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What a milestone moment for the Young Hungry Free team.
We were deeply honoured to stand alongside our partners at the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), TikTok Shop, and Workforce Singapore (WSG) on 30 March 2026, as we came together to sign an MOU dedicated to shaping the future of retail, one built on digital readiness, workforce capability, and genuine, lasting growth.
Witnessed by Guest of Honour Minister of State Mr Alvin Tan from the Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of National Development, this agreement is more than a formal commitment. It's a shared belief that the next chapter of retail is built together by industry, platform, and people.
Growing through livestream selling and community
Since 2023, TikTok Shop has been more than a channel for us; it's been a space where we've learned to show up differently. We've woven two-way engagement, real-time conversations, and live selling into how we connect with our community, and through it, we’ve discovered something invaluable in our industry: a personal level of interaction with our customers.
"Livestreaming enables a more interactive experience by creating a 'two-way conversation' with customers that is hard to replicate on traditional e-commerce sites," says Winnie Ong, founder and creative director of YHF, in an interview with The Business Times.
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Investing in the people behind the screen
The truth is, building something meaningful in live commerce takes so much more than standing in front of a camera. This digital shift made us realize that a team that knows the product inside out, understands the community, and shows up with both skill and heart, wins every single time.
We've been investing in exactly that, growing our internal team’s capabilities across live hosting, production, and operations, and nurturing a space for real conversations while running a seamless live selling experience.
"(Our livestream team) have been with us for two to three years, they know the clothes best, they do the product measurements, they know the fabric, and they are the people who are perfect to be on camera to love, live, breathe the brand," Winnie shares in an interview with Channel News Asia.
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What it means to be a local brand in this space
As a Singaporean fashion label, we believe our journey with TikTok Shop speaks to something bigger, that local brands, when given the right platforms and support, can build communities that go far beyond a transaction.
The Sample Room: Live selling in action
At the forum, TikTok Shop offered a real-time demonstration with an on-site livestreaming booth featuring Young Hungry Free and other participating brands, showing how live content can bridge digital audiences with real, in-person retail energy.
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Young Hungry Free hosted "The Sample Room", an exclusive 2-hour session that gave our audience a rare, unfiltered look at never-before-seen samples, with the audience having the voting power to decide what makes the cut for production: the colours, the fittings, the details.
"It's a live preview of upcoming samples that have not been sent into production before. Our customers who are watching the stream can actually pick up colourways, what kind of cutting, how do they want to edit the design, and shape what we produce next," Winnie explains in a radio interview for CNA938's #TalkBack.
What comes next
For us, livestreaming has never just been about selling. It's about inviting our community into the creative process, making space for them to feel genuinely heard, and building something together in real time.
As Mr Leon Koh, Fashion Cluster Lead & Head of Seller Management at TikTok Shop Singapore, shared in his speech: "We see commerce as more than transactions, it's driven by creativity, community, and connection. By enabling businesses here to engage audiences through authentic content and discovery-led experiences, we're helping sellers build trust and grow in more meaningful ways."
Our heartfelt appreciation to SRA, TikTok, and WSG for their unwavering commitment to upskilling and preparing the retail workforce for the digital future.
The future of retail, for us, isn't just about the clothes we make. It's about the people who bring them to life, and the community we grow with along the way.