Ready to help visitors “shop” for life’s priorities at Life’s Supermart!
35. Emcee for CPF Life's Supermart at Our Tampines Hub | Melvin Ho
Shopping for What Truly Matters
What if you could walk into a supermarket and shop for the things that truly matter in life? That’s exactly the idea behind Life’s Supermart, an interactive public exhibition by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPF Board), held at Our Tampines Hub. I was the emcee for the weekend activation!
This was part of CPF’s 70th anniversary celebrations — a milestone for an institution that’s been helping Singaporeans plan for housing, healthcare, and retirement since 1955. It was my first time working with CPF Board, and I have to say, they were fantastic clients. Huge thanks to PLUS Group for the booking and for putting together such a well-organized activation.
The full Life’s Supermart setup along Festive Walk at Our Tampines Hub.
A Supermarket for Life’s Priorities
The concept was so creative! Instead of groceries, visitors “shopped” for their life’s priorities: relationships, personal growth, wellbeing, happiness, and community. The whole exhibition was designed like a real supermarket, complete with green baskets, shelving aisles, and even a checkout counter!
Visitors started their journey by grabbing a shopping list and basket, explored different “aisles of life”, and selected plush items representing their values and goals. At the checkout counter, they received a personalised receipt that revealed their “persona”, a fun character profile based on their choices, along with recommendations for which informational boards to visit next.
We Grow in a Bunch” — the Relationships aisle!
The plushies were a massive hit! Visitors kept asking if they could buy or take the plushies home. The puns were fantastic too: “A-Peeling Relationships” (bananas), “Carro-bout Others” (carrots), “Pod-Mates for Life” (peas), “Un-Clam Your Mind” (clams). The creativity that went into this exhibition was really something!
“Swim in the Sea of Kindness” — the Community aisle with “Flex Your Mussels for a Cause” and “Be a Wingman” :p
What I Did Over Two Days
My role was to keep the energy going across the entire activation. That meant:
• Welcoming visitors and guiding them through the exhibition concept
• Rotating through the 5 Solution Boards to highlight key CPF topics like nominations, retirement planning, healthcare, personal growth, and volunteering
• Promoting the brand-new PLAN with CPF platform, a one-stop financial guidance dashboard that launched during this event
• Promoting the CPF70 commemorative displays and book
• Promoting the CPF Talk Series (in English and Mandarin) on topics like health savings, home buying, and retirement
• Conducting live interviews with members of the public about their life goals and takeaways from the exhibition
The welcome board explaining the concept and listing supporting partners.
Part of Something Bigger
Life’s Supermart was part of a larger CPF70 celebration at Our Tampines Hub that week. The event also included CPF70 Commemorative Displays tracing the organisation’s history from 1955 to today, and a CPF Talk Series covering health savings, home buying, and retirement planning.
The exhibition was supported by several partners, including Families for Life, CareingSG, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore, ServiceSG, and the National Library Board.
Great turnout at the PLAN with CPF booth.
Looking Back
This was such a refreshing event to be part of. It’s not every day you get to emcee something this creative! A supermarket where life goals are the products, plush vegetables teach you about relationships, and a checkout receipt tells you who you are. What a concept!
Thank you to CPF Board and PLUS Group for a wonderful first collaboration. It was a pleasure working with the team, and I hope we get to do this again.
A view of the full exhibition from above.
If you’re planning a public roadshow, government exhibition, or community activation and need an emcee who can engage diverse crowds, guide visitors through interactive setups, and keep energy levels high across a full weekend, I’d love to hear about your event!
Please check out my roadshow emcee page or my government emcee page, and please let me know :)