Back to the Roots (Part 2)
Last month, we looked at jewellery, and sports brands, as well as restaurants to find out more about their stories and origin. This February, in Part 2 of our Back to the Roots series, we have SW1 Clinic, who shares their strong drive behind their aesthetic services that goes beyond the superficial, and Supresso Coffee, who seeks to transcend the geographical boundaries through the language of coffee.
Two completely different brands, yet with similar aspirations – to surpass the boundaries in their respective worlds and empower customers with their products and services. Read on to discover the unique stories behind these two brands!
Q1. Share with us your brand’s history – what was the inspiration behind it?
Photo from SW1 Clinic
SW1 Clinic is located at Downtown Gallery, at #02-19/20
SW1 Clinic – Dr Low, Founder and Medical Director:
I’ve been in the aesthetics business since 2003, and in 2018, I started the SW1 brand. The name ‘SW1’ was inspired from my days as a student living in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in London. ‘SW1’ represents the culmination of my journey in the aesthetics business, symbolizing the evolution of my medical aesthetic vision over the last 14 years.
Photo from Supresso Coffee
Supresso Coffee is located at Mandarin Gallery, at #03-11
Supresso Coffee
Established in 2014, Supresso Coffee represents Indraco Group's creation to encapsulate and commemorate Indonesia's vast and unique culture through single-origin coffee and creative blends.
The name ‘Supresso’ was chosen as our group was founded on the island of Sumatra back in 1971. We wanted a brand name that symbolises the past yet represents what our collections encapsulate; hence our origin was the perfect starting point.
‘Supresso’ can actually be broken down into Su-presso, which is derived from Sumatra-espresso. We decided to keep ‘Su’ to pay homage to the region in which our company was founded, and as for ‘espresso’ – no explanation needed for that! Combined together comes the name that harkens to Indonesia, our past, and the world of coffee.
Q2. What was your mission at the start of your brand?
SW1 Clinic
Be your own rebel. Challenge expectations. Defy limitations. At SW1, our goal is to help people fulfil their potential by breaking definitions that limit them, and so these were the mantras that kept us going when we first started SW1, up till now.
SW1 isn’t just one of the most comprehensive aesthetics and plastic surgery clinic in Singapore. SW1 is the epitome of the movement to empower people to live amply, with greater vision and a finer spirit of hope and achievement. That’s why our team of medical experts don’t see themselves as aesthetic doctors and plastic surgeons; they see themselves as Dreamweavers, here to enrich the world and help people who walk through our doors to live without limits. Beyond aesthetics, we’re also trying to create a space to foster authentic beauty; a space that celebrates positive changes.
Supresso Coffee
Photo from Supresso Coffee
If you ask anyone about coffee in Indonesia, you’re likely to hear the same reply – Sumatran and Balinese coffee. Yet, the world of coffee in Indonesia goes far beyond these two regions; there is a whole area of lesser-known, equally unique coffee in the other regions. Therefore, we wanted to showcase the other lesser-known coffee regions in Indonesia, surpassing boundaries through the world of coffee and bringing different regions together in a single cup.
Q3. How has the brand’s journey been like?
Photo from SW1 Clinic
SW1 Clinic
SW1 Clinic started off with an 8000-square-feet aesthetic centre in the heart of Orchard Road – it is one of the largest aesthetic, plastic surgery & medical spa establishments in Singapore. When we decided to open our second branch at Downtown Gallery, we knew it was the perfect continuation of the SW1 story, providing quick beauty fixes for the busy executives in the CBD area.
Photo from Supresso Coffee
Supresso Coffee
We first started out with just Indonesian single-origin coffee in various forms – coffee beans, grounded, drip coffee and capsule forms. As we started to grow, we decided to open our very own café to showcase the different possible creations with our coffee beans and spread our love for coffee around. As of today, we have additional boutiques in Indonesia, Bali and Singapore.
Q4. What were some of the challenges faced, and how have you overcome them?
Photo from SW1 Clinic
SW1 Clinic
The pandemic has been an catalyst for change as we all had to adapt the way we do things. Our overseas patients couldn’t get to us, and we were forced to limit the numbers of our patients in the clinic to abide by the safe distancing measures. However, ironically it has indeed helped to foster deeper team dynamics amongst us all, despite the situation trying its best to keep us apart.
Most importantly, the pandemic inspired our team to think out of the box and innovate. Since its onset, we have introduced new and exciting technologies to drive our aesthetic services, such as our SylfirmX treatment
Photo from Supresso Coffee
Supresso Coffee
A struggle that we had at the start was to showcase our brand identity while communicating the inspiration behind our brand. We wanted to find a way to marry both travelling and exploring around Indonesia to the coffee experience in our boutique.
Q5. What exciting plans do you have in store for our shoppers in 2022?
SW1 Clinic
We do have a few new treatments and products in the pipleline for this year. Anti-aging on the molecular level is among the top of our list for new skincare launches. We also have an exciting news coming up; we don’t want to reveal too much for now, but here’s a sneak peek – we may have just discovered the perfect way to help you look younger, without undergoing surgery! Stay tuned to us to find out more.
Supresso Coffee
The world of coffee is endless and full of possibilities, and we are constantly seeking to encapsulate that in our blends in the best possible manner. This year, we will be releasing new coffee variants and blends that will suit all kinds of preferences, so keep a close eye on us!
