Durian sales spike on Tik Tok

The number of durian sellers on the platform has grown by 40 per cent, as more turn to its sprawling reach and quick commerce

- Cherie Lok

When Mr Raay Lim started selling durians in May 2020 during the Covid-19 circuit breaker, he expected the long hours and physical toil, but not the non-stop yapping that would come to define his job now.

Growing up, communication was never his strong suit. He had a habit of stammering and stuttering, so a career as a live streamer was the furthest thing from his mind. He went into the durian business to facilitate conversations, not lead them.

"I started out because my grandma loved durians a lot. Every durian season, we'd lay out the newspaper, sit and eat together. It's something I'll always remember. So, I hope that by starting my business, I'll be able to replicate these family moments for other people," says the 32-year-old Singaporean owner of Zen Zu Fu Durians, which operates from a kerbside stall in Tiong Bahru.

He set up shop first in Queenstown, then Sin Ming and Bedok, and finally Tiong Bahru. But each successive neighbourhood proved no warmer than the last, with residents reluctant to leave their homes during the pandemic. "It was very hard to build up a neighbourhood base. You need to give customers a reason to choose you over other more established stalls."

To a young newcomer like him, it was clear that the traditional model of business—a bricks-and-mortar stall, steady base of neighbourhood regulars—no longer cut it.

The answer, then, lay online, on the one app that was taking over the world: TikTok.

In June 2023, Mr Lim logged on and started live selling durians for the first time. It turned out to be the right move.

About 70 per cent of his revenue now comes from TikTok Shop, where mao shan wang is priced at $50 a 500g box—the same as de-husked durians at his physical stall. He estimates that he racks up six figures in total in TikTok Shop sales during the main durian season in June. The harvests in December and March yield more modest returns.