The “No Reference” Philosophy — Janice Wong’s Passion for Creation
In a continuation of our International Women’s Day 2022, and part of our monthly Vertex Female Founder Series, we are sharing beautiful, untold stories of our female founders overcoming the odds and obstacles to build businesses that are disruptive, yet transformative to the lives of many. Today we are proud to feature Janice Wong.
Embracing food technology and innovation, Janice Wong Singapore is a forward thinking confectionary company with a focus on artisan and bean-to-bar chocolate products, cakes and pastries. Well known for its headline grabbing edible art installations, Janice Wong has created many “firsts”. One would perhaps remember the glittering skyline of edible diamonds that crowned off a spectacular night in 2015 — when luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. debuted its Masterpieces collection at the Capitol Theatre. The floating dessert bar was created by none other than seasoned pastry chef Janice Wong herself. What was the story behind the woman with such an astounding imaginative capacity? Intrigued, I (Jing Zhe) sought to uncover the journey that brought her to successfully marry culinary skills with visual arts today.
Tragic Road Accident and the Road Less Traveled
In her late teenage years, Janice started out wanting to follow in the footsteps of her father, who used to head foreign banks and had a successful career in banking and finance. It was perhaps unsurprising that she chose to study economics (finance) at the National University of Singapore. However, it was during her undergraduate exchange to Melbourne that proved to be a turning point in her life — in more ways than one.
While on exchange, she went on several road trips to berry farms. The multi sensory experience of picking up and eating the fresh strawberries remained firmly etched in her memory. In her own words, eating the fresh produce and “…tasting the earth in the strawberries” was a definite light bulb moment, and was something that “…we [cannot] get in the wet markets of Singapore”. This transformational experience prompted her to think in the shoes of a curator — there are absolutely no boundaries in curating the best culinary experience for the consumer, be it strawberries or chocolate.
Tragically, another transformational experience transpired during her exchange. This time, Janice was caught in a serious car accident where her vehicle was crashed into by a reckless, drunk driver. The disastrous accident not only caused her to endure 30 stitches on her face, but importantly, also impaired her memory and the left side of her brain. (Watch this video where she recounts the incident and how it led her to step out of her comfort zone, to become the avant-garde chef she is today.)
The net result of the two life-changing experiences in Australia — albeit populating opposite ends of the spectrum — was that Janice jettisoned her previous aspirations for a stable career in banking and finance, in order to dive into an industry she became deeply passionate about. Upon graduation, Janice joined culinary school, first taking her course at Cordon Bleu in Paris, before interning and training under renowned chefs such as Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, Oriol Balaguer and Pierre Hermé.
On Overcoming Adversity
Though her father is generally very supportive of her endeavors, diving into the culinary scene was a decision that even he was doubtful about. Unfazed by his warnings of long working hours and extremely low starting pay, Janice was determined to succeed. She knew there was no easy way to make a name for oneself in any industry, “whether you’re an architect, or an artist, or a designer, there’s bound to be long hours of work if you push yourself hard enough”. Her dedication to her craft and a successful first year ultimately won her father over.
The culinary industry is also highly male-dominated, and Janice once shared during an interview that whilst “…working in Melbourne, there were 20 male chefs, and I was the only female chef.” Even though she initially disliked the taste of beers, she had to get used to drinking beers at the end of the night — to socialize with other male chefs.
Passion for Creation
Her dedication to being the curator of the best food experience for consumers motivated her to “go blind for three days”. By blindfolding herself and denying the use of sight to experience the world, Janice forced her senses of taste and smell to be heightened. Beyond that, by challenging her perceptions and unknown biases, the full potential of her imagination was truly unleashed. Memorably, Janice did canvas paintings during this period of self-imposed blindness, trying her best to visualize how her emotions could be translated to paint, and what a tree even looks like with no point of reference.
