Raising the flag for Singapore brands

SINGAPORE'S biggest parade may be on hold till Aug 21, but it doesn't mean that celebrating the nation's independence has to wait. Think local over the long weekend as you stay home and dig into some kopi-peng ice cream or nourishing bird's nest, or create your own home spa complete with aromatherapy and a facial or manicure. You'll be supporting Singapore brands while you're at it, and learning the stories behind them as well.

Creamier creamier.com.sg

Ten years ago, Khoh Wan Chin, Audrey Wang and Victor Lim got together to sell ice cream together because "it's a happy business," says Ms Khoh, who previously ran a design business with Mr Lim. It was a slow start for the first eight months but finally, as more people noticed them, business boomed, and they went from a little shop in Toa Payoh to adding two more branches at Gillman Barracks and Tiong Bahru. When dining in was possible, there would always be long queues outside all three branches. And now, Creamier is a Singapore ice cream success story.

"Many of us grew up with happy memories of eating ice cream. Life's simple pleasures are about savouring these moments of happiness - our vision is to combine the offering of great quality ice creams and well-designed, unpretentious friendly spaces," adds Ms Khoh.

Ms Wang, who used to be in advertising but left to study baking, is the creative brain behind the ice cream flavours. The trio also run a dessert cafe, Sunday Folks.

A decade on, Sea Salt Gula Melaka remains the top selling flavour. They learnt in their first year that exotic flavours such as Chilled Gazpacho, Pineapple with Chilli Padi sorbet and White Peach Chardonnay while tasty, don't sell well in a neighbourhood cafe where customers are looking for comforting and familiar flavours.

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The three had no previous F&B experience, which Ms Khoh says was a double-edged sword. "We started the business by doing things our way, and there was no legacy holding us back to explore how we want to run the business and to create products that we are proud to call our own. The synergy of the three founders may be a key reason for Creamier to be still around after 10 years and still striving to do things right and better," she says.

For National Day, Singaporeans get to enjoy their favourite drinks, Kopi-Peng and Teh-Peng, in ice cream form.

The kopitiam-inspired ice creams are made in collaboration with traditional coffee roaster Kim Guan Guan.

"A strong understanding of food science, the chemistry behind natural ingredients and the production processes are critical to the formation of a good quality product," says Ms Khoh. Perhaps that explains why despite an increase in artisanal ice cream brands, Creamier remains a household favourite.

Looking back on their journey, Ms Khoh says, "We have customers who have graduated, got married and became parents over the span of 10 years and Creamier has been an important part of their journey. We are really happy to learn that Creamier is not just an ice cream brand but has a place in our customers' happy memories of specific milestones in their lives."

Nodspark nodspark.com

Nail wrap brands are now commonplace, but when Eugenia Ye-Yeo started Nodspark in 2017, she had the uphill task of explaining what she was selling. "Nail wraps were not a readily available option when getting your nails done, so we spent a lot of time educating customers, or re-educating the ones who had bad experiences previously," says Mrs Ye-Yeo, who first came across the product at a trade fair.

She was immediately taken by the convenience of it, especially when she was nursing her second child then and nail wraps allowed her to achieve a manicured look without spending long hours at the nail salon.

To help get the word out, Mrs Ye-Yeo introduced the brand at pop-up fairs, and soon her customers became Nodspark's walking advertisement.

"Once customers saw how easy it was to use, and our refreshing designs, we very quickly managed to carve out our own community," she says.

The nail wraps are made of vinyl nail polish grade, and can be easily stuck on and removed when needed.

Besides nail wraps for fingers, there is also a pedicure and kids collection.

The brand hit a high point a few months ago, when it launched a collaboration with Disney. The collection featured characters such as Mickey Mouse and Disney princesses.

"We have been doing collaborations with other brands, but this was on a bigger scale. Time, designer skills, capital, and lots of legal paper work, were required to put together the collection," recalls Mrs Ye-Yeo.

This National Day, Nodspark is launching a few new designs inspired by Singapore's skyline, Peranakan heritage and Asian botanicals.

Mrs Ye-Yeo believes that Nodspark has garnered a strong following, even outside Singapore because she is constantly communicating with her customers to get them involved in the brand. "When we recently launched the Disney collection, we had quite a few customers telling us what else they wished to see produced from Disney. And we love listening to them, because they give great ideas," she says.

Scent by SIX scentbysix.com

If there is a scent that best describes Singapore, what would it be? According to Jason Lee, founder of artisanal fragrance brand, Scent by SIX, that would be rojak. "It is a culmination of our diverse cultures, races and religions. It is a celebration of differences," says Mr Lee.

He started out by creating a fragrance as a wedding gift for family and friends, which turned out to be such a hit that he decided to start his own fragrance label.

Scent, he says, is more than just about smelling good. "People choose Scent by SIX, because they are buying a scent that soothes, heals and delights their mental wellness," he says.

He shares a story of how he had created a scent for an old lady with severe dementia, based on her life experiences. It was a priceless moment when the old lady took a whiff of the scent.

She blurted out her late husband's name, started crying and began remembering things. "It was then that I realised why I am doing all this work. Our brand purpose is to heal emotions, to preserve memories and to bring people together," he says.

With a clear goal in mind, Mr Lee started a partnership with the Singapore Association for Mental Health to raise awareness on mental health issues, particularly depression, and the importance of taking care of one's mental wellness. Last Christmas, he launched Hikaru, a yuzu-themed collection which helps to uplift moods. Part of the sales proceeds, totalling S$10,000, was donated to the association.

Mr Lee is again pledging the same donation amount to the association this year, with the launch of a new range called Sleep, Returns - a woody, aromatic scent, with hints of lemongrass, cedar wood and patchouli. The scent is supposed to lull users into a calm state for a better night's rest.

