Claypot comeback

Burnt-out serial entrepreneur cooks up $16 million success with Lau Wang Claypot Delights

- Hedy Khoo

A serial entrepreneur since he was 21, Mr Mark Jeremy Low once juggled running three wonton noodle stalls, one claypot food stall and two KTV pubs, all while working as a property agent.

But his monthly income was unstable, fluctuating between $2,000 and $8,000. Most months, he could barely stay afloat.

"I was the boss of so many businesses, but I wasn't making money," says Mr Low.

"Come Chinese New Year, after giving out bonuses, I'd be broke. There were always unforeseen expenses, such as fridges breaking down and equipment issues. Whatever I drew as a salary went right back into my businesses. The only stable thing was expenses."

In 2014, burnt out and disillusioned, he closed four food stalls, agreed with his KTV partners to sell their one remaining outlet and exited the property scene to focus on a single business — a fledgling claypot eatery in Serangoon.

"I was turning 29 then and felt it was time to stop spreading myself thin and focus on one concept which I could direct all my energy to and make it a success," he says.

That business is now a $16 million brand with six mall-based outlets of Lau Wang Claypot Delights, a central kitchen and an elevated spin-off called Lau Wang Claypot Legacy. Lau is his surname in dialect, while Wang is the surname of his first investor.

The chain has a stable of 120 employees, including his 72-year-old father, a former forex trader who helps with its business accounting and finances.

The youngest of three children, Mr Low, now 40 and the founder and executive director of Lau Wang Claypot Delights, started the brand with a Yishun coffee-shop stall in 2012. He found he had limited say in running his wonton noodle stalls, as business decisions had to be approved by the franchise owner.

"I wanted to start my own brand so that I can have full control over how I want to run my business," he says.