What began as a single blue cheese cheesecake at Olivia Restaurant has grown into a four-store Singapore brand. To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Queic by Olivia is bringing back past favourites while looking ahead to its next chapter of cheesecake experimentation.

A blue cheese cheesecake might not be the first dessert that comes to mind when satisfying a sweet tooth, but for Queic by Olivia, it was the beginning of something much bigger. Launched in 2021, Queic began with just one hero product: Olivia’s Signature Cheesecake, a blue cheese creation that had already attracted a following at Olivia Restaurant. Rather than build a conventional dessert business around familiar flavours, the team took a chance on an unconventional combination of cream cheese, blue cheese and a crisp almond sablé base.

Five years later, that single cheesecake has become the foundation of a four-store retail brand with approximately 25 products and formats, regular seasonal releases and collaborations with established food and beverage names. Between 2022 and 2025, Queic’s annual gross sales grew nearly tenfold, while the brand estimates that more than two million guests have visited its stores since opening, including visitors from around the world.

To mark the milestone, Queic is celebrating its journey with The Queic Archives, a limited-time revival of selected creations from its first five years, alongside anniversary promotions throughout October.

What started Queic’s story is Olivia’s Signature Cheesecake, which reinterprets the familiar Basque-style cheesecake through a distinctly savoury lens. While traditional Basque burnt cheesecake is known for its deeply caramelised top and soft centre, Olivia’s Signature adds a crisp almond sablé tart base to a rich cream cheese and blue cheese filling. The result is a sweet-savoury combination that helped establish the brand’s identity from the outset.

For Celina Franco, Head of Quality & Culinary Direction at Olivia Group, the original creation remains central to the brand’s evolution. “We started Queic with one hero product, and it’s still at the heart of what we do. What has grown around it is the freedom to experiment with flavours, formats and collaborations.”

The first standalone Queic store opened at Kreta Ayer in 2021, followed by Scotts Square in September 2024, Jewel Changi Airport in April 2025 and Jem in November 2025. The expansion has given the brand a presence across different parts of Singapore, from the city centre to the airport and the western suburbs.

Yet the idea behind the business has remained consistent: to explore the possibilities of cheesecake rather than branch out into every category of dessert.

Today, Queic’s range extends beyond its signature creation to include Basque burnt cheesecakes, flavour-led variations, individual portions and cheesecake boards. The brand typically introduces one to two seasonal creations each month, drawing inspiration from local flavours, cultural references, ingredients and wider food trends.

Past releases have included Coconut Pandan, Matcha, Black Sesame, Ube and Dubai Chocolate, reflecting a willingness to experiment with both familiar Asian flavours and contemporary dessert trends. Chef Pablo Ruggero, Head Pastry Chef at Olivia Group, says the challenge has been to expand the range while preserving the quality and consistency of the original recipe.

“We now produce the equivalent of around 200,000 servings from Olivia’s Signature range annually, while maintaining the consistency of the original recipe. At the same time, we’ve kept experimenting, with 20 new flavours since I joined, from Truffle Brie, Dubai Chocolate to our recent Ube.”

Some of Queic’s creations venture into particularly unexpected territory. Its Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake combines pistachio, toasted kataifi, tahini and dark chocolate cheesecake, while its cheesecake boards reinterpret the traditional cheese board through cheesecakes inspired by Brie, Gruyère, Ricotta and Stilton, accompanied by sablé cookies and preserves.

Collaborations have offered another way to explore the format. Working with Swiss chocolatier Läderach, Queic paired Gruyère Basque burnt cheesecake with Swiss chocolate. Its partnership with Baristart transformed the latter’s coffee blend into a Latte Cheesecake layered with coffee praline, Basque burnt cheesecake, almond crumble and vanilla mascarpone mousse. Creations developed with Blue Bottle Coffee have included Brown Butter Cheesecake and Lemon Cream Cheesecake.

