By SGN | 18 Mar 2026
After ten years in a corporate career in some of London’s most fast-paced offices, Singaporean Lin Loke decided it was time to put her energy into something she was truly passionate about: health and wellness.
Born from a need to reconcile demanding modern lives without compromising long-term health was Nuwa, a natural supplement brand inspired by her Singaporean heritage.
Blending Eastern and Western healing systems
Growing up in Singapore gave Lin a unique perspective on health and wellness.
“In the event of a flu or a sore throat, most people’s instincts are to reach for a quick, chemical fix,” she says. “However, mine is to make a hot beverage comprising ginger, lemon, and honey, or to consume pei pa gao (herbal remedy).”
Lin’s choices are not accidental. Her grandparents were her first introduction to Asian wellness and healing. In more ways than one, they were health influencers long before the concept existed.
“They’re classic Blue Zone centenarians who eat a clean, balanced diet with no processed foods, engage in community activities, and volunteer,” she shares. “They also meditate five times a day.”
While her schedule does not allow her to meditate five times a day, she does heed their advice of not consuming iced water or processed snacks, and of going to bed early.
Lin’s family’s lifestyles exist within a wider ecosystem of Singapore’s approach to health, wellness, and medicine.
“Singapore respects traditional medicine, but also invests heavily in modern, world-class scientific research facilities,” she reflects. “Asian wellness emphasises preventative care, and visiting a practitioner long before you fall ill.”
These inherited wellness principles form the basis of Nuwa, the wellness brand Lin would go on to create later in life.
Building a new life in London
At 19, Lin decided to move to London, a starry-eyed teenager inspired by her friends who were leaving Singapore to study overseas.
Just like any youth leaving familiar worlds behind for the first time, she found the transition of moving to London difficult to navigate. “I was fresh-off-the-boat, immature, and very homesick,” she admits.
Eventually, she found a rhythm she could settle into, as well as like-minded people she found community in.
“I took up opportunities where I could grow as a person, and accumulate business skills that would go on to benefit me in life, especially as a business owner.” Her Singaporean community of friends, particularly those from Singapore Global Network’s UK association, were a solid pillar of support in her journey.
Besides work, Lin also pursued interests that enriched her life.
“Alongside my corporate work, I studied graphic design, mentored students, and did freelance photography for a decade,” she shares.
Lin began her career at the engineering firm Arup in the mergers and acquisitions team, supporting infrastructure investors through due diligence and transaction advisory for the acquisition and divestment of airports, public roads, shipping ports, and energy-production facilities.
Two years later, she migrated to Arup’s global digital transformation team, where she worked with company executives to design and execute digital transformation programmes that would support the company’s 16,000 employees.
Her work took her to Sydney, Berlin, Toronto, Hong Kong and Singapore, and beyond.
She then took up an opportunity with venture capital firm, Wilbe, where her responsibilities consisted of supporting early-stage startups with scaling up and fundraising.
Soon after, she decided to enter management consulting to gain a broader perspective of various industries, and solve some of the world’s most challenging business problems.
But after having spent over a decade across different corporate offices in London, Lin began to experience a sense of ennui. Across her roles in B2B, tech, digital media, consulting, corporate, and more, she was ready to start something she truly cared about.
Finding meaning in a new life direction
The idea for Nuwa came about during Lin’s time as a management consultant.
Working at the pace demanded by top-tier consulting gave her a close-up view of how modern work strains even the most capable performers.
“While I loved the work, I was clocking in 20-hour workdays and travelling to new countries weekly to meet clients” she reveals. “The schedule left little time to rest or recover. I started to experience a lot of brain fog, especially under stress or fatigue.”
After years of observing high-performance work cultures up close, she came to a clear conclusion: health isn’t a trade-off for success, but a prerequisite for it.
In modern work environments where one is often required to push through to prioritise delivery, she realised that ambition requires placing an even greater priority on caring for the mind and body.
As she considered how to sustain high performance while navigating long hours and demanding workdays, she recalled her grandparents’ advice.
“When I returned to Singapore during the holidays, my family re-introduced me to functional mushrooms like Reishi mushrooms and natural ingredients like ginseng and ginkgo,” she says.
