HYSSES describes itself as Singapore’s leading aromatherapy brand, although that is the company’s own positioning rather than an independently verified industry ranking.

Origins: Mt. Sapola

The history of HYSSES begins with Cheryl Gan, who entered the aromatherapy business in 2007 after encountering a supplier at a trade show in Thailand while looking for natural aromatherapy products. She subsequently partnered with the Thai supplier and established the Singapore operation of Mt. Sapola.2

The first Singapore store opened at Tanglin Mall in 2007, initially with only two staff members. At the time, the products were manufactured and imported from Thailand, while the Singapore and Thailand operations were independently managed.1

The Singapore business subsequently expanded its product range and began developing its own manufacturing capabilities.

Barn & Potter

In 2010, Gan established Barn & Potter, a specialised laboratory and manufacturing arm intended to satisfy growing demand for new products and fragrances. By 2013, the predecessor to HYSSES reported that at least 60% of its Singapore retail products were manufactured and packed locally.17

This development was significant because the Singapore business had begun creating scents and products that were different from those available through the original Mt. Sapola operation in Thailand. Some of these products became particularly popular in Singapore and Malaysia.1

After roughly a decade under the Mt. Sapola name, the Singapore business decided it needed its own identity.

According to the company, increasing interest in franchising and international expansion made it increasingly important to establish an independent Singapore brand. Gan had reportedly been planning the new identity since 2014, culminating in the HYSSES launch in August 2017.1

On 18 August 2017, Mt. Sapola Singapore officially relaunched as HYSSES, introducing a new brand name, logo, website, corporate identity, retail concept and product positioning.1

The rebranding represented a move beyond the company’s earlier “spa-at-home” positioning toward a broader wellness and lifestyle brand.1

Why the name HYSSES?

The company explains that HYSSES is an artistic interpretation connected to the Chinese character 乡, associated with a native village, and reflects the brand’s interest in ingredients, knowledge and craftsmanship originating from villages and indigenous communities.

The Chinese expression 乡术 is presented by HYSSES as meaning “arts from the village.” The concept is intended to communicate the brand’s connection to traditional knowledge, nature and the people who cultivate and process its raw materials.

At the heart of HYSSES is the idea that nature provides the foundation for wellness.

The company says it sources botanical ingredients from locations where particular plants naturally thrive, rather than treating ingredients simply as interchangeable commodities. It describes this as bringing together the best of East and West, while working with farmers and indigenous communities.3

The philosophy can broadly be summarised into four ideas:

Nature

HYSSES emphasises essential oils, herbs, plant extracts and other botanical ingredients.

Heritage

The brand connects its products with traditional knowledge and the cultural origins of plants and ingredients.

Craftsmanship

HYSSES highlights the work involved in harvesting, distilling, formulating, filling and packaging its products.

Modern wellness

While rooted in traditional botanical knowledge, the company also employs research and development to formulate modern skincare, haircare, fragrance and wellness products.1

Ingredient sourcing is one of the central elements of the HYSSES identity.

The company says it works directly with farmers and sources ingredients from their native environments, with examples including peppermint, lemongrass, yuzu, eucalyptus, rose, lavender, bergamot, geranium, hinoki, chamomile, rosemary, ginger and palmarosa.

HYSSES has described its sourcing approach as bypassing middlemen where possible and working closely with farmers. The stated goal is to preserve ingredient freshness and maintain closer relationships with the people responsible for cultivation and production.1

The company has also highlighted sourcing from places including Japan, France and Egypt, depending on the ingredient.

HYSSES has evolved considerably beyond its original essential-oil business.

Essential oils & aromatherapy

Essential oils remain one of the brand’s foundational categories. The range is built around individual oils and blends intended for different aromatherapy experiences. Aromatherapy is also incorporated into many of the company’s other product categories.

Home fragrance

HYSSES offers products designed to scent living spaces, including reed diffusers, home scents, aroma devices, electric burners, nebulizers, ultrasonic water mists, candles and related accessories. The company describes these products as part of its broader “spa-at-home” and sensory-wellness philosophy.

Body care

The body-care range includes products such as body moisturisers, body oils, massage oils, body creams, hand care, deodorants and body treatments. For example, the current Malaysian catalogue includes massage-oil combinations such as Bergamot Geranium, Eucalyptus Rosemary, Ginger Lemongrass, Ginger Peppermint and Lavender Chamomile.

