SINGAPORE, Sept 29 — For more than 30 years, a factory in the industrial area of Senoko that has been diligently producing millions of bottles of the probiotic drink Yakult has kept a "side hustle” by entertaining visitors who are interested to see how the drink is made.

With more than 12,000 tours organised and more than 470,000 visitors welcomed at the factory over the years, the demand for tour spots have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Take 23-year-old final-year medical student Tao Sheng for example, who snapped up a tour slot this month after seeing a post on social media platform Xiaohongshu offering a glimpse into how Yakult is made.

The self-professed fan of the probiotic drink said that she was intrigued by the chance to learn about the health benefits and science behind the drink, since it had always been a staple in her household.

Tao was drawn to the thought of seeing the manufacturing and packaging process for herself: "You can see the machine (that produces Yakult). Previously, I thought Yakult was just something shipped (from abroad).”

So popular are these tours that Yakult’s representative told TODAY that are no more slots available until next year. Interest for these tours spiked after the semi-lockdown restrictions eased during the pandemic, he added.

"As of today, we have received an overwhelming response for the bookings and are fully booked for this year.”

Such tours offering a "behind-the-scenes” peek into the operations of Singapore businesses are seeing steady interest because consumers want a close-up look at the brands and services they consume or use.

This surge in demand is happening even though places such as the NEWater Visitor Centre, which provided a glimpse into the water filtration process in Singapore, closed its doors to the public on July 31. The centre organised a final farewell ceremony on Friday.

The growth in interest has led more businesses to open their factory doors to the public.

Since 2023, registered charity My Community has run more than 50 sessions of its Open My Factory tour series at around S$20 for each participant, collaborating with homegrown brands to offer behind-the-scenes peeks for more than 1,200 people.

All of its tours run at or near capacity, and demand has remained "quite strong” from participants of all ages, the charity’s executive director Kwek Li Yong said. The charity specialises in organising cultural and heritage activities.

Some of the factory visits offered are the SingPost Mail Processing Centre, Dodo Seafood Treats Factory and a Tuas incineration plant.

Many attendees are drawn not just by curiosity but by the immersive experiences that the companies offer — an opportunity to understand first-hand what they are consuming from a more intimate perspective.

The Yakult Factory, which opened in Hillview in 1978 before relocating to its current Senoko Avenue site, regularly holds two tours on weekdays, with more sessions available during the school holidays.

Despite the strong demand, Yakult’s representative said that the frequency of tours cannot be increased due to other work commitments.

Unfiltered view into businesses

Singaporeans travelling abroad may be familiar with factory tours that are catered for tourists, with a significant part of the tour focused on persuading visitors to buy souvenirs and products.

In Singapore, though, the tours are typically not as curated as those offered by factories, wineries and other manufacturing or agricultural businesses abroad, because the ones here are mainly intended to give visitors an unfiltered view of the companies’ inner workings.

A popular tour in the Open My Factory series is the Tower Transit Bulim Bus Depot tour, which draws bus enthusiasts who want to see bus maintenance bays and workshops.

One of them is Muhammad Noor Ridzuan Jumaat, a 20-year-old student who clinched a spot on the September tour five months ago.

During his visit to the bus operations control centre, he was surprised to learn that even though there are more than 60 bus services run by Tower Transit Singapore — one of the public bus companies here — a lean team oversees service reliability and handles crises from a single location.

Although he was already familiar with bus factoids, Ridzuan was able to get more information on niche areas, such as the purpose of nut caps on bus wheels and how they contribute to safety and maintenance.

Lora Lee, a My Community guide who leads the Tower Transit tour, noted that the bus depot tour initially appealed to bus enthusiasts and people from related transport industries.

However, she has noticed more members of the public attending the tour, simply curious about the mechanics behind everyday systems.

"Before I did this tour, I also thought, what’s there to talk about at the bus depot? But when I went there, my mind opened up. Seeing how they described their work and operations, it’s not an easy industry. So it appeals to people’s hearts and builds compassion,” Lee said.

Kwek from My Community said that the people who sign up for his tours are mainly curious about the "everyday” elements, especially brands or services that have been a part of their lives.

"There is an appreciation for how something as simple as a soy sauce bottle or waste disposal comes to be, even though it seemingly occupies a background role in our everyday lives,” he added.

Doreen Ang, 42, who works in the security industry, took leave from work to attend a Monday tour at the Yakult factory with her husband and their five-year-old son.

She said that her boy enjoys watching YouTube videos of bread factories, so she searched for a factory tour that her son could visit because she wanted him to appreciate the extensive effort and processes that go behind every product.

Human behind the machine

For some visitors, these tours offer a chance for them to interact with staff members directly.

Kwek said that the Open My Factory series aim to introduce visitors to the "unsung heroes” behind Singapore brands, facilitating "earnest conversation” at various workplaces.

"The tours aim to put a human face to these brands and institutions and ultimately connect visitors to these factories.”

At the bus depot tour, for instance, visitors may walk through various staff lounges and see bus drivers resting during their split shifts. These spaces include sleeping areas, canteens and recreational areas.

They also had the chance to directly ask staff members who are manning operations any burning questions that they had.

On one visit that TODAY attended, a visitor quizzed Tower Transit’s staff members about why there are occasionally two or more buses along the same bus route arriving together, a practice known as bus bunching.

Diamond Ooi, a 56-year-old retiree, said: "Sometimes we are, like, ‘Why do (bus drivers) drive so slow?’ Now we know it’s to match the timing of (the previous buses).”

Being able to interact with engineering staff members and see the various safety features on the buses, such as the monitoring system that observes driver behaviour, has given Ooi peace of mind as a passenger.

Over at the Tai Hua soy sauce factory, also part of My Community’s Open My Factory series, attendees probed workers on the differences between light and dark soy sauces and optimal cooking applications.

Abigail Lee, 53, who has attended multiple factory tours, including to Tai Hua, Tower Transit’s bus depot and the Alba E-Waste logistics and sorting hub, said that an unexpected highlight was being able to directly interact with company employees and give feedback on the soy sauce.

Her interest in Tai Hua’s soy sauce was due to her family’s regular use of it in their Teochew-style cooking, the homemaker told TODAY.

She often packs suitcases full of the product when she visits her family who had emigrated to Australia.

Another highlight of her tour at Tai Hua was being able to directly interact with factory workers who manage exports, and she suggested to them that the company may want to export its products to other areas.

What’s in it for businesses

For the companies that provide this inside look into their daily operations, this human connection is a unique opportunity to build stronger brand awareness and foster deeper connection with their customers.

Yakult said that the company conducts these tours because it can educate the public about the science behind the product, including its proprietary probiotic strain L paracasei strain Shirota.

Kwek from My Community said that it collaborates with companies where the factory tours may better connect with customers and the general public, and the businesses may get their story "out there”.

Beyond the branding benefits, companies aim to inspire staff members to take greater ownership of their work and to instil a sense of pride in them.

John Ng, assistant factory manager at Tai Hua Food Industries, said that he has run more than 80 tours in his seven years’ experience, including the monthly tours under My Community and for private groups.

Through the tours, he has fielded questions from curious customers on what sauce to pair with different dishes, and he has also shared his story of how he rose through the ranks from his first job as a quality assurance officer on the production line.

"Here, we are also a workforce that is ageing, so with the tours coming in, there’s a lot of coordination we need to do to prepare the staff members,” Ng said.

"But when people come, it’s very refreshing to the workers, because it also gives them a certain pride about their job.” — TODAY