Demystifying Yuu, the Temasek-backed consumer loyalty program

“I want nobody, nobody but Yuu,” croons Singaporean comedian Gurmit Singh to the tune of the K-pop hit “Nobody.”

In Singapore, nothing catches the attention of citizens quite like a catchy tune by the personality, who plays the titular character in local sitcom Phua Chu Kang.

During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, Singh reminded Singaporeans to “wash your hands whenever you can” in a now iconic rap. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, he again made a public service announcement through song, reminding Singaporeans to “wear a mask if you are sick.”

So when Singh sings “come, let’s earn points with Yuu, it’s so easy with Yuu,” the publicity stunt had the hallmark of another government effort to galvanize action – only this time, it was for a consumer rewards program.

The marketing blitz paid off.

As of March 2024, Yuu has over 1.6 million registered members. The app also has over 1 million monthly active users in Singapore – over 15% of the population – and has been downloaded almost 1.2 million times, according to market intelligence platform Sensor Tower.

Is Yuu a government-backed initiative designed to become a commercially viable national loyalty program? Or is it a multimillion-dollar experiment by state-owned investment firm Temasek on an “emerging” technology that might benefit its other endeavors?

A first glance suggests the former: Yuu is the product of Minden.ai, a joint venture between Temasek and Hong Kong-based DFI Retail Holdings. The latter is the owner and operator of supermarket chains Cold Storage and Giant as well as convenience store 7-Eleven in Singapore.

Some of the city-state’s largest blue chip companies, including Singtel and DBS are Yuu partners. The latter even co-branded a DBS Yuu card through which users can earn added cash rebates.

Mandai Wildlife Reserve – the operator of the Singapore zoo and a Temasek investee – is also a Yuu partner.

Regulatory filings by Minden International – the sole shareholder in Minden Singapore, Yuu’s operating entity in the city-state – show that Minden Holdings is its largest shareholder, owning S$50.2 million (US$36.9 million) in ordinary shares. DFI Development Holdings is Yuu’s second majority shareholder, with S$33.5 million (US$24.6 million) in ordinary shares.

Why the need for Yuu?

On the surface, the Yuu rewards club appears to be another loyalty program seeking to address a fragmented rewards space, where retailers operate their respective rewards programs in isolation.

A costly bet

One merchant per category

Going head to head

Is Yuu an experiment, then?