The effects were immediate. Shortly after consuming them, she noticed a marked improvement in her ability to sustain focus and energy under high pressure environments.
Hoping to continue this positive momentum back in London, she shopped around for supplements, but quickly discovered that they fell short of her expectations.
“Most supplements available in London supermarkets contain nasty synthetic fillers like binding agents, chemicals, and artificial sweeteners. I didn’t want to consume anything that contained these synthetic substances,” she says.
Another shortcoming of locally available supplements in London was the packaging.
Each supplement being packed separately in bottles meant that Lin had to purchase multiple at a go, and test them to see which combinations worked best.
The final flaw of commercially available supplements was that they simply did not offer Lin the high-strength support she was looking for.
“There were so many people like me in corporate London, who were also struggling with these incredibly hectic lifestyles,” she comments. “They would benefit greatly from adaptogens and nootropics, especially when they need extra support staying focused or managing stress.”
Nuwa is born
After growing disappointed with the existing supplement offerings in London, Lin decided she was going to take matters into her own hands with Nuwa, a brand aptly named after the Chinese mythological goddess of creation and repair.
“Nuwa is inspired by my cultural heritage of growing up with Asian wellness traditions and natural ingredients,” she says.
Nuwa’s flagship product, a supplement stack titled Nuwa Productivity, is a pre-packaged solution of four capsules combined into a daily pack, containing vitamin B, magnesium, and a blend of extracts from ginseng, reishi mushroom, gingko biloba, and lion’s mane mushroom.
These adaptogens and nootropics are designed to provide the ultimate support for stress relief, energy, and focus, and are loosely based on the same combination of ingredients that Lin relied on to get her through challenging workdays.
Formulated in collaboration with a leading UK biochemist with over twenty-five years of experience in supplements, Nuwa Productivity has received rave reviews and has become a cornerstone of many people’s daily routines: from working professionals to busy parents, and those managing hormonal symptoms.
Grappling with the realities of being a founder
Getting her business incorporated was the least of her hassles, thanks to the UK’s straightforward laws.
“The real challenges come once the business has been launched,” Lin chuckles.
Starting a new direct-to-consumer business from scratch would be a completely different ballgame for Lin, who was used to working with big teams, hefty corporate budgets, and virtually unlimited resources. This time, she would be entirely relying on her own savings.
“A monthly paycheck comes with some modicum of stability, health insurance, and perks like corporate lunches. But now, I no longer have the insurance, or the steady monthly paychecks.”
At the start of her journey, Lin also encountered discouragement from many. “Most people around you will discourage you from daring to do something new,” she says. “They will show up as critics and naysayers.”
Despite the negative feelings and opinions, she had no shortage of supporters. From lending hands-on executional support to providing emotional guidance, her band of well-wishers have rallied around her in the most unexpected ways.
“When you’re tackling something new, it’s important to have mentors and sponsors – people who want you to succeed, and can create opportunities and connections,” she mentions.
She quickly found a group of students from her alma mater, University College London, who joined her to become her very first interns.
“They have helped me with research, event execution, and have gone as far as to coordinate with my suppliers,” she shares. “Mentoring and coaching them have been equally as rewarding as running the business.”
Verbal support mattered as much as material. “From encouraging DMs from people I’ve never met who discovered us on Instagram, to people giving me a quick ring to check in on me, every encouraging message matters,” she beams.
Introducing Nuwa to the world
Lin dreams of bringing Nuwa to her native Singapore, and eventually the rest of the world.
“I’ve received a lot of interest from Singaporean customers,” she shares. “People from
America, Europe, and even the Middle East, where there is a growing demand for natural Asian-inspired products, are keen to know more about Nuwa.”
Lin believes there is a growing need for more sustainable, preventative approaches to wellbeing in modern life. Her experiences have shown her that ancient wisdom is keenly applicable to modern lives, and can be leveraged to manage demanding lifestyles.
“In a world filled with quick fixes, Nuwa is all about simplifying one’s lifestyle and routine, and going back to the ancient wisdom found in ingredients passed down through generations.”
About Lin
Lin Loke is the founder of Nuwa Wellness, a UK-based Asian wellness brand that draws on ancestral wisdom to support modern-day wellbeing.
Connect with her here.
