Cai fan merch label calls out similarities in Uniqlo's keychain

Another small local brand is speaking up about Uniqlo Singapore's local food campaign.

- Amanda Chai

The Japanese retailer's UTme! Local Delights Collection, which consists of T-shirts featuring iconic Singaporean dishes, sparked buzz online recently for its resemblance to small local clothing brand Musoka Club's designs. The incident generated conversation about who owns the copyright to local food culture.

Meanwhile, another player has entered the picture.

Ms Caitanya "Cait" Tan is the founder and chief executive of local merchandise brand PointyRice. She has been fielding messages from followers about the similarities between her product and Uniqlo's gift-with-purchase, which she describes to The Straits Times as "too uncanny".

As part of Uniqlo's Thank You Festival celebrations, which ran till May 29, customers who spent $100 and above in-store at Orchard Central and Jewel Changi Airport received a customizable Mixed Rice Keychain. And they could pick little acrylic "dishes" to fit inside a plate-shaped keychain.

PointyRice (pointyrice.com) currently retails stickers of mixed rice dishes that customers purchase individually to layer and customize onto a plate sticker. Dishes start at $2.50 a sticker, while a plate and rice are both priced at $2.50.

When Uniqlo teased its Mixed Rice Keychain in May, followers asked Ms Tan if she was working with the Japanese retailer. She took to Instagram (@caitofalltraits) on May 19 to clear the air.