Five years after launching as Butter with just two products, the Singapore athleisure brand Cheak opened its first flagship store at ION Orchard in October, marking the first local athleisure brand to debut at the luxury mall.
Tiffany Chng and Olivia Yiong opened Cheak’s first flagship store at ION Orchard on Oct. 24, marking a major milestone for the Singapore-based athleisure brand. The 900 square-foot boutique in Basement 3 is the first Singapore-founded athleisure brand to open at the luxury shopping destination, positioning Cheak alongside international competitors like Lululemon, Alo Yoga and Adidas in the same mall.
The opening coincided with the brand’s fifth anniversary and represents a significant evolution from its humble beginnings. Both founders, now 31, met in 2018 while working at GuavaPass, a fitness app that was later acquired by ClassPass. Yiong was laid off when GuavaPass was bought in 2019, followed by Chng losing her marketing job at ClassPass during the pandemic in 2020.
From severance pay to startup success
With no experience in fashion or entrepreneurship, the duo invested SGD20,000 (€13,200) to launch their brand in 2020. Half came from Yiong’s savings, the other half from Chng’s severance pay. They named the brand Butter and started product design in March 2020, finding suppliers in China before launching in October with just two products in two colors: a longline sports bra and leggings.
The COVID-19 lockdowns proved fortuitous for the fledgling brand. With everyone pushed online, Butter gained visibility through digital channels. The founders hosted an online workout in March 2021 that attracted about 500 participants, helping build community around the brand. Within its first year, Butter achieved SGD500,000 (€330,000) in revenue with only five products and projected 138 percent year-on-year growth.
Love, Bonito acquisition brings resources and rebrand
Southeast Asia’s leading womenswear brand Love, Bonito acquired Butter in October 2022, one year after raising USD80 million (€76 million) in Series C funding. The acquisition was part of Love, Bonito’s strategy to build a holistic female ecosystem addressing multiple aspects of women’s needs across Asia. Rachel Lim, co-founder of Love, Bonito, said she reached out to Chng and Yiong after recognizing their passion for serving the Asian women’s community in activewear. The acquisition allowed Butter to rebrand as Cheak – a play on the word “cheeky” reflecting both brands’ vibrant personas – while maintaining operational independence.
Following the acquisition, Cheak has remained a distinct brand with its own identity while leveraging Love, Bonito’s infrastructure, distribution network and retail presence across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Chng leads marketing and creative direction, while Yiong handles product design and operations.
Designing for Asian bodies and tropical climates
Cheak’s product philosophy centers on creating activewear specifically tailored for Asian women’s body proportions and Southeast Asia’s hot, humid climate. Yiong explained that Asian women have different bust shapes, smaller waists, slightly wider hips and shorter femurs compared to the body types that most international activewear brands design for.
The brand also addresses sizing differences, as Asian women tend to gain width rather than height as they increase in size. Additionally, Cheak designs incorporate features required by conservative Southeast Asian markets, such as padding in sports bras, which Chng noted is “non-negotiable” in Singapore.
The brand’s proprietary fabrics – BaseCore and BaseFlex – were developed to address these specific needs. BaseCore is sweat-wicking and compressive for high-intensity activities like HIIT, spinning and running, while BaseFlex offers an ultra-soft feel for low-intensity activities such as yoga, pilates and barre. Both fabrics are engineered to keep wearers cool in tropical climates.
Expanding beyond e-commerce
Cheak currently offers 12 styles including sports bras, leggings and biker shorts across seven sizes from XXS to XXL in 13 colors. Bestsellers include the Define Invisible Scrunch Shorts, which feature thoughtful details like hidden elastic bands and an invisible scrunch design that enhances natural shape. Prices range from SGD50 to SGD79 (€33 to €52), with socks starting at SGD20 (€13).
The ION Orchard flagship gives customers the opportunity to experience Cheak’s signature fabrics firsthand, something previously limited to small selections available at Love, Bonito’s outlets. The store aims to attract not just younger shoppers who make up the brand’s current core audience, but also tourists and an older demographic. “Every decision we make takes a lot of consideration in how we can scale Cheak meaningfully,” Yiong said about the expansion strategy.
The brand is also testing international markets with a pop-up at APW in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which opened in September and runs through March 2026. Future plans include a potential pop-up in the Philippines.
Overcoming challenges as young female founders
Building Cheak came with unique challenges for the young female founders, particularly in traditionally male-dominated investor and manufacturing spaces. Yiong recalled entering meetings and feeling immediately underestimated, with people assuming they didn’t understand the problem they were solving.
Both founders acknowledge that running a business demands different skills than corporate work. Chng, who recently had a baby, appreciates the flexible schedule and hybrid work setting but notes the stress that comes with entrepreneurship. “A lot of people glamorize what being a founder or starting your own business is,” Chng said. “You have to be able to give up everything – your time, your money, your brain power, your emotions into the business because if you don’t do it, no one else is going to.” Despite the challenges, both founders express satisfaction with their journey. “It takes a different kind of resilience to handle it, but at the same time, I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Chng added.
The ION Orchard flagship represents how far Cheak has come since launching as a side hustle five years ago. As Yiong noted, opening at Singapore’s premier retail destination means standing “alongside some of the biggest local and international brands” – a significant achievement for a brand that started with two products and SGD20,000 (€13,200) in capital.
About Cheak
Cheak (formerly Butter) is a Singapore-based athleisure brand founded in 2020 by Tiffany Chng and Olivia Yiong. The brand specializes in activewear designed specifically for Asian women’s body types and tropical climates. Cheak was acquired by Love, Bonito, Southeast Asia’s leading womenswear brand, in October 2022 and operates as an independent sister brand. Tiffany Chng is co-founder of Cheak and leads the brand’s marketing and creative direction. She previously worked at ClassPass and was a member of Singapore’s national Touch Rugby team at the 2011 World Cup. Olivia Yiong is co-founder of Cheak and oversees product design and operations. A former F45 trainer, she has experience in yoga, pilates and Muay Thai.
Love, Bonito is a Singapore-based womenswear brand founded in 2010 by Rachel Lim and sisters Velda and Viola Tan. The company operates 27 stores across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Love, Bonito raised USD80 million in Series C funding in October 2021. ION Orchard is a luxury shopping mall in Singapore located next to Orchard MRT station. Opened in 2009, it features over 300 retail, food and beverage, and lifestyle stores across eight levels with approximately 663,000 square feet of retail space.