These experiments reflect an approach that treats cheesecake as a starting point rather than a fixed formula, with each release offering a different combination of flavours, textures and culinary influences.

For its fifth anniversary, Queic is looking back at some of the creations that have helped shape its identity through The Queic Archives. The retrospective features five past favourites: Truffle Brie Cheesecake, Vanilla Pistachio Cheesecake, Turrón Cheesecake, Valençay Cheesecake and Apple Cheesecake. Two of these creations, Vanilla Pistachio and Truffle Brie, are returning for a limited time from 10 to 31 October 2026.

Originally created as a limited Mother’s Day release, the Vanilla Pistachio Cheesecake pairs vanilla cheesecake with vanilla cream, pistachio cream and house-made pistachio paste, all resting on an almond sablé crust.

The combination brings together the warmth of vanilla and the nutty richness of pistachio in a layered dessert that balances creamy textures with a crisp base. It will be available in limited quantities at Queic’s stores as a six-inch cake and individual slices. Nine-inch whole cakes can also be pre-ordered through the brand’s online store.

For those who prefer a more savoury direction, the returning Truffle Brie Cheesecake combines Brie de Meaux AOP whipped crémeux with mascarpone and truffle filling, finished with an almond and white chocolate glaze.

The cheese-led creation showcases the more adventurous side of Queic’s menu, bringing together the richness of Brie, the aroma of truffle and the sweetness of white chocolate. It will be available in-store and through Queic’s online store throughout October.

Beyond the archive collection, Queic is marking its fifth year with a series of promotions inspired by the number five. From 1 to 31 October 2026, customers can enjoy S$5 off online-store pickup orders with a minimum spend of S$100. A S$50 gift card will also be available for S$45 throughout the month, while a social media giveaway invites groups of five friends to participate through @queicsg on Instagram.

The anniversary is also an opportunity to recognise the people and infrastructure behind the brand’s growth. As the business expanded from one outlet to four, investment in production, operational systems and its team became increasingly important.

“Going from one shop to four stores and welcoming more than two million guests since opening took more than a great recipe. We invested early in a central kitchen, in systems and, above all, in people. That discipline has allowed us to grow without losing what made Queic special,” says Sandeep Dhingra, Co-owner and CEO, Olivia Group

For co-owner and CFO Jessica Hao, the pace of expansion was equally important as the results. “Sales grew nearly tenfold in three years, but how we grew matters just as much. Each new store was built on the strength of the last, with clear numbers behind every decision.”

Olivia’s Signature Cheesecake was originally developed by Franco, whose recipe continues to anchor the brand. Ruggero has since helped expand its flavour repertoire, supported by the chefs, production team, store managers and wider Olivia Group team.

Five years on, Queic’s evolution demonstrates how a focused product concept can develop into a broader retail identity without losing sight of its origins.

The brand’s growth has been built around a deliberate constraint: rather than diversifying into an extensive range of unrelated desserts, it has continued to explore how far a single format can go. That has meant experimenting with ingredients, textures, presentation and collaborations while retaining the signature cheesecake that first drew customers to the brand.

The Queic Archives brings together a selection of those experiments, offering customers an opportunity to revisit past favourites and discover how the brand has developed since 2021. As Queic enters its next chapter, its ambition remains rooted in the same idea that inspired its first creation: to keep exploring the possibilities of cheesecake, one slice at a time.

The Queic Archives and anniversary offers

• Vanilla Pistachio Cheesecake: Available from 10 to 31 October 2026. Six-inch cakes and slices are available in-store in limited quantities; nine-inch cakes can be pre-ordered online.
• Truffle Brie Cheesecake: Available in-store and through Queic’s online store from 10 to 31 October 2026.
• S$5 off pickup orders: Available from 1 to 31 October 2026, with a minimum spend of S$100.
• Gift card promotion: Purchase a S$50 gift card for S$45 throughout October.
• Five Friends giveaway: Details are available via Queic’s Instagram.

For online orders and further information, visit queic.com.sg.