Hair care

HYSSES has expanded into botanical haircare, including shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, hair serums, scalp treatments and scalp tonics. The company says its formulations combine botanical ingredients with bioactive ingredients targeted toward particular hair and scalp concerns.1

Skincare

The skincare portfolio has grown beyond basic aromatherapy products and includes facial and body formulations such as cleansers, toners, serums, facial mists, masks, moisturisers and sun-care products. The current range includes products such as Micellar Cleansing Toner Rose Sandalwood, Youth Encapsulate BB Serum and UV Floral Mist.

Perfume & personal fragrance

HYSSES also applies its essential-oil philosophy to fragrance. Its Aromatherapy Perfume range uses essential oils as a central component,5 while newer collections such as Aroma Voyage associate fragrances with destinations including Kyoto, Java, Phuket, Arab Street and Marina Bay Sands.1

The result is a positioning somewhere between traditional aromatherapy, natural fragrance and modern lifestyle perfumery.

One of the most prominent selling propositions of HYSSES is its emphasis on natural and botanical ingredients.

The company states that it avoids a number of conventional cosmetic ingredients, including parabens, synthetic fragrances, artificial colours, silicones, paraffin, unrefined petroleum-derived ingredients and SLS. It also states that it does not conduct animal testing.1

These are the company’s own formulation and sustainability claims, rather than a blanket scientific determination that every product is inherently safer or more effective than conventional alternatives. HYSSES also acknowledges that certain functional cosmetic ingredients may sometimes be necessary for product safety, stability and performance, saying that it selects high-purity cosmetic-grade materials where required.

Although HYSSES markets itself heavily around nature and traditional botanical knowledge, it is not simply an essential-oil retailer. The company operates product-development and manufacturing capabilities in Singapore. Its R&D process involves ingredient selection, formulation, testing, refinement, production, and filling and packaging.

When the brand was launched in 2017, HYSSES stated that its formulation and testing were conducted at its Singapore headquarters, with some products taking up to two years to develop depending on complexity.

The company describes its modern approach as combining traditional plant wisdom with contemporary sensory science and formulation expertise.

One of the important differences between modern HYSSES and its original Mt. Sapola heritage is the development of Singapore-based formulation and manufacturing.

The business initially imported products from Thailand. As its Singapore operations grew, however, manufacturing and packaging increasingly moved into Singapore. By 2013, the company reported that at least 60% of its retail products were already being manufactured and packed locally.7

Today, HYSSES says its products are researched, designed, produced, filled and packed through its Singapore operations. This Singapore identity has become an important part of its positioning as a home-grown lifestyle and wellness brand.

Cheryl Gan is the founder and managing director associated with HYSSES. She began the business in 2007 and led its development from a single Mt. Sapola store into a larger aromatherapy and lifestyle company.12

Her approach has been notably entrepreneurial: rather than competing purely as another essential-oil retailer, she expanded the business from aromatherapy into home fragrance, body care, hair care, skincare, cosmetics, perfume and lifestyle wellness. This expansion helped transform the company from a relatively specialised aromatherapy retailer into a broader beauty and wellness brand.

HYSSES grew substantially after the Mt. Sapola era. By around 2017–2019, contemporary reports described the business as having approximately 14 stores in Singapore and several outlets in Malaysia, with international distribution ambitions.2

The current store network includes locations in Singapore and Malaysia, while the company also maintains international distribution ambitions. Its store locator currently lists Malaysian locations including 1 Utama4 and Indonesian presence including Neo Soho.

The brand has also developed newer retail concepts. For example, Heritage @ Haji, opened in 2024, occupies a conserved Arab Street shophouse and is intended to express the HYSSES story through a more experiential retail environment.

The 2017 rebrand introduced a visual language intended to express the relationship between HYSSES, nature and craftsmanship.

According to the company, its logo incorporates references to the Chinese character 乡, villages and native communities, rice grains, yin-yang concepts, botanical forms, handcraft and traditional extraction processes.

The company deliberately incorporated hand-drawn illustrations and hand-painted watercolour imagery into its identity, reflecting the idea of artisanal craftsmanship. Consequently, HYSSES packaging and retail spaces tend to occupy a visual territory between natural apothecary, Asian botanical tradition and contemporary premium wellness.

HYSSES occupies a somewhat distinctive niche. It is not simply a perfume brand, because aromatherapy and essential oils remain fundamental. It is not simply a skincare company, because fragrance, home scent and wellness are equally important. Nor is it purely a traditional aromatherapy company, because its portfolio now includes sophisticated skincare, haircare, cosmetics and personal fragrance.

