“I want to build a brand with international appeal, something Singaporeans can feel proud to call their own.” – Ryan Foo, co-founder of DrinkAid
“During an internship, I realised I wasn’t cut out for a career in law,” says Ryan Foo, co-founder of DrinkAid, a local alcohol wellness brand. “It was a painful revelation, but better to realise it early than to be stuck in a career with no future for me.”
It was also during this period that he decided to pursue his passion for building an alcohol wellness community, one born from both founders’ shared recognition of the lack of solutions for the ‘Asian flush’, a condition marked by facial redness after alcohol consumption.
Together with his fellow Singapore Management University schoolmate, a certified nutritionist, Foo conceptualised DrinkAid in early 2020. Months of trial and error, and a collaboration with nutritionists, scientists, and pharmacologists led to the development of a custom formula designed to enhance the body’s alcohol detoxification process. Clinical testing validated the formula’s effectiveness, prompting the duo to apply to the Business Innovations Generator, a funding programme by their alma mater. Despite the unorthodox concept, they were accepted, leading to DrinkAid’s official launch in August the same year.
Since then, the brand has sold over 600,000 doses to health-conscious drinkers in Singapore and beyond, helping individuals break down acetaldehyde, the main by-product of alcohol that is responsible for flushing and hangovers.
“I want to build a brand with international appeal, something Singaporeans can feel proud to call their own. Sometimes, I feel like we’re too critical of anything that carries a local label, whether it’s our singers, actors, or creative culture. I want people to see that Singaporeans are capable of creating something world-class,” says Foo.
What has been your biggest professional risk?
I walked away from a clear legal career path, complete with a Singapore bar admission and a defined salary trajectory, to bootstrap DrinkAid straight out of university. That experience taught me that conviction isn’t bravado; it’s about placing a series of thoughtful ‘small bets’, measuring relentlessly, and iterating fast enough to reduce risk in real time. Calculated risk isn’t about courage. It’s about building a disciplined, repeatable decision-making system.
How has your definition of success evolved as you’ve grown?
I think many Singaporeans, myself included, grow up with a linear definition of success. The ideal often looks like settling down, securing a BTO, and landing a stable job at an MNC. But over time, I’ve come to realise that true success isn’t about job titles or meeting societal expectations. It’s about not waking up every Monday wishing to escape your own life.
What anchors you when you’re navigating uncertainty or failure?
Being an entrepreneur means rewiring your relationship with uncertainty and failure. With DrinkAid, I learnt that meticulous planning often falls short because no matter how thorough you are, there’s no way to predict every curveball. Over time, I’ve come to embrace failure—not as something to avoid, but as one of the most effective teachers.
How do you balance ambition with well-being and where do you draw the line?
I treat drive and downtime like complementary muscles—each grows only if the other gets time to recover. I go all in when the business demands it, but I’ve set non-negotiable guardrails: if I’m too drained to listen attentively or I’m missing out on moments with people who matter, that’s my cue to throttle back.
What belief did you hold early in your career that you’ve since outgrown?
I used to believe progress was a straight-line equation: the more hours you put in, the further you get. But over time, I’ve realised the real multiplier is shared talent and perspective. The deeper I go into entrepreneurship, the clearer it becomes that breakthroughs happen when diverse teammates feel safe challenging my ideas and when I give myself enough distance to spot the bigger patterns.
Photography by Eugene Lee of Enfinite / Hair & Makeup by Sophia Soh of Suburbs Studio
