Tell us about UNFOLD Asia and its other publications, including OGS, nOm, Ribbit.FYI and 呼呼 Call.
UNFOLD Asia is a media group dedicated to educating and entertaining audiences in Southeast Asia through thoughtful and creative storytelling. As a parent entity, it houses a collective of media brands as well as our creators collective, UNFOLD Creators, and our studio arm, UNFOLD Studio.

Each entity has a distinct approach to storytelling, but our goal is the same - to tell thoughtful and purposeful stories.

Explain the target audiences for UNFOLD Asia and its associated channels
Our goal is to engage viewers in Southeast Asia.

• OGS houses the factual content we’re known for. We’re dedicated to uncovering timeless and overlooked stories across the region. Our focus is primarily on human interest stories, meaningful conversations and in-depth 'think pieces' created for the digital generation and told through documentaries or hosted shows.
• Ribbit.FYI is our data storytelling platform, where we explain society through data. Our stories highlight surprising and poignant insights, with the help of eye-catching illustrations and animation.
• nOm is our love letter to cuisine and culture - our goal here is to share the richness of Asian culture with the world. Our content ranges from accessible recipe videos, food recommendations, relatable home cooking challenges to food and travel exploration content.
• 呼呼 Call is our Mandarin edutainment channel, producing content on hot button issues and intergenerational topics for Mandarin-speaking audiences. Our goal is to create entertaining and informative content for Mandarin speakers, both young and old, who find comfort and relate to content in their mother-tongue.
• Sincerely, Singles is our original webcomic IP where we tackle topics surrounding modern relationships. We feature a cast of characters that regularly share relatable, poignant and sometimes hilarious musings on navigating through adulthood. Earlier this year, we also held our own break-up themed exhibition titled the EX-hibition.

We have also recently introduced UNFOLD Creators, our creators collective where we assemble like-minded and genuine content creators that align with our values, and UNFOLD Studio, our production arm dedicated to creating original programming for international streamers and networks.

What inspired the creation of UNFOLD Asia as the main publisher?
We started OGS at university as a school project. Over the years, we diversified our services and content verticals and the clients we collaborate with have since expanded.

Creating a parent entity allowed us to better consolidate the growing portfolio of media products and services we've introduced over the past five years, all while retaining our core identity. We are also looking to collaborate across Southeast Asia on regional story production.

Are there any exciting stories or content in the works that your readers can expect for the rest of 2023 or into 2024?
Viewers can expect a slew of new content across all our platforms and media brands:

• OGS has recently launched two new concepts, To Be Honest (TBH) and Hangouts, on our long-form channels and micro-content platforms respectively.
  • TBH is an investigative series where we find answers to some of Singapore’s biggest millennial problems. It covers relatable issues such as cost of living, transport and work culture.
  • Hangouts is a series featuring fun, eye-opening experiences across the region through an authentic and personal adventure directed towards the camera.
• nOm will also be featuring more long-form content on YouTube, launching two new series, Halal Everything and Without A Wok.
  • Building on the success it has seen on TikTok, Halal Everything is a series focused on recreating popular recipes, but Halal.
  • Without A Wok is a series made for home cooks, where we challenge our chef creators to recreate popular hawker eats in their home kitchens for their friends or loved ones.

Aside from these notable highlights, we have also been hard at work overseas. We recently documented the Special Olympic Games in Berlin, which is going to be a short-film project. The team also travelled to Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.

How do your media channels stand out from those in Singapore that cover similar topics?
We are content creators with journalistic values. Brands and collaborators come to us because we excel at telling nuanced, thoughtful and often overlooked stories, on top of our ability to educate and entertain.

We also place a lot of emphasis on telling our stories in a respectful and sincere manner, which our viewers value.

What kind of pitches would be successfully picked up and covered by your team? What kind of pitches do you hope to see less of?

• For OGS: Thoughtful and unique stories featuring interesting profiles, or access to fascinating and overlooked places or jobs in the region.
• For Ribbit.FYI: Surprising data insights, explainers and information, as well as ground-up initiatives tackling social issues.
• For nOm: Culinary and cultural stories with an Asian perspective.
• 呼呼 Call: Intergenerational topics targeting a Mandarin-speaking audience.
• For Sincerely