Moms always know best. Yvon Bock is proof of that.

Founded in 2015, Hegen’s baby bottles and breastfeeding products are available in 25 markets.

And they sold 10M bottles by 2022.

This is the story of Singapore-founded Hegen.

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👩🏻‍🍼 The beginning

As a mother of four who breastfed each of her children, Yvon knows how tough it can be.

At one point, she had 1,500 six ounce bottles of breast milk stored in deep freezers and refrigerator freezers just to manage it with her travels and work.

So, she set out to create products that make breastfeeding easy.

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😱 A design leak that ruined everything

In 2011, Hegen’s unique bottle design was leaked.

A competitor copied it and released a similar product before Hegen could launch. This cost the company six figures and left the team devastated.

They’d worked hard for five years, made 200 iterations, and created several prototypes—only for it to end up this way.

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🍼 The silver lining

They didn’t give up. They came up with new designs and ended up conceptualizing their signature, winning design they’re known for today.

It’s the square-round (sqround) design of their bottles and products. It makes it ergonomic, practical, and easy to hold. Perfect for parents who only have one hand free (since they’re holding the baby).

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⭐️ Far from an overnight success

At first, Hegen’s products didn't get much attention. They were different and more expensive than others on the market.

But Yvon and her team knew they could make it work. They promoted the brand and educated customers about their unique features.

They explained how Hegen’s “sqround” (square-round) bottles could be closed with one hand, were easier to clean, and gave babies a better grip.

Their website also offered tips, advice, and inspiring stories from moms who overcame breastfeeding challenges. They also doubled down on developing a range of products that cater to different needs of parents.

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🍼 Finally making it big

Thanks to these efforts, more parents started to see the value of Hegen’s products.

Soon, they started quickly getting popular—not just in Singapore, but also overseas.

By year three, Hegen had broken even, and the brand went international, participating in trade shows and conventions in Germany and China!

In China’s 2019 Single’s Day sale, Hegen climbed from eighth place in 2017 to second among thousands of baby bottle brands. This was a major win!

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🌍 How they expanded successfully

The key to Hegen’s successful international growth? Being patient and waiting for the perfect partner before diving into a new market.

Instead of teaming up with big industry players, they look for partners in skincare, pharmaceuticals, bedding, and logistics who vibe with their mission of making life better for their customers.

These partners, despite not having prior experience in baby products, understand the local culture and language quirks, which helps Hegen reach customers faster.

Now, this squad of partners runs thousands of Hegen spots, including a whopping 7,000 in China alone.

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💡 Intellectual property is key

Intellectual property (IP) protection emerged as a major challenge even before the brand was launched—that’s how their initial design was stolen. To Hegen, IP protection is not simply for commercial gains but to ensure the safety and integrity of the brand.

So, they made sure to build IP protection right into their product development, so they would never have the same issue again.

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💪🏼 Here and now

Yvon’s dream of empowering 100 million moms worldwide means she’s all about educating women on breastfeeding and building a supportive community for parents.

As she says, “For Hegen, it’s not about how many bottles we can sell, but about how many mothers we can serve.”

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