The brand is best described as a Singaporean botanical wellness and lifestyle brand built around aromatherapy and essential oils. This positioning allows HYSSES to connect several markets: aromatherapy, beauty, skincare, personal fragrance, home fragrance and wellness.

HYSSES places considerable emphasis on environmental and ethical sourcing. Its stated approach includes working directly with farmers where possible, sourcing plants from suitable native environments, supporting community-based production, using botanical ingredients, avoiding certain synthetic ingredients, avoiding animal testing, reducing unnecessary processing, and highlighting traditional knowledge and indigenous craftsmanship.

The company describes this as part of its broader responsibility toward nature and the communities involved in producing its ingredients.3

HYSSES also states that it is Leaping Bunny approved, relating to its cruelty-free position.

The 2017 HYSSES rebrand was partly motivated by international expansion. At launch, the company specifically discussed potential expansion into markets such as London, Sydney and other Asia-Pacific gateway cities.

Later reporting described distribution reaching markets including Australia, the UK, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, alongside its established Singapore and Malaysia presence.

The brand’s international strategy has therefore been based not only on physical boutiques but also on online commerce, distributors, international retail, corporate partnerships and franchising or distribution opportunities.

Several characteristics distinguish HYSSES from a conventional aromatherapy retailer.

Singaporean roots

Although its history began partly through a Thai partnership, the modern HYSSES identity is strongly associated with Singapore.

Evolution from Mt. Sapola

HYSSES is effectively the evolution of the Singapore Mt. Sapola business rather than a completely unrelated startup launched in 2017.6

Nature and science

The brand combines botanical sourcing and aromatherapy traditions with modern formulation and R&D.

Broad wellness ecosystem

Instead of focusing solely on essential oils, HYSSES has built an ecosystem covering body, hair, face, fragrance and home.

Strong sensory identity

Scent is central to the brand. Even products outside traditional aromatherapy are often organised around essential-oil combinations and sensory experiences.

Cultural storytelling

The brand deliberately connects ingredients with their geographic and cultural origins, making place, people and botanical heritage part of its storytelling.

• 2007 — Cheryl Gan launches the Singapore operation of Mt. Sapola and opens the first store at Tanglin Mall.1
• 2010 — Barn & Potter laboratory and manufacturing operation is established to develop products for the growing Singapore market.1
• 2013 — At least 60% of Mt. Sapola Singapore’s retail products are reported to be manufactured and packed locally.7
• 2014 — Planning for the HYSSES brand identity begins.1
• 2017 — Mt. Sapola Singapore officially rebrands as HYSSES. The new identity is launched with a new logo, website and brand strategy.1
• 2017 onward — HYSSES expands its product portfolio beyond aromatherapy into skincare, body care, haircare, home fragrance and other wellness categories.
• 2019 — Contemporary reporting describes the company as having reached approximately 21 stores across Singapore and Malaysia.2
• 2024 — HYSSES opens its Heritage @ Haji retail concept in a conserved Arab Street shophouse.
• 2025–2026 — The brand continues expanding its portfolio into areas including aromatherapy perfume, skincare, haircare, home scent and wellness products.1

HYSSES is a Singaporean aromatherapy and botanical wellness brand founded by Cheryl Gan in 2007 and rebranded from Mt. Sapola Singapore in 2017. Its philosophy revolves around the relationship between nature, traditional botanical knowledge and modern wellness. The brand sources ingredients from different parts of the world and develops products spanning essential oils, aromatherapy, skincare, haircare, body care, personal fragrance and home fragrance. Its identity, expressed through the Chinese concept 乡术 (“arts from the village”), emphasises natural origins, indigenous knowledge, craftsmanship and respect for the communities behind its ingredients. Over time, HYSSES has evolved from a specialised aromatherapy retailer into a broader Singaporean beauty, fragrance and wellness lifestyle brand with operations and distribution extending beyond Singapore.1

1. Mt. Sapola Rebrands To Hysses
2. How One Woman Bootstrapped An Idea Into 21 Stores
3. Our Story
4. Press Release – Embark on a Sensory Odyssey: Hysses One Utama Store Re – Hysses Malaysia
5. Aromatherapy Perfume | Pure Essential Oils – HYSSES
6. Why did Mt Sapola founder Cheryl Gan rebrand the successful brand as HYSSES? – The Peak Magazine | PEAK Singapore
7. Mt Sapola Singapore evolves as Hysses – Inside Retail Asia