A for Apothecary – Securing Market Access
Jingyi, Founder, A For Apothecary, with her 3 sons
In 2017, Jingyi’s 2-year-old son was afflicted with bad eczema. She tried a range of store-bought creams, but as her son’s skin was sensitive, these creams worsened his eczema, causing his skin to crack and bleed. Out of desperation, Jingyi applied raw organic coconut oil from her kitchen on his eczema and was amazed at the improvement. This led to the creation of her flagship product, Baby Balm (an eczema/ baby acne cream, which can also be used to sooth mild rashes, treat cradle cap, as a diaper barrier cream, and nipple balm cream) and the formation of A For Apothecary in 2018, a company developing a range of Baby & Mom skin care products. All products are suitable for sensitive skin, using natural and organic ingredients which are harvested in a cruelty-free, environmentally-sustainable manner.
Being a Singapore founder, Jingyi initially targeted just the Singapore market. However, Singapore’s low birth rates limited the sales of her products. As Jingyi wanted to help more mums gain access to her natural, steroid-free products, she knew she had to secure overseas markets. Jingyi registered A for Apothecary’s trademark both regionally and internationally. This will give A for Apothecary the confidence to enter into these new markets, as well as to prevent potential copycats from selling their products under her brand. She expects A for Apothecary to double its revenues in 2022, and continue to double each year for the next several years, as she expands further.
“We initially tried shipping our products overseas, however, international couriers were not very reliable, resulting in missing packages and disappointed customers. Many couriers do not transport liquid items and those that do tend to be more expensive. In some cases, the shipping cost was higher than the product, which was a huge deterrent for overseas customers. We have already received queries from customers in Malaysia and Australia, and I will be focusing on expanding in these countries in 2022 via distributors,” said Yang Jingyi, Founder A for Apothecary.
“I’m quite conservative, and initially I just focused on the Singapore market. As my target customer is niche, I knew I had to expand beyond Singapore’s shores. However, I hit a wall when I began exploring expansion opportunities. Getting the Market Readiness Assistance Grant was a blessing for small businesses like mine. I need to protect my trademark and strengthen my brand before I can expand. With help from That.Legal LLC, the application process was a breeze and has ensured that I’m not confined to just the local Singapore market. Moving forward, as the company grows, I will consider setting up overseas operations, in order to connect with my customers better.”
“They really understand the commercial heartbeat of our mother-and-baby skincare brand.
That.Legal made technical legal issues so much easier for us and helped us find the appropriate amount of IP protection within our budget to secure market access beyond our shores.”
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