She can, He can is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase Singaporean men who are working in female-dominated jobs and their empowering personal journey in overcoming stereotypes.

"When we sent out the first few versions [of our lactation products] to the mummies, the top complaint is, 'Hey my husband finished it before I did'."

"They (the husbands) finished it [and] they asked for more," co-founder David Ho proudly tell us.

This led the 34-year-old entrepreneur, alongside his fellow co-founder Lee Chee Leong, to realise that their lactation products are not exclusively for nursing mothers but "a family product".  

The two guys set up their company 2nutguys, which offers lactation food products such as nut butter spread and roasted nut-based milk, as a home-based business back in August 2021. 

Things have come a long way for David and Chee Leong after they scaled up to a central kitchen located in Kovan and spent half their investment on the necessary equipment. 

Taking the time out of their busy schedules to speak to AsiaOne, the pair explains what makes their signature almond nut butter simply irresistible to both gals and guys.

38-year-old Chee Leong reveals that "to bring out the best flavours and good ingredients" of almonds, he and David had to learn the optimal cooking temperature and timing in their thorough research and development process.

That and an emphasis on their business philosophy of selling only freshly-produced products means that customers know that there are "no preservatives, MSG or colouring" in their wares. 

The result, a nut butter that's not only delicious, but also nutritious.

How 2nutguys started

While 2nutguys products have evolved into something for the whole family, David and Chee Leong started out focusing solely on catering to nursing mothers in the beginning.

The two entrepreneurs - who connected via Linkedin - were surrounded by female family members or friends who had just delivered but were facing challenges producing breast milk.

For Chee Leong, he knows about it all too well having faced the problem together with his wife when their first-born was born in 2018. This left him feeling "helpless and useless" until he met David and decided to start a business venture.

David, on the other hand, recognised the gap in the market when he stumbled on a friend who gave up nursing her baby after suffering from similar difficulties.

But beyond solving a problem, the two business partners also started 2nutguys as a way to help create "a memorable journey for nursing mummies".

They are fully aware that the breastfeeding period is "precious" and it "creates a very special bond between the mummies and the little ones". 

Armed with their pure intentions and determination, Chee Leong and David set out to create a winning product formula.

Creating a winning formula 

While some might consider being male a disadvantage being in this female-oriented industry, the pair clearly didn't share in the opinion.

In fact, on the contrary, it helped that they were guys with no prior knowledge since they didn't have "presumptions of how breastfeeding should be".

"We go in with an empty mind just like a blank piece of paper," says Chee Leong matter-of-factly. 

To build their knowledge, the pair confesses to "Googling and YouTubing a lot" at the start. 

It is then that David stumbled on the nutrition fact that nuts are a "superfood" rich in galactagogue - a substance that help boost milk production. Coincidentally, Chee Leong was also roasting his own nuts at home.

At the same time, the two co-founders started to interview their main target audience of nursing mothers to find out what were their most pressing needs and desires when it came to lactation food products.

From there, they gathered a community of nursing mothers on a chat group in which they sought feedback on every updated version of their nut butters and roasted nut milk before launch.

So in a way, Chee Leong shares with us that most 2nutguys products are actually "co-created together with the mummies".

Chee Leong and David's efforts to involve the nursing mothers have clearly not gone unappreciated.

They tell us that even to this day, their "super supportive" customer base of nursing mothers are still helping them to test their products and is one of the reasons that helped them "get to where they are now."

Greatest emotional milestone 

When pressed on 2nutguys' greatest milestone to date, the pair pauses for a moment before highlighting a particular customer.

Chee Leong explains that a pregnant mother got in contact with him about a year ago, hoping to order a large number of their wildly-popular roasted almond milk. Unfortunately, the nut-based milk was sold out for the next four to five weeks.

Curious, he asked the customer the reason behind the big order and learnt that her doctor had advised her to "consume food with good fats" as her baby was severely underweight. 

Touched by the customer's story, Chee Leong and David decided to work overtime that night to fulfill her order request.

After delivering a healthy baby boy, she texted Chee Leong immediately to thank him. Due to their products, she managed to avoid a lengthy stay at the neonatal intensive care unit which would have been a "very expensive problem". 

"Receiving that [text], I'm super touched, so I think that's a very important milestone."

"It's not only about running a profitable business, but a business that can truly touch people's life," says Chee Leong proudly.

ALSO READ: 'Men do cry': This male nurse is okay with showing emotions at work

timothywee@asiaone.com

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