5 Brands You Did Not Know Were Singaporean

OATSIDE and TWG: the two that confuse everyone

OATSIDE puts katakana on the carton and comic-strip art down the side, so most people file it as Japanese. It is a Singapore-founded oat milk brand with its plant in Indonesia. The plain Barista Blend is the one worth buying, the chocolate and chocolate hazelnut ones are closer to a drink than a milk.

TWG Tea stamps 1837 on the packaging, which is a reference to the year Singapore became a trading post for tea and other goods, not the year the company was founded. TWG itself is a Singapore company, and it opened in 2008. The 1837 Black Tea is their most-ordered blend and the one to start on.

This is a recurring trick in Singapore branding: European or Japanese cues on a homegrown product, because the category signals quality that way.

OSIM, AFTERSHOCK and Gardenia

OSIM is the massage chair company in every mall in Singapore, and it is Singaporean. Everybody has sat in one for four minutes in a showroom pretending to consider buying it.

AFTERSHOCK PC builds custom gaming PCs and laptops out of Singapore. If you have priced a build here, you have been on their configurator.

Gardenia is the bread. The one in every kitchen, in every school lunchbox, with the packaging you would recognise from across a supermarket aisle. It is produced in Singapore under licence, which is why it feels like a local institution rather than an import.

For more on the homegrown-brand thread, our mama shop snacks piece is the nostalgia version of the same idea.

FAQs

Is OATSIDE a Singapore brand?

Yes. OATSIDE is a Singapore-founded oat milk brand, with its production plant in Indonesia. The Japanese lettering on the carton is a design choice, not an origin.

Why does TWG Tea say 1837?

1837 refers to the year Singapore became a trading post for tea and other goods. TWG Tea the company was founded in 2008 and is Singaporean.

Is OSIM Singaporean?

Yes. OSIM, the massage chair brand found in malls across the island, is a Singapore company.