A fresh take on traditional medicated oil

MEDICATED oil has been given a modern spin with scents such as magnolia or bergamot and lime, as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manufacturer Tai Tong Ah Company seeks to reach younger customers.

The company is known for its Double Prawn Brand Herbal Oil, produced since the 1950s. But a few years ago, they sought to create a “trendy and modern” product – and found a like-minded partner in homegrown fragrance manufacturer Senses International.

The collaboration resulted in YnL, a range of botanic aromatherapy medicated oils.

Short for “Yuanlin” – meaning “origin of forests” in Mandarin – the range comprises four fragrance profiles: “fresh”, with bergamot and lime; “energy”, a sea spray scent; “calm”, a magnolia fragrance; and “lush”, containing patchouli and cedarwood.

“We combined our experience in traditional medicine, modern manufacturing methods, and quality control with the fragrance expertise of Senses,” said Karol Tong, general manager at Tai Tong Ah.

When old meets new

Established in 2009, Senses supplies fragrances that are used in the manufacturing of products such as shampoo and household cleaners.

When Covid-19 hit in 2020, the Senses team was unable to travel and meet potential clients overseas. With more time for their own research and development, they sought to come up with an innovative product – and landed on the idea of combining their fragrances with medicated oil.

“We thought we could potentially incorporate aromatherapy into very traditional products, to actually modernise them,” said Jayden Ang, director of business development.

Around this time, Tai Tong Ah was looking to develop a product for the younger generation, said Tong: “Something they can use to uplift their mood, relieve stress, and combat fatigue.”

As Tong put it, “the stars aligned”. Both companies approached Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) separately and were then connected.

Ang added that both companies shared a common goal of taking the product overseas: “Both of our companies want to fly the Singapore flag high.”

In the product development stage, Senses supported in the “creative” aspect: coming up with fragrances and ensuring that the scents blended in with the medical oil base.

It was a challenge to combine essential oils with a medicated oil, without taking away the latter’s traditional scent note, said Ang: “Because if you take away (this smell), the company will really lose its essence.”

The YnL product formulations also had to be tweaked to meet the different regulatory requirements of overseas markets. Each time this happened, the fragrance formulation had to be altered as well, with the entire process being “very complex”, added Ang.

After finalising the formulations, Tai Tong Ah now manufactures and distributes the product range.

Getting help to go further

Playing matchmaker is not the only support provided by EnterpriseSG. Its Centre of Innovation for Complementary Health Products helped to perform technical analysis on the YnL products.

This is important if companies want to take their products overseas, said Tong: “Data from such analyses is needed to fulfil the regulatory requirements to enter these markets.”

EnterpriseSG’s Centres of Innovation were set up in partnership with selected polytechnics and research institutes to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop and test projects. There are 11 such centres, each specialising in a different industry.

The product range was launched on YnL’s e-commerce site in December 2021. Since then, it has been made available on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada, and is carried by physical drugstores, healthcare chain Watsons, and Singapore outlets of Chinese department store chain Yue Hwa Chinese Products.

Tai Tong Ah is exploring overseas markets for YnL, such as Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Phillippines, and Qatar, added Tong.

To help with branding and marketing, an external consultant was brought in, with funding from EnterpriseSG. Since YnL targets a younger demographic, Tai Tong Ah uses digital marketing platforms such as Instagram to reach them, and has also sponsored university events to create visibility for the brand.

“So far, we have been receiving positive feedback about the product in terms of quality, design appearance, and efficacy,” said Tong.

There are plans to expand the YnL range, added Ang: “You cannot have one favourite that everybody likes, you need to cater to a group of different clients.”

Two more fragrances will be released by the fourth quarter of this year: “summer”, a vibrant fragrance based on berries, and “classic”, a nostalgic combination of Swiss herbs.

Tong also hopes to experiment with other product types in the YnL line, such as medicated balms or gels.