On A Rrooll with Wilbert Tedja!
New business Rrooll is the result of one entreprenuer's hard work. His name: Wilbert Tedja, and his decision to start a business in the midst of a pandemic is one that has to be commended. We sit with him and ask him a few questions regarding his new business and what we can expect to see in the near future.
Tell us a little about rrooll and the concept behind it. What made you decide to open up a business with a strong focus on cinnamon rolls?
Wilbert Tjeda (WT): Rrooll is Singapore’s first speciality cinnamon rolls kiosk that serves both sweet and savoury flavours. We offer a total a variety of flavours, 8 in total. Flavours includes five sweet – Classic Cinnamon, Cinnamon Apple, Cocoa Orange, Hazelnut Rocher, Sweet Cheese, and three innovative savoury flavours – Japanese Curry, Hawaiian, Garlic Onion and Cheese. There is also a brand story to the name too. The brand name “rrooll” was created based on the rhythmic forward-backward kneading motion involved in making the dough. Also, the repetition of letters ‘r’, ‘o’ and ‘l’ represents the two types of flavours offered at rrooll – sweet and savoury.
I had initially left my corporate job at a bank and planned to run a franchise venture in Indonesia, but was unable to do so when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. With the lockdown regulations in place, the franchise venture had to be put on hold due to travelling restrictions. After much consideration, I decided to start rrooll, a reminder of my happy memories eating a sweet cinnamon roll in my youth. After over six months of research developing recipes and methods, rrooll was launched on 18 January 2021.
Tell us a little about your dessert creations. What has been a popular seller so far in your store?
WT: I wanted to create a cinnamon roll that brings about the perfect satisfaction and warm feeling with each bite you take. I made it a point to make sure that the ingredients that went into the making of the rolls were of the best quality. An example includes the Grade A cinnamon that goes into the making of the rolls, which are sourced from Korintje in Indonesia, known for their cinnamon.
In terms of flavours, I did not want to be limited to only sweet creations. Thus, I decided to explore savoury options with unique flavours. For example, our Japanese Curry roll, which many people thought was a very adventurous choice at first, but I’m glad to see return customers coming back and telling us they found it a pleasant surprise. Our rolls are made fresh daily at our Jewel Changi Airport kiosk. Each roll is around 10cm in diameter, which we feel is not too big and not too small, that is good for an afternoon treat or light morning breakfast.
Currently, the popular flavours are Classic Cinnamon, the OG combination of buttery cinnamon and cream cheese; Hazelnut Rocher for the chocolate fans and nut lovers, as well as Garlic Onion and Cheese which is the best-selling savoury flavour that’s a hit among both the young and old.
Were there any challenges to opening up a concept such as sweet cinnamon rolls in the midst of a pandemic? How did you work towards overcoming these challenges?
WT: With tighter border controls imposed during the pandemic it had limited the entry of new labor, which made it difficult to hire within the F&B industry. To address this, I had to come up with creative remuneration packages and increase the brand awareness to attract more job applications. Operations were also made leaner and more efficient to reduce the reliance on labor.
The pandemic also resulted in delays in our supply chains. Custom clearance took longer, and we faced shortages for certain raw ingredients. I had to work closely with the suppliers to source for alternative ingredients on hand to replace our key ingredients without compromising the flavor and quality of our products.
What lies ahead for the business at hand? What can we expect to see from rrooll in the new future?
WT: We are looking at more store locations around Singapore, so that we can spread the joy and reach out to more people in a place closer to them. You can also expect to see new products and exciting flavours! One includes our upcoming classic cinnamon bites that allows you to enjoy the cinnamon rolls in bite size portion. Perfect for sharing or for a light snack on-the-go.
For this new series, we decided to focus more on the local flavours which are popular in Singapore. Flavours for this new product includes Cheesy Kaya, Milo Dinosaur and of course not forgetting the Classic Cinnamon flavour!
Where can people get your products or visit your kiosk?
WT: You can purchase the rolls from the rrooll kiosk at #B2-266, Jewel Changi Airport. Opening hours are from 11:00am – 10.00pm, daily. Rrooll is also available for online pre-orders via
https://www.rrooll.sg, with islandwide delivery scheduled every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Or if you prefer, rrooll is also available daily via Foodpanda within a 5km radius.
