I love to eat, but there are times when my stomach bears the consequences, leaving me bloated and constipated.
While I might spare you the details of my gut issues (at least for now), I can assure you that I’m not the only person who deals with this.
In fact, it was these very experiences that pushed Christian Eviston-Putsch, Shu Wen Sew and Shermaine Heng to launch Curated Culture, a homegrown health and wellness brand that focuses on producing “functional teas” containing probiotics.
How it all started
Each founder’s journey into wellness was influenced by their personal health experiences or stories shared by loved ones, all of which played a role in shaping the brand.
For Christian, the CEO of Curated Culture, his interest in health and biohacking began when a sudden lung infection that had him on an extended course of antibiotics led him to dive into gut health.
While antibiotics remained essential to his recovery, they would “wreak havoc” on his gut microbiome, leading him to become “obsessed” with probiotics and the science of fermentation. “What started as a personal healing journey turned into a full-blown passion,” he stated.
Determined to turn that passion into something tangible, Christian began exploring the idea of making probiotics more accessible to the mainstream market.
While pursuing his Master’s at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in March 2021, he reached out to food science professors for guidance.
That outreach led him to Shermaine and Shu Wen—trained food scientists who would go on to become Curated Culture’s COO and CTO, respectively. After just two calls, the trio decided to build a probiotic drink brand together, but what clicked for the two ladies?
Shermaine shared that she and her family regularly consume probiotic drinks, but as many of them are diabetic, and most of their choices are severely limited—they’re either “sugar-laden, artificial tasting or not effective enough.”
“I wasn’t willing to compromise on flavour for the sake of health benefits, and I believed that a great-tasting, functional probiotic drink shouldn’t be hard to find,” she added.
Shu Wen echoed the same sentiment and emphasised that gut health is often overlooked, despite it playing a crucial role in our overall well-being. With a common goal, the trio went on to materialise their goal of providing probiotic drinks that aim to be effective and tasty.
Overcoming sceptics
To test the waters, the founders entered the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP) and, took a leap of faith to launch a presale during Christmas.
They were able to gather feedback and gauge consumer interest, which helped improve their products. Encouraged by the initial traction, the team held another presale for the Chinese New Year in 2022.
The sale saw an increased demand, spurring them to invest S$10,000 out of their own pockets to take a huge gamble by running their first production.
But how are Curated Culture’s beverages different from the many gut-friendly drinks already on the market? And more importantly, do they even work?
The health food industry has earned a bad rep for vague ingredient lists and lofty promises, which has often led to disappointment and skepticism among consumers. But Curated Culture aims to challenge that narrative.
“We ensure that the probiotics in our drinks remain effective over time,” explained Shu Wen, adding that the brand conducts “sampling and taste-testing” rounds to gather feedback and refine its formulations to meet consumer preferences.
Initially, Curated Culture found success with health enthusiasts, but the founders quickly realised that they could tap into the mainstream crowd beyond that niche—including everyday consumers who weren’t the biggest health junkies but stood to benefit “the most” from improved gut health.
“Our goal was simple: make it easy for anyone to take their first step toward a healthier life, without requiring drastic changes to their diet or routine,” stated Shermaine. “Over time, even the sceptics started embracing our products, realising that improving gut health didn’t have to be complicated or intimidating.”
This pivot turned out to be the right move, allowing Curated Culture to successfully close its first investment round. The company has also acquired angel funding and is currently raising seed funds to scale its operations.
Transitioning to retail
Curated Culture first began by selling its probiotic drinks through its own website, but since then, it has expanded its revenue streams to include other e-commerce platforms, such as Shopee, Lazada, RedMart, and TikTok Shop. According to Christian, this has enabled the company to fulfil over 10,000 orders and achieve a 20% month-on-month growth since launch.
Its drinks are now also sold at more than 50 stores across Singapore, including Australian restaurant chain Guzman y Gomez in Singapore as well as supermarket grocers Cold Storage and Little Farms, in a bid to become more accessible to a wider audience.
But navigating the retail industry was a new game for the trio—one that they had to learn the rules quickly. “From negotiating listings to understanding sales cycles, it was a steep learning curve,” added Christian.
Determined to grow in a competitive space, the founders took a hands-on approach, often spending hours setting up in-store displays and building relationships with store managers themselves.
However, ensuring that their drinks were being sold wasn’t the only challenge. Shermaine shared that while they sold out at one point, their drinks weren’t being reordered by the retailers.
She explained that it’s the brand’s responsibility to ensure that shelves are stocked and that it has to maintain regular communication with retailers to ensure continuity. Adding to the challenge was the frequent turnover of category managers, which meant that the brand had to rebuild relationships with them.
“Despite these hurdles, the process helped us gain invaluable insights into retail operations and consumer behaviour,” said Shermaine.
Their continuous efforts have seem to paid off—Curated Culture has managed to build a loyal customer base, with a repeat customer rate of 40%. These milestones have also opened the doors to many brand collaborations, including Lululemon, Google, and Marina Bay Sands.
Aside from catering to the audience in Singapore, the company has also expanded into the Malaysian market and plans to further strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia.
Outside of Asia, they are also working to enter the American market, but with tariff discussions ongoing, the company is taking the time to plan its market strategy.
“By the time we ship stock over, we expect the tariff discussions to have settled. And in the long term, we plan to produce in the US,” added Christian.
Nevertheless, it seems that Curated Culture is not deterred by the impending challenges ahead, and emphasised its commitment to establish itself as the “premier health and wellness beverage brand” in the region and beyond.
Featured Image Credit: Curated Culture
