Jigger & Pony co-founder receives two industry awards in Singapore
In Singapore, Jigger & Pony bar group co-founder Indra Kantono received two industry awards this year: Best International Bar Mentor at the Spirited Awards and the Roku Industry Icon Award as part of Asia’s 50 Best Bars. The group’s flagship venue, Jigger & Pony, ranked ninth in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026, Cosmo Pony in Jakarta placed 15th, and the new BOP bar debuted at 52nd position on the extended list.
As Channel NewsAsia reports, Kantono and his wife and business co-founder, Guoyi Gan, opened Jigger & Pony in 2012. Since then, the group has grown to eight venues in Singapore and Jakarta, employing 120 people. Until 2010, the couple had no experience in making drinks, and before launching the business they had S$400,000 in joint savings.
Training within the organization
Kantono sees mentorship not only as one-on-one guidance, but as creating a working culture across the entire organization. The group has the Pony Academy training platform and a system of senior colleagues serving as mentors. According to him, this approach should influence how employees perceive the profession and the hospitality sector.
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Before launching the bar business, Kantono worked at Bain & Company and at a private equity company. He said that the decision to leave a stable career was largely supported by Gan, who at the time worked as a flight attendant for Singapore Airlines. The couple studied classic cocktails through books and videos and also visited bars during trips abroad.
Formats beyond cocktails
Jigger & Pony Group’s first project in Jakarta was Cosmo Pony, opened in partnership with Union Group. Kantono described it as bringing the group’s Singaporean approach to hospitality to Indonesia and said that the company plans to enter other markets in the future.
The new Singapore venue Bartenders of Pony, or BOP, is inspired by Korean drinking culture. According to Kantono, the team is not seeking to recreate Seoul in Singapore, but is trying to convey Korean drinking culture in a Singaporean context. He also believes that cocktail bars may further develop gastronomic programs and combine the bar format with music, sports, or other themed concepts.
