens, bomb-shelter storage, no tumble dryers, laundry drying on the balcony: the household product is tested where it will be used.
- A proxy, not a shortcutHonest about the limitsSingapore reads the region’s major communities under one set of conditions. When a launch depends on Jakarta or Bangkok specifically, we field there too, through the SYRES network.
The climate
Tested in the heat your product will be sold in.
Formulas that behave in a Paris lab behave differently on a face at 32 °C, in a kitchen at 80% humidity or on a balcony in the afternoon sun. Home use tests in Singapore surface the problems before a regional launch does.
- SkinStickiness, shine and sweatAbsorption time, residue and midday shine on skin that sweats within minutes of leaving air-conditioning.
- Hair & scalpHumidity and frizzHold, frizz control and scalp comfort through daily washing, the norm here.
- FragrancePersistence in heatHow a scent develops and lasts on skin, on fabric and in a warm room, over hours not minutes.
- SunReal UV exposureSun care judged by people who use it every day of the year, not two weeks in August.
- Food & drinkTexture and meltChocolate, bars and drinks in the temperature range they will be carried and stored at.
- HomeDamp and mouldLaundry drying indoors, bathrooms that never dry, air care in closed, air-conditioned rooms.
The speed
One language, one regulator, one island.
Most of what slows down a consumer study elsewhere in Asia does not exist here.
- LanguageEnglish questionnairesWritten once, understood by the whole panel, verbatims you can read yourself. No back-translation, no lost nuance.
- RegulationHSA claims frameworkSingapore’s Health Sciences Authority enforces clear cosmetic and health-supplement rules. A claim substantiated here travels well across ASEAN.
- LogisticsNext-day delivery, or Orchard RoadEvery panellist is within an hour of our test bar. Kits go out the day after screening; returns and photos come back on WhatsApp.
- DecisionWhere the regional teams sitMost global beauty, food and household groups run Southeast Asia from Singapore. Your brand team can sit in on a session at Ngee Ann City, or take the debrief on Teams.
The consumer
Demanding, informed, and quick to judge.
Singapore consumers have one of the highest purchasing powers in Asia and shelves that carry Korean, Japanese, Western and local brands side by side. They compare, they read labels and they switch. A product that convinces them has cleared a high bar.
- 10,000profiled panellists, 18 to 75, verified by selfie
- 10+ethnicities on the panel, screened per study
- 300+data points per profile: skin, hair, routines, household, health
- 19,000tolerance results to benchmark your product against the market
And beyond
Start in Singapore. Extend when the decision needs it.
Most regional questions get a reliable first answer here, in days. When the launch turns on a specific market, the same protocol runs in the SYRES network: 25 countries, one contact, one harmonised read-out.
- 25countries with an active SYRES panel
- 5M+consumers reachable worldwide
- ISO 9001same certified protocol in Paris and Singapore
- 1997consumer research since, in the SYRES group
Got something on the bench?
Send us the brief today. You’ll have a design, a sample size and a price back within 24 hours.