Singaporean brands have been making waves in bringing the unique practices and culture of the region to the world. Batik fashion, Nanyang tea, and heritage designs have found their way to galleries at Milan Design Week, cultural fairs in London, and everybody's Instagram feeds.
This National Day, we spotlight local brands that have made a difference: more sustainable practices, working with the community, or making bespoke dreams come true. From skin and body care to fashion and food, these brands, and the artisans behind them, are the next to hit Singapore’s diverse shopping scene.
For more of the best of Singapore, see what we've got to say about the Michelin Guide Singapore this year!
Baju by Oniatta – Transforming Batik Fashion From Singapore To Southeast Asia
Singapore-based batik designer Baju by Oniatta was founded by Oniatta Effendi, who found herself inspired by the traditional wear of the Malay world after a trip to Indonesia. Working with regional craftsmen and skilled independent artisans, Oniatta pays homage to heritage wear while keeping the traditions of batik-making alive and thriving today.
The brand is hosted at Galeri Tokokita, Baju by Oniatta’s first permanent location and a space for batik workshops and showcases. Every year sees a new collection launched: 2025’s has not been announced yet, but we can look to 2024’s Naga collection (created with artisans from Central Java, with dragon motifs) and 2023’s Fertil collection (celebrating Eid and community) for inspiration. Baju by Oniatta frequently hosts batik events in Singapore and abroad, from frequent talks at the Malay Heritage Centre to pop-ups at Singapulah in London.
Batik is deeply personal, and Baju by Oniatta also offers bespoke batik pieces, available from signature designs or made from scratch through consultation with Oniatta herself. You can make shirts, jackets, dresses, or bridal outfits.
Baju by Oniatta is located at 757A North Bridge Road, Galeri Tokokita, Singapore 198725.
ANJALICHOCOLAT – Singapore-Based Luxury Handcrafted Chocolates
Leaving the banking industry to pursue her dream of making chocolate, Anjali Gupta moved to Singapore and established ANJALICHOCOLAT in 2014, drawing on her experience of culinary schools and patissiers worldwide. Beginning at Pasar Bella, ANJALICHOCOLAT found its permanent home at Loewen by Dempsey Hill in 2015, which includes a chocolate store and chocolate-making school.
Anjali has experimented widely with chocolate making, especially in the tricky climate that is Singapore’s: working with different ingredients, flavours, and techniques. The current catalogue of handmade chocolate flavours includes the Singapore Lah! collection, which gathers regional heritage flavours: lemongrass coconut, Singapore Sling, gula melaka, coffee cardamom, and more. Classic flavours include Bailey’s Caramel, delicate Lavender, and Mayan Chili.
ANJALICHOCOLAT also holds chocolate-making workshops for all experience levels: through expert guidance and hands-on activities, you’ll be able to get in touch with your inner chocolatier. Workshops are available for chocolate bon bon and truffle making, as well as customised chocolate bars at more advanced levels.
ANJALICHOCOLAT is located at 73 Loewen Road, Singapore 248843. You may also shop at the brand’s Tanglin Mall store, located at 163 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Mall, #02-153, Singapore 247933.
Image credit: studiokallang on Instagram
Studio Kallang – Quirky Furniture From A Singaporean Brand
Based between Singapore and Seattle, designer Faezah Shaharuddin started Studio Kallang in 2021 and quickly saw her pieces gain international popularity: they’ve even been featured at Milan Design Week. Shaharuddin, who grew up with her mother’s furniture studio Second Charm, has herself taken to furniture creation. Known for its warm wooden accents and unique shapes, Studio Kallang’s quirky furniture appeals to lovers of both form and practicality.
One of the studio’s most popular designs is the Onde series, named for the coconut dessert: the Onde Mirrors are framed with playful, bon bon-like spheres, and the Onde Table has a unique beaded look and two-toned colour scheme. The Biskut Table, while shaped like an oversized biscuit, has muted shades and a sophisticated smooth finish. All of Studio Kallang’s wooden furniture is handcrafted by artisans in Indonesia, with Shaharuddin noting that the designs are both sleek and playful: in an interview with L’Officiel in 2022, she states her belief in design being both commercially viable and interesting.
Studio Kallang is located at 21 Kallang Avenue, #02-165, Singapore 339412.
Decibelist – Singaporean Brand And Designer Of Artistic Speakers
Decibelist, founded by Singaporean designer Brian Ho, creates truly unique speakers that serve as decorative pieces: each piece is made to order and created in collaboration with local artists, architects, illustrators and more. These are bespoke items, meaning that no two pieces are made the same.
Each Decibelist speaker is created around an idea or concept: previous designs include brutalist architecture, indoor moss gardens, retro TVs and upcycled whisky boxes. The main challenge of the process is balancing design with function, as designs are made unique without compromising on the speaker’s sound quality. Parts are 3D-printed with ecologically conscious materials, so they turn out exactly how they do in the designer’s vision: meeting the customer’s preferences, spatial needs, and expectations of the perfect audio device.
The brand’s latest showcased creation was the Decibelist x FIN Art Speaker, created for Culture Cartel Genesis. It stitches three Japanese textile patterns, handpicked by FIN Art, onto Decibelist’s signature Art Frame speaker: a deceptively lightweight-looking device resembling a photo frame.
