Passion doesn’t pay the bills. But 2015 Wilson could never have seen that coming. Reviving from his first accommodations business failure, Wilson turned to his long-time passion for popcorn and cotton candy, and decided to try selling them in 2018.
Caleb, Wilson’s long-time friend, was eventually roped in to what they hoped would be an exciting journey together. Little did they know that their journey would be far from smooth-sailing.
Wilson and Caleb decided to make a bold move to take on a temporary event space in a mall, and bought secondhand equipments to sell an assortment of snacks including popcorn, cotton candy, prunes, dried fruits, and preserved fruits.
Come 2019, Wilson Yeo and Caleb Li only have $10 left in their bank account with still a $50,000 debt, with a pile of leftover stocks sitting in their storage unit, unmoving.
Getting Back Up
The duo decided to focus on selling popcorn and cotton candy, which they realised were their bestsellers. This sparked a frenzy of creativity, resulting in bespoke recipes and 12 innovative flavours such as Ondeh Ondeh, Bandung, Red Velvet Cinnamon, Milo Dinosaur, Salted Caramel, and Original Sweetcorn, which are still their mainstay flavour today.
Come end-2019, the pair had made more than S$12,000 within a week, solely by selling popcorn and hand-crafted cotton candy. Their business was poppin’ off! Today, Uncle DiDi has sold over 300,000 tubs of popcorn and cotton candy, amounting to more than S$1 million in revenue.
And it’s not just creative flavours that they’re known for. Aside from catering to local palates, Uncle Didi ensures that its product prices are wallet-friendly, without compromising on quality ingredients.
Even till today, Wilson and Caleb still find joy in making these snacks they grew up with. In fact, they still run live station services on an events basis, for popcorn, cotton candy, and even nostalgic snacks such as kacang puteh.
Now that they’ve made it, Wilson and Caleb want to contribute back to society. Uncle DiDi has worked with Aphasia Singapore to raise funds for their programmes. On top of that, Uncle DiDi will be sponsoring the Agency for Integrated Care Pte Ltd (AIC) up to S$73,500 worth of popcorn this November.
Where to Buy Uncle DiDi
Uncle DiDi’s products are now available online on their website, Lazada, Shopee, and GrabMart. Purchases can also be made in-store at Hillion Mall, and NEWest Mall.
As part of the Waterway Point Lifestyle Fair, Uncle DiDi will also be available at Waterway Point atrium from 17 – 30 October.
