Ben Yeo shuts all 6 sliced fish soup stalls after 5-figure loss, opens affordable zi char spot in Yishun

After rapidly expanding his Tan Xiang Sliced Fish Soup business, opening six outlets in under a year, Mediacorp actor-host and F&B entrepreneur Ben Yeo has now shut all of them after the venture incurred a loss. Speaking to 8days.sg, the 47-year-old said the business “failed to meet expectations”, prompting him to pull the plug and rethink his F&B strategy.He also co-owns zi char brand Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant, which has three outlets, Thai eatery Benkok13 and operates two coffeeshops."IF IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL, JUST CUT LOSSES"Yeo first ventured into the fish soup business in September 2023 when he launched Tan Xiang Sliced Fish Soup, a spinoff of his Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant, with a stall in a Toa Payoh coffeeshop. Although the outlet relocated after shutting nine months later, the concept proved popular enough for him to embark on an aggressive expansion plan in 2025, opening six fish soup stalls in quick succession at locations including Orchard Towers, Clementi, and Ang Mo Kio.

Ben Yeo has closed his fish soup stalls. (Photo: Tan Xiang Sliced Fish Soup)

But the rapid expansion proved unsustainable."Some outlets made money, some didn't. But overall, we lost a mid-five-figure sum,” he told 8days.sg.“We gave ourselves one year to see results. If it’s not successful, just cut losses." He added: “Doing business is all about making money. Even if you break even every month, or you make pennies, it’s not a good business.”The closures affect only the standalone Tan Xiang Sliced Fish Soup stalls. The dish is still available at Ben's zi char outlets in Kallang and Chai Chee.EXPANDED TOO QUICKLYYeo believes he made one key mistake: expanding too aggressively."For the Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat, we opened one outlet first, made sure the business was stable, then opened the second and eventually the third," he said."But for the fish soup stalls, we thought because it required a smaller investment, we could open several at one go so more people would see the brand. We were following a strategy that worked for some successful brands in the past. Looking back, I don't think that works anymore." Despite the setback, Yeo isn't slowing down."We have to diversify. The trends move too fast now. We cannot depend on just one brand," he said.