Contact Decibelist online to place an order.
Image credit: zerowsg on Instagram
ZeroW – Zero-Waste Rice And Tapioca Straws From A Singaporean Brand
If you’re fond of zero-waste measures but not fond of paper straws, Singaporean brand ZeroW has the solution for you. The brand manufactures straws from rice flour and tapioca, which are 100% biodegradable while providing the structural integrity you need for iced drinks or milkshakes.
In a testament to their versatility, ZeroW has made thicker straws for bubble tea and even mini straws for cocktails and mocktails. They’ve partnered with pilates studio Solas Reformative and the Green Bazaar at Marina Barrage, and hosted pop-ups at the Raffles Town Club and T.Cartel. Marketing aside, they’re also genuinely good straws: they last 2-3 hours in drinks (and up to 10 hours in various circumstances), do not alter the taste of your drink, have the soft shiny look of plastic straws, and biodegrade in just weeks.
Contact ZeroW online on the website.
Pek Sin Choon – Iconic Family-Run Tea Merchant In Chinatown Singapore
This tea shop in Chinatown, which turns exactly a hundred years old this year, has been run by four generations of the Peh family. Known for their unique Nanyang tea blends, Pek Sin Choon has promoted regional tea culture with the National Heritage Board, hosted heritage tours, and continues to sell loose-leaf tea the old-fashioned way.
The shop is currently run by Kenry Peh, grandson of founder Pek Kim Aw, who has fond memories of his grandfather instructing him in tea-tasting and preparation. Their signature Nanyang tea blends, which exist nowhere in China, are created uniquely from Chinese immigration to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Different cultivars are blended and re-fired to combine traits and tasting notes. The store’s first blend, the Wuyi Iron Arhat, was created in the 1930s with Wuyi Mountain Fir tea: blended and fired, it has a strong taste and rich minerality.
Much of the store is unchanged from the early days of its operation, even the pink wrapping paper used to package the tea leaves: this practice began in a post-World War II shortage of white paper and has remained since. The tea stand outside invites free tastings, and tea tins are recycled. Despite Pek Sin Choon’s heavy steeping in tradition, they have even branched out and supplied their unique tea blends to kombucha and bubble tea shops.
Pek Sin Choon is located at 36 Mosque Street, Singapore 059514.
Matchaya – Singaporean Matcha Stockists And Workshop Hosts
Long before matcha took over your Instagram feed, Matchaya was here as one of Singapore’s earliest matcha cafes and stockists. From the beginning in 2015, they’ve been pioneers in sourcing for and preparing small-batch, artisanal matchas, and introducing Japanese tea culture to Singapore.
Matchaya operates four cafes across Singapore, each serving tea-based drinks and desserts. True to its branding as a “progressive tea bar”, though, it goes a step further to invite casual tea drinkers into the art of matcha preparation. Its Matcha Appreciation and Wellness Workshop is a beginner-level workshop that introduces one to the different grades of matcha, whisking equipment, techniques such as measuring proportions of tea-to-water, and matcha beverage design. A Mobile Tea Bar, which can be set up at events or product launches, also serves tea beverages, desserts and signature soft serve.
Matchaya most recently collaborated with Japanese skincare and makeup brand Albion, creating an exclusive Matcha Barley Latte for Albion’s Paragon Mall pop-up. Owing to recent trends, the cafes have also recently launched fruit-based matcha drinks, like mango and passionfruit lattes.
Shop Matchaya online or at any of their four cafes islandwide.
Image source: vintagewknd on Instagram
Vintagewknd – Upcycled And Vintage Singaporean Clothing Brand
Vintagewknd was established in 2015 with a mission of reducing textile waste. Now a fixture of the trendy shopping street on Haji Lane, Vintagewknd was one of the first of its kind in Singapore: they offered upcycled bags, clothing, and pre-loved fashion before it was cool.
The brand started as a vintage clothing store hosted on local resale site Carousell before venturing into reworked items: its current signature patchwork trousers and dresses, clutch purses made from upcycled scarves, and most recently into corset tops. Vintagewknd has a woodsy, rustic vibe, but if you’re into streetwear you’ll prefer sister store SUPERWASTED, which opened on Haji Lane in 2022.
Vintagewknd most recently appeared at Boutiques Singapore, a fair for regional and sustainable brands, and the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics’ Trashion Show. For a good cause, there’s no better place to go shopping.
Vintagewknd is located at 41 Haji Lane, Singapore 189234.
Omno – Singaporean Brand For Premium Sustainable Body Care
Having just opened its flagship store in New Bahru last year, Omno is ready to take over the local body care scene. With its distinctive clean, earthy look and relaxing, spa-like experience, stepping into the Omno store is a treat for the senses. Omno has also partnered with gyms like Algorhythm, restaurants like Burnt Ends and Bar Milano, and the Raffles Hotel.
All of Omno’s body care products are vegan-friendly, paraben and silicone free, and have undergone no animal testing. Ingredients used are further certified by leading organisations like ECOcert, Nordic Swan and COSMO. The brand carries shampoos, cleansers, body oils, rollerball scents and even deodorant in their four signature scents: Solace, Moonatic, Odyssey and Gaea. All of them are soothingly herbal but not overwhelmingly medicinal: our favourite, Moonatic, is a subtle scent designed for relaxation.
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