His biggest challenge, however, is managing and motivating talents in his team. "This is something so abstract and fluid. How can we ever say we are fully qualified to manage and motivate every and anyone? The challenge has not been overcome," he says.

But Mr Lee is not letting that dampen his plans for the brand's future. "The upcoming fragrances will all be purpose driven, marrying functionality such as different ways to enhance mental wellness, with olfactive beauty. They will all be co-created or in collaboration with those who need it," says Mr Lee.

A Tapir's Tale tapirstale.com

Nothing compares to a mother's love for her child, and for Charlene Ng, this meant entering the field of paediatric skincare when her son, now two, reacted adversely to an organic skincare brand when he was a baby.

She recently started A Tapir's Tale, a range of baby skincare products, after noticing a gap in the baby skincare market. The four-piece collection includes a wash and sunscreen.

The mother of two is no stranger to the skincare industry, having worked as an aesthetician, a beauty consultant and until recently, a skincare trainer at a luxury global brand.

But while she was well-versed in skincare formulations, starting a new label was challenging. "The biggest challenge was the lack of knowledge because I did not know what I did not know. Although my work experience in skincare has certainly been very beneficial, it is very different from building a brand ground up," she says.

For example, some ingredients and bottle pumps were in short supply, and affected her speed and cost of production. There were also logistical challenges since the products are formulated and made in Japan. "I had to be fast to adapt to the situation and make quick decisions regarding logistics and many other different issues. So far, my decision making has paid off but I felt that my lack of knowledge was a barrier in making even quicker decisions," she says.

She feels fortunate to be able to overcome some of her initial challenges by reaching out to other entrepreneurs who were kind enough to share their knowledge and insight.

Unlike other baby skincare brands, A Tapir's Tale does not contain any skin-aggravating ingredients. It also has nature-derived botanicals like sakura leaf extract, green tea, aloe vera and jojoba oil.

Ms Ng also formulated the products to be suitable for Singapore's hot and humid weather.

A Tapir's Tale is not only gentle enough for babies, but "the formulation is also highly effective for anyone who is looking for high performing skincare that is free of common irritants", says Ms Ng.

Glowfully glowfullyskin.com

If you have eczema and acne-prone skin but no product seems to work, you might want to give Glowfully a try.

Its founder, Charlene Sim, has the occasional breakouts but has found salvation in her own skincare range, which she started as part of her journey to get better skin.

Her go-to product is the Deep Sea Glow Serum. "Whenever I got any breakouts, I would skip everything else and use only the serum. My skin would usually calm down within a few days after that," says Ms Sim.

Knowing how certain products would make her skin flare up, she made sure that Glowfully's products are free from harmful ingredients such as parabens and formaldehydes. "I am continuously pushing for our formulas to be better and trying to omit as many controversial ingredients as I can, without compromising on efficacy," she says.

As a self-funded entrepreneur, finding capital was one of her biggest concerns when Ms Sim first started Glowfully. "At that time, I only had sufficient funds for a single product, so I took a leap of faith and launched Glowfully with only one product. It was truly heartening to receive so much support from the local community.And knowing that there were consumers out there who empathised with the brand's beliefs and objectives gave me the motivation and confidence to keep going," she says.

Another challenge that she faces daily is the intense competition in the highly saturated beauty industry. "Being a small, homegrown brand, we do not have the budget and resources to compete with the larger, international brands on the same scale. Especially with e-commerce, consumers now have a larger variety of choices to choose from," she says.

But it is precisely for this reason that she has formulated the products for a tropical climate as well as for oily and sensitive skin, which most Singaporean women have, to differentiate Glowfully from the competition.

The range of products, including the newly launched Advanced Healing Elixir covers the standard skincare regime. "I'm looking to branch out into niche segments and launch products targeted at specific skin concerns such as acne and anti-ageing," says Ms Sim.

The Purest Co purestnest.com

How often have you opened a bottle of bird's nest, found it mostly filled with sugar syrup, or worse, with strands that might even be seaweed?

A few years ago, Justin Chiam wanted to pamper his expectant wife with some bird's nest. What he found on the market were brands that were vague in their contents, nutritional value, sources and processes of their products.

He saw a market in creating a range of ready to drink bird's nest products that would be transparent in its ingredients, source and production process. He roped in his ex-schoolmate Stuart Ho, and the two started The Purest Co.

"We felt that many brands were vague about the content of the core ingredients. Without this transparency, the prices across the market can vary quite widely and the consumer isn't able to make an informed choice," says Mr Ho.

The Purest Co is upfront about how much bird's nest there is in each bottle - nine grams or nearly two nests. "We decided early on that we would never use ingredients such as white fungus or seaweed that mimic the texture of bird's nest in our products," adds Mr Ho.

The firm doesn't own any birdhouses, and procures the bird's nests from farms in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The raw bird's nests are processed in Indonesia and Malaysia, before they are shipped to Singapore for cooking and bottling. They come in traditional flavours such as American ginseng, as well as modern ones such as collagen and pearl.

Mr Chiam says there is room for new brands to enter this established market.

"I think the difficulty, as for any new brand entering an industry that has been dominated by a few major players, is to convince potential customers that there can be products that are superior to what they are used to. Many customers have been purchasing bird's nest from our competitors for years, maybe even decades, so they are very comfortable going back to them."

He adds. "Over the past year and a half, while it has been challenging to convince customers of better alternatives, there have also been many customers who have given The Purest Co a shot. We're happy to say that the vast majority have enjoyed our bird's nest products tremendously, and have now become our loyal supporters."

That in the last 18 months, the company has sold 40,000 bottles of bird's nest, each priced from S$69.99, is a testament to that.