Sales may be down during this season of Covid. And stress up as F&B outlets scramble to anticipate manpower and ingredient needs during the fluctuating but necessary rules regarding dining in.

But it has not deterred Ya Kun Kaya Toast from continuing to spread love in the community.

In the early days of Covid, it was among the first in Singapore to honour and show appreciation to healthcare, public transport and other workers fighting the coronavirus on the frontline – by gifting them with hot drinks. 

In December, Ya Kun rallied the public to ensure that needy children did not go without Christmas presents during the Covid season of retrenchments and pay cuts affecting families. They expected 200 gifts. But received 75 times more. 

“For someone on the frontlines, it’s not just about the work or the danger but also about the mental stress. If we can ease the pressure a little bit and build camaraderie by providing coffee, we will do what we can,” Ya Kun’s Jesher Loi had previously told Salt&Light. All photos courtesy of Jesher Loi and Ya Kun Kaya Toast unless otherwise stated.

Last Thursday (June 17), the well-loved chain started a new digital “pay-it-forward” initiative called Fuel a Frontliner.

It provides an opportunity for members of the public to encourage a frontliner – or friend – in a fuss-free, contact-free manner via the Ya Kun app.

The intention is to make someone’s day through the simple act of treating them to a hot coffee or tea. The drinks cost $1.80 each. Donors are emailed a voucher code which they then forward to the intended recipient.

‘“We all have frontliner friends and I wanted to do something that was tangible that would encourage them,” Jesher Loi, 36, director of branding and market development, told Salt&Light.

The blessing doesn’t necessarily have to be for a frontliner, he said. “It can be anyone who needs encouragement.”

The roots of the family business go back to Loi’s grandfather, Loi Ah Koon, who started a coffee stall in the Telok Ayer Basin in 1944. The senior Loi was just 15 when he stepped off a junk from Hainan, China and set foot in Singapore in 1926.

The homegrown chain, which also has franchises overseas, is synonymous with the traditional Singapore breakfast of kopi, soft-boiled eggs and kaya toast.

75 times more

Fuel a Frontliner comes hot on the heels of The Shoebox Project in December, in which Ya Kun customers and members of the public responded with an astounding outpouring of support and generosity.

Ya Kun had rallied them to ensure that needy children did not go without Christmas presents during the Covid season of retrenchments and pay cuts affecting families. 

Donors were asked to fill a shoebox with new toys and stationery, and drop off the wrapped box at selected Ya Kun outlets. 

“I was only anticipating maybe 200 boxes of gifts. But it turned out to be about 15,000 boxes!” said Loi.

It was 75 times more than what was expected.

“God really multiplied!” said Loi.

Ya Kun received 75 times more gifts than expected when it called on the public to make sure that needy children did not go without Christmas presents during this season of retrenchments and pay cuts. Photo from Ya Kun Facebook.

Loi recalled: “Presents started to pile up at the shop.

“One table can hold about 30, 40 boxes. But we’re talking 200 boxes at one shop alone.”

Charity Ray of Hope worked with social service agencies to distribute them to children they serve. 

Through the years, Ya Kun has donated a portion of sales proceeds from certain items to charities such as the now-defunct Sanctuary House which cared for abused babies and children. One such effort went towards educating “more than 638 households on nutritious feeding practices so their children are fed right” through Christian humanitarian organisation World Vision, which works in almost 100 countries around the world.

Kinship and friendship

Extending friendship to the community and partnering them to bless others is reflective of Ya Kun’s mission statement that “good toast can bind kinship, friendship and partnership”.

As is wanting to uplift people’s spirits during trying times.

In the early days of Covid, Ya Kun was among the first companies to honour workers on the frontline. Their aim was to distribute some 2,020 cups of coffee and tea to healthcare workers as well as unseen armies such as public transport workers and cleaners.

Last year, Jesher (left) and Jeff Cheong – deputy chief executive officer of marketing agency DDB Group Singapore – came up with an initiative to honour those on the Covid frontlines by blessing them with free cups of coffee and tea. They are pictured after serving drinks to about 50 public transport workers at Tampines Interchange. Photo by Tan Huey Ying.

Loi had previously told Salt&Light: “For someone on the frontlines, it’s not just about the work or the danger but also about the mental stress. If we can ease the pressure a little bit and build camaraderie by providing coffee, we will do what we can.”

Wanting to bless others is also driven by Loi’s personal and business ethos.

“The notion of love God, love people” comes through in several of his favourite guiding verses from the Bible.

Matthew 22:36-40, for example, is a reminder that loving God is the most important commandment, followed by loving one’s neighbours. 

“Whatever we do, we must be able to live with ourselves and sleep well,” said Loi.

“But in short, it’s to please God, as if Christ is the silent observer in the room.”

People above profit

Love for the community stems from the “culture of love” within the company.

It is a work in progress, Loi said.

“Sometimes we make mistakes and that sets us back a little.

“But if we are consistent in our traits and values, it will produce fruit in the long run.”

Said the “people-centric” Loi, “I really feel that the business is by people and for people.” 

“I feel very blessed by my team,” said Jesher, of his staff who remain optimistic and cheerful during this difficult time for F&B businesses. They include Aunty Geok Tin (left) who has been with Ya Kun for 13 years.

Emphasis is put on caring for people – and their families. Sometimes “showing care for their families” is expressed through special gifts like masks for employees’ children.

Often it comes through in the way team leaders commend successes and address failure.

“When someone makes a mistake or has even made a bad business decision, our response matters.

“If we respond encouragingly, then we have enforced a positive culture,” said Loi.

Loi believes that the company’s culture of love sets the tone of “how people respond whether or not their leader is present”. He reveals that while he is unable to speak one-on-one with all of them, he keeps them in his prayers. “I really do pray for them because I think about them very often,” said Loi.

“My hope is that everyone who comes through our doors gets to experience this culture, this sort of love.” And if they do leave, they leave emotionally stronger.

The culture of love also comes through in the decision-making process.

“My family and my management are quite clear that money is not the most important thing, even though we are an SME (Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise).

“So sometimes our decision-making can seem strange to others. We don’t make cut and dry decisions based purely on profit,” he said referring to prioritising mutual understanding.

“God has miraculously sustained us,” said Loi. “The business has still continued and has been doing all right, very much by God’s grace.” Photo taken before Covid.

Despite a drop in sales during this season of Covid, Loi is confident of God’s continued providence for Ya Kun.

“God has miraculously sustained us,” said Loi.

“The business has still continued and has been doing all right, very much by God’s grace.”

To Fuel a Frontliner (or a friend), download the Ya Kun app, available from the Mac App Store and Google Play. For each hot coffee or tea ($1.80 each) you wish to bless someone with, you will receive an emailed voucher code which you then forward to your intended recipient. For alternative arrangements, please email [email protected].

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