It is with the same “no reference” philosophy that Janice approaches her culinary creations. Being different and thinking different is a trait highly valued by Janice. Seeing that Singapore food businesses lacked innovation and typically followed the path of franchise expansion (solely replicating the success of the original outlet), Janice opened 2am:lab in 2011 — a research laboratory dedicated to local chefs to experiment with different ingredients and cooking techniques. The food lab enabling chefs to conduct research and workshops started out at Fusionopolis before moving to Tokyo in 2014, where researchers have studied Sake, amongst other projects useful for their international expansion. Her passion and dedication to fundamental culinary research has inspired the birth of her edible art creations and installations, now a hallmark of the Janice Wong Brand.
Besides the floating dessert bar designed in collaboration with Tiffany & Co, Janice Wong’s edible art installations have featured in prominent cities across the globe, such as but not limited to: Macau, Moscow, Beijing, London and New York. In 2015, as part of Singapore Tourism Board’s SG50 cross-disciplinary traveling showcase of local arts, food, and fashion titled “Singapore: Inside Out”, chocolate lollipops in distinctly local flavors such as kaya and bak kwa curated by Janice Wong were a prominent feature, helping to bring Singapore’s culture and tastes to the international stage.
Learning and innovating never stops for Janice Wong, who recently opened Pure Imagination, a chocolate cafe and full scale chocolate production facility at Great World Singapore in 2021. Her latest launch is part of her larger aim for Singapore to produce its very own bean to bar chocolate, and for the nation to be amongst the region’s leaders in artisanal chocolate production by 2023. At Pure Imagination, guests can learn first hand about the chocolate making process through small group tours — from touching and smelling raw cacao to witnessing the roasting process. With the collaboration with community partners such as Gardens by the Bay and Spectra Secondary School, her grand plan of planting a thousand cocoa trees in Singapore has been made possible. And her dream of a “made in Singapore, bean-to-bar chocolate” is slowly but surely coming to fruition.
In fact, Pure Imagination is only one of many additions to Janice Wong’s family of brands, a collection that also includes 2am:dessertbar, Softhaus and Mallow, in addition to the signature Janice Wong Singapore range of artisan chocolates. The diversity of food offerings and development of multiple product lines beyond her first dessert restaurant 2am:dessertbar, best embodies Janice’s insatiable appetite for curating wonderful experiences for consumers. On one hand, Softhaus the ice cream store aims to realize an “ice-cream wonderland” for adults and children alike, catering to a wide range of dietary requirements with its assortment of 8 keto-friendly and 7 plant-based flavors. On the other hand, Mallow — named after an edible plant — is a pocket bar concept that emphasizes a conscious, plant-forward diet, where ingredients consist of locally grown plants, as well as herbs and vegetables from local and neighboring farms. Besides staying on top of consumer’s food preferences, Janice Wong’s confectionary brand is also leveraging digital channels to market their products, such as custom chocolate bonbons, cakes and ice creams. Despite an already impressive diversity of offerings, the question of “what’s next?” is clearly an unchanging constant on top of Janice’s mind.
Partnering with Vertex Ventures SE Asia
Since Vertex Ventures SE Asia (VVSEA) and Janice became partners in 2021, they have been working closely to chart — and realize — the next phase of growth for the Janice Wong brand together.
“Vertex Ventures SEA has introduced us to various companies from their network, some of which we have embraced to enhance our efficiency in operations. We also have more opportunities to expand into overseas markets with the support” -— Janice Wong
Looking ahead, besides continuing to reinvent itself by expanding its offerings and bringing new creations to the market, Janice Wong Singapore will be broadening its overseas brand presence and business partnerships in Japan, London and other new markets.
Previously, our colleague, partner, Pui Yan Leung featured Janice Wong in “Vertex Portfolio Spotlight: Innovation in a Centuries-old industry”, read it here https://www.vertexventures.sg/news/vertex-portfolio-spotlight-innovation-in-a-centuries-old-industry/
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