Homegrown kombucha and milk kefir company, Le Vyr was founded by 23-year-old, Adele Lau but she decided to pursue her undergraduate studies at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. Her same-aged friend, Claire Tee, saw the potential of Le Vyr and decided to take over the business when Adele headed overseas.
The name ‘Le Vyr’ is an edited spelling of yeast — which is present in both kombucha and milk kefir — in French known as “Levuare”. Through observing the local movement and evolution of mixology and beer brewing, Le Vyr was founded to push the local kombucha and milk kefir scene to the next level.
“Our aim is to take an international idea and truly make it a local product,” said Claire.
The motivation behind starting Le Vyr brewed when Adele was working as a cosmetic chemist in a startup. She was also brewing her own kombucha at home, and it soon became a ‘eureka’ moment to make a business out of it.
She invested capital of S$1,000 on vessels, tools and ingredients into Le Vyr, which started out as a mere passion project during the circuit breaker in March 2020.
The business was based in her home kitchen and it quickly broke even six months later, though every single profit earned was reinvested into Le Vyr.
The brand started out with only three kombucha flavours: Teh O, Teh Limau and Liang Teh. Two months later, it expanded the product line to include milk kefirs, with mango sago as its very first flavour.
Le Vyr usually develops new flavours during festive seasons, and its inspirations derive from complimentary food or beverage that are unique to Singaporeans.
“We focus on local flavours and shy away from conventional (ones),” said Claire.
