‘Sunset industry’:Singapore’s ice cream uncles could disappear within 5 to 10 years as ageing hawkers retire

SINGAPORE: Noticing the ice cream uncles less often? The familiar ringing of their cart bells as they serve ice cream between a slice of rainbow bread could become a thing of the past in five to 10 years, according to ice cream supplier Chip Guan Heng’s admin and operations manager known as “Greg”—although he said, “we have to see how the economy evolves as well”.

Mr Greg described the traditional ice cream trade as a “sunset industry”. Chip Guan Heng director Kenneth Goh similarly told Mothership that the trade has been in “gradual decline”, with many ice cream uncles ageing and retiring.

Mr Goh explained one of the biggest challenges is that no new street hawking licences are being issued. As older hawkers retire, the trade has naturally shrunk.

The Street Hawking Scheme was designed as short-term support for unemployed individuals facing financial difficulties, rather than a permanent livelihood, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said. Street hawking licences are issued to individual holders and cannot be transferred to someone else. As of January 2026, 135 street hawkers were licensed to sell ice cream.

With no licences being issued anymore, Mr Greg said the remaining ice cream uncles would likely continue working until they are no longer able to.

Some ice cream uncles Mothership spoke to were 61, 72, and even 80 years old, with the 72-year-old uncle having held his licence since 1974. The 80-year-old uncle also said he plans to sell ice cream for as long as he can, although he was unsure how long he could keep running the business.

Still, keeping the business going could become harder as they age. Besides selling ice cream, they have to restock supplies such as wafers and bread, which Mr Greg said could become more difficult to transport. It also does not help that their margins are paper thin.

Ice cream uncles are a source of nostalgia for many Singaporeans. Online, some were saddened by the trade disappearing. One commenter said it would be “sad to see another element of Singapore culture being relegated to nostalgia bait with no cultural relevance to newer generations.”

A senior commenter added, “So sad. I wish I could do this as a retirement job.”

A third said, “Leave the ice cream vendor alone.” /TISG

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