After facing challenges in his corporate law career, Elias Tiong and Hailee Chong discovered various bottled tea drinks during a trip to Japan. This experience led them to reflect on their health and caffeine dependency. In 2019, they launched Crafti, a bottled matcha business in Singapore, using premium ingredients to offer quality drinks reminiscent of café-style beverages. Initially starting as a side business, they eventually left their legal careers to focus on expanding their brand, highlighting their journey from risk-averse employees to full-time entrepreneurs.
After a year in corporate law, I realized it might not be my cup of tea. The law firm I was working at had offered newly qualified lawyers a monthlong break after a year of training. The break was timely. I had lost weight - not in a good way - and my acne had gotten worse.
While traveling through remote areas, I couldn't get coffee and struggled with severe migraines. I saw this as a wake-up call that I needed to live healthier and reduce my caffeine dependence.
We came across many bottled tea drinks at convenience stores in Japan. Unlike coffee, I found that there were so many different types of tea - from hojicha and matcha to genmaicha.
In 2019, we started a side business selling bottled matcha. We used premium ingredients like ceremonial-grade matcha and fresh milk, so the drinks tasted more like café-made drinks.
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