Trendy Hippi is betting on freeze dried espresso to face out

Trendy Hippi recognized a key alternative in prompt espresso

Most of us want a caffeine enhance each morning to begin the day—and in Singapore, there’s no scarcity of choices. The market is crowded with each worldwide chains and homegrown espresso startups, making it a extremely aggressive and fast-growing trade.

Nevertheless, Deepak Menon believed that the trade had overcomplicated the straightforward consuming expertise and that prompt choices have been of decrease high quality.

“I felt like a easy espresso had turn into extraordinarily difficult with the principles. Even if you wish to have an honest cup of espresso, it’s loads of costly machines and methods,” he added. 

Decided to create an answer that’s each handy and brings cafe-quality espresso to the plenty, Deepak teamed up with Jae Tan, pooling S$150,000 of their financial savings to begin Trendy Hippi in Dec 2023. 

The pair additionally obtained further funding from Anna Lysenko, Deepak’s spouse, who finally grew to become the enterprise’s CEO. Vulcan Publish spoke with Deepak and Anna to find out how Trendy Hippi differentiates itself in Singapore’s crowded espresso scene and past.

Making a fuss-free, cafe-quality espresso  

Other than deciding on and roasting espresso beans, Trendy Hippi makes use of freeze-drying to create its espresso granules, by which concentrated brews endure fast freezing and drying to type crystallised espresso granules. Doing so not solely preserves the aroma of the unique espresso beans but additionally permits prospects to brew their espresso with both sizzling or chilly water.

“Immediate espresso was one area the place we felt a severe hole within the present course of, which was loads of low-quality beans used with heavy chemical substances and preservatives. So we felt that we wanted to convey a high-quality product right here that can mix the liberty of getting espresso however is just not restricted by the principles of high-priced methods and machines,” added Deepak.

Whereas a number of espresso manufacturers have since mixed tech improvements and launched their very own espresso experiments, Trendy Hippi goals to make consumption less complicated with out compromising high quality—in different phrases, providing the comfort of prompt espresso with the cafe-level high quality by freeze-drying. 

“We don’t must rediscover [coffee]. We have to simply ship one of the best product, and the remaining will likely be taken care of by the neighborhood,” defined Deepak. 

To determine high quality in its espresso choices, the enterprise sources its beans from identified farms in a number of nations, together with Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The beans are processed and manufactured in two factories in Shandong, China, and Vietnam earlier than being shipped to Singapore.

Deepak shared that they devoted six to eight months of R&D, with quite a few rounds of style checks earlier than launching their merchandise in Could 2024, and Anna jokingly mentioned she bought sick of the beverage. “It’s probably the most espresso I’ve ever drunk in my life,” she shared with amusing. 

Navigating management & infrastructure adjustments

In Oct 2024, Jae selected to step down from the enterprise to spend extra time along with his household and pursue different enterprise endeavours. He formally handed over the operations to Anna, who took over as CEO. 

Nevertheless, Anna understood that the position carried a heavy quantity of accountability and had her reservations. “Trying on the potential of the corporate, I used to be fairly intimidated,” she candidly revealed. 

“It might be a deceive say that I jumped in and mentioned ‘oh my god, it’s a superb alternative!’ and I am going with it. Completely not.”

However the supply got here in at a time when the enterprise was evolving shortly, which prompted Anna to leap in regardless of her preliminary reservations. She leveraged her previous expertise in human useful resource administration throughout companies worldwide, in addition to her personal natural merchandise model, Acutely aware Residing, to ascertain SOPs that streamlined operations. 

“If issues keep advert hoc, you won’t be able to develop the corporate,” emphasised Anna. 

It made a S$500K income in 2025

The dedication to getting the product and inner processes straight paved the way in which for the enterprise to develop. At the moment, Trendy Hippi has expanded past its e-commerce platform, promoting its merchandise on Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Store. 

The startup has additionally diversified its income streams to brick-and-mortar and B2B. It has participated in pop-ups, shopper markets, and expos to ascertain its offline presence, which led to a partnership alternative with Dubai-based on-line beverage market PerCup. 

Initially, Deepak shared that Trendy Hippi focused gym-goers as its core viewers, as they typically wanted a fast caffeine repair that may very well be simply blended into chilly water or protein shakes.

By eradicating the necessity for warm water or brewing gear, the model positioned itself as a handy possibility for these seeking to get pleasure from espresso seamlessly throughout exercises, resulting in partnerships with health institutions comparable to REVL for pop-ups.

Whereas Trendy Hippi initially discovered traction amongst gym-goers, its emphasis on simplicity and comfort quickly resonated with a wider viewers, together with professionals looking for an environment friendly espresso answer and older shoppers looking for high quality espresso with out the effort of machines or difficult brewing rituals.

“The variety of subscriptions began rising, and the enterprise began rising fairly closely,” added Deepak. 

That mentioned, Anna revealed that the enterprise has additionally gained its justifiable share of sceptics, who’re fast to dismiss it as simply one other prompt espresso model. In response, the group launched starter packs priced at S$9.90 and S$10.90 (for the blended starter pack) for six pods. 

“It turns into a simple purchase,” she mentioned. “The bulk are very stunned and adore it, after which they purchase 24 pods and even go for subscriptions.” 

Since releasing its merchandise in Could 2024, Trendy Hippi’s freeze-dried espresso is now offered at 14 Chilly Storage retailers in Singapore, too, and provided to native cafes, pubs, places of work, and academic establishments. 

As a bootstrapped enterprise, these methods have enabled the corporate to generate half 1,000,000 in annual income in 2025. Anna and Deepak additionally shared ambitions for the enterprise to earn double that determine this yr.

Rising past Singapore

In addition to establishing itself in Singapore, Trendy Hippi has began testing its merchandise in abroad markets. Early promoting campaigns within the US have indicated sturdy shopper curiosity, which the model is utilizing to validate demand relatively than rush into full-scale enlargement. 

Going world additionally meant that Anna and Deepak wanted to rethink their sustainability methods. At present, Trendy Hippi has a pod return initiative that features a reward factors system to incentivise recycling.

Nevertheless, replicating that system abroad proved logistically difficult. Thus, the group has determined to revamp its packaging utilizing regionally recyclable supplies, making certain that the model’s environmental commitments stay sensible and scalable. 

Regardless of the challenges, Deepak shared that prospects can count on to see the choice packaging inside the subsequent couple of months and reiterated that, as a bootstrapped enterprise, it’s extra vital to make sure it may possibly develop by itself earlier than taking in any exterior funding and increasing internationally. 

“Right here, we’re extraordinarily cautious as a result of it’s our firm, it’s our cash,” emphasised Deepak. “We wish to make it possible for our cash must be correctly managed, in order that any exterior investor can trust that this can be a self-sustaining firm.” 

• Be taught extra about Trendy Hippi right here.
• Learn extra tales we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: Trendy Hippi