DFI’s Guardian stores add Holland & Barrett range as UK brand makes Singapore comeback

[SINGAPORE] Almost 60 Holland & Barrett (H&B) products have made it to shelves in 15 Guardian Singapore stores, its website and app in June, as the British health and wellness brand returns to the Republic through a partnership with DFI Retail Group .

The products will be available in more than 50 Guardian stores by the end of the month.

The two parties announced a multi-year partnership, which aims to expand access to preventive health and wellness solutions in Asia, at a signing ceremony on Wednesday (Jun 3).

Under the agreement, DFI will be H&B’s distribution partner in several Asian markets. This has started with Singapore – where DFI operates Guardian – and will launch in Mannings in Hong Kong in the final quarter of this year.

The British health and wellness brand pulled out of Singapore in March 2025, shutting its 12 outlets after its franchise partner entered into liquidation due to financial liabilities.

The closures were “quite a good lesson” for H&B, which has since moved on “to a different model with a strong, stable and trusted partner”, said Gordon Farquhar, H&B’s international managing director.

The partners will sell “science-led wellness products”, with close to 70 per cent of the products in Singapore being new to the market.

These include H&B’s vitamins, supplements and products for concerns such as overall wellness, sleep quality, women’s health and ageing.

The products offered are guided by DFI’s in-market understanding, gathered through extensive consumer research, said Andrew Wong, CEO for health and beauty in the group.

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DFI will also provide professional in-store advice and technology-enabled wellness services, including artificial intelligence-powered skin and scalp assessments at Guardian and Mannings.

It aims to provide these tech-enabled services in a quarter of its stores in the next couple of years, to help customers understand their wellness conditions and pick out the right products, Wong added.

Under the collaboration, DFI will hold rights for the distribution of H&B products in the wider region in the coming years.

In addition to Singapore and Hong Kong, the group operates Guardian stores in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei and Cambodia, and Mannings in Macau.