Bakery chain Twelve Cupcakes has announced that it will cease operations and go into voluntary liquidation. The announcement was made on Wednesday (Oct 29), reported Lianhe Zaobao.
According to information from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), the company’s current status is listed as “creditors’ voluntary liquidation”. AAG Corporate Advisory has been appointed as the provisional liquidator.
The company did not share the reason for its closure or liquidation. As of press time, Twelve Cupcakes has not responded to questions from Lianhe Zaobao.
About 80 workers affected by Twelve Cupcakes’ closure
The decision to close down was made without advance notice, said the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) on Thursday (Oct 30). The union criticised the move as “completely unacceptable and unfair” to workers.
About 80 employees have been affected by the closure, including rank-and-file workers, executives and managers. The chain operated outlets at several locations such as Changi City, Sentosa and Star Vista.
In a media statement, FDAWU said it was only informed of the closure on the same day the company announced it to workers.
“The union strongly objects to the business owner’s complete lack of prior consultation and advance notice of their decision,” said FDAWU, adding that despite being a unionised company, the business owner did not engage the union early to discuss alternatives or support measures for its workers.
“While the business owner’s final decision may have been a commercial one, its execution was not only irresponsible but also lacked due process,” the statement continued. “The abrupt termination and insufficient notice are failures on the part of the business owner to consider the human consequences of the closure. Workers are left struggling to secure alternative employment on short notice, resulting in uncertainty regarding their livelihoods and the payments owed to them.”
FDAWU General Secretary Sankaradass said, “The sudden notice is completely unacceptable and unfair to both the workers and the union.”
He added that the union has called on the appointed liquidator to work closely with FDAWU to address workers’ claims and ensure they receive the payments due to them.
Faced several fines for breaching manpower laws
Twelve Cupcakes was founded in 2011 by celebrity Jaime Teo and former radio DJ Daniel Ong, and quickly became a household name among dessert lovers. After their divorce in December 2016, the duo sold the business to Indian tea company Dhunseri Group for $2.5 million.
Public data shows that Twelve Cupcakes had more than 50 employees and operated around 20 outlets across Singapore in recent years.
However, the company has faced several fines in the past for breaching foreign manpower laws. In 2021, it was fined $119,500 for underpaying seven foreign employees a total of over $110,000 between 2017 and 2020.
Following that case, FDAWU, which is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), stepped in to unionise the company. This allowed the union to represent employees and to work with management to educate them on fair employment legislation and practices, as well as their responsibilities and care towards workers’ welfare.
That same year, Teo and Ong were each fined $65,000 for 24 charges related to offences committed between 2013 and 2016.
Financially, the company had been struggling in recent years. According to data from business information platform Handshakes, Twelve Cupcakes recorded a net loss of $1.2 million for the financial year ending March 31, 2025. In the two previous financial years, it reported losses of $1.1 million and about $460,000, respectively.
During the same period, its revenue also dropped from $11.8 million in FY2023 to $9.2 million in FY2025.
