Singaporean reintroduces toddy to local market with HighDrate

New Paper

04-05-2025

Nestled in the chilled fruit juices section at selected Sheng Siong supermarkets in Singapore is a South Indian alcoholic drink staging a quiet comeback after decades in obscurity.
That drink is toddy, a type of coconut palm wine which, at Sheng Siong, is marketed under the name HighDrate - a combination of "high" and "hydrate" to signify the drink's alcoholic and hydrating properties.
Naturally fizzy from fermentation, toddy has a mildly sweet and tangy flavour.
The man behind the revival of toddy is Mr Sharaveen Prasath, 32, who used to run a home-based satti soru or Indian clay pot rice business during the covid pandemic.
In Malaysia, where he has relatives, satti soru is typically served with toddy, and he wanted to do the same in Singapore as he knew there was a demand here.
So he and his long-time girlfriend, Ms Hemapriya, 32, started HighDrate.
Toddy, or kallu in Tamil, usually has a shelf life of around 45 days but the company has developed a unique processing technique that extends it to a year, making the drink viable for retail.
HighDrate's version of toddy has a 2.2 percent alcohol content and was launched on April 13 this year with an initial batch of 250 bottles distributed across 20 Sheng Siong supermarkets.
Among them are the outlets at Junction Nine shopping mall in Yishun and at Block 506 in Tampines Central.
Each 500ml bottle of HighDrate at Sheng Siong retails for $12.40 - a marked difference from the modest price once paid when toddy was sold exclusively at government-run shops in Singapore until 1979.
Until then, toddy was harvested here by a government-licensed contractor but it ended in 1979 when he ceased operations due to rising labour costs.
Toddy was still available in Singapore after that but in limited supply.
In 2022, Mr Sharaveen received his permit from the Singapore Food Agency to import toddy.
HighDrate sources its toddy from two coconut plantations in Melaka.
The first shipment in early 2022 consisted of about 200 bottles of toddy with each 1.2 litre bottle priced at $35.
These bottles are sold wholesale or through the company's online store and differ from the newer retail version that is available at Sheng Siong.
HighDrate has since cut costs through economies of scale and expanded its operations team. It now stocks between 4,000 and 6,000 bottles each month with weekly shipments, bringing the price per bottle down to $21.
The company has also expanded its client base. "We started with Indian minimarts, then Indian restaurants and now some hotels carry our product," Mr Sharaveen said.
It is also available in upscale bars like those in lifestyle hotel Artyzen Singapore, which incorporate HighDrate's toddy into cocktails.
Mr Sharaveen's path to becoming a toddy entrepreneur was far from conventional.
He studied sports management at the Institute of Technical Education, pursued a diploma in mass communications and worked as an instructor for an outdoor adventure programme company.
He was not academically inclined as a child and felt directionless during his youth.
"I had good friends but none of us had any foresight. We used to skip classes, hang around outside and drink."
A public fallout with his boss became the turning point that pushed him to become his own boss. To do so, he realised he needed to be disciplined.
"Motivation is just an illusion. You won't have it every single day but you need to have discipline every single day," Mr Sharaveen said.
To cultivate discipline, he used to routinely wake up at 5am and go for a run.
"The runs were not to keep fit but to force myself to do something that I didn't want to do. Once I had accomplished that, the rest of the day would feel like a breeze," he said.
While Mr Sharaveen oversees the operations at HighDrate, Ms Hemapriya handles the business side - managing the company's finances, accounts and logistics at their office in Ubi Techpark.
She also works at a logistics and warehousing company.
The two have been together since secondary school and their personal relationship is a key factor behind HighDrate's success.
It took the company almost two years to secure the permit to import and sell toddy but the couple were determined to see it through.
"We did face a lot of issues along the way but our end goal is to be together and to do something that keeps us together. This is something we started together and we did not want it to end," Ms Hemapriya said.
The couple plans to export their toddy overseas, experiment with flavoured toddy and broaden the company's range of coconut-based products.
"The vision for HighDrate is to be the leading supplier of toddy in South-East Asia. We want to have a hub where we buy toddy, support local farmers and supply it all over the world," Mr Sharaveen said.
"Every part of the coconut tree is usable. From the leaves to the husk to the spadix (flower stalk) so we would like to do more things using the coconut tree."