New supplement DrinkAid promises to combat intoxication, Asian flush and hangovers.

Up to 50 per cent of South-east Asians cannot break down alcohol effectively, facing unpleasant problems such as flushing, intoxication and hangovers. DrinkAid has developed the first complete alcohol defence supplement for Asians to combat alcohol’s negative side effects.

This 100 per cent natural formula works by breaking down alcohol’s main by-product, acetaldehyde, which is 10 times more toxic than alcohol. Unfortunately, Asians often lack the enzyme required to break it down.

“Many Asians have a genetic deficiency in the ALDH2 enzyme, and that’s why you often see them flushing. They are also 5-8 times more likely to develop throat and mouth cancers,” says Solomon Poon, DrinkAid’s co-founder and certified nutritionist. “DrinkAid solves this problem in two ways—increasing ALDH2 enzyme activity by around 30 per cent, and directly breaking down acetaldehyde.”

While being incubated in Singapore Management University’s start-up incubator, the DrinkAid team put their product to the test with a series of experiments. The following results were observed: 93 per cent of testers experienced no hangovers the next day, 100 per cent of testers did not get headaches or nausea from drinking, and the intensity of the Asian flush was reduced by about 50 per cent.

With DrinkAid, Asians can finally drink with a peace of mind. The benefits include reducing Asian flush, preventing headaches and hangovers, sobering up more quickly and improving morning productivity.

“Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, we sold hundreds of boxes and became profit-making in just seven days. This goes to show people are still drinking in small groups,” says Ryan Foo, DrinkAid’s co-founder and marketing lead. “We’ve even gotten orders from Japan, London, Hong Kong and Canada. Going forward, we see huge potential in expanding overseas to serve more customers.”

One box is priced at S$19.90, while six boxes cost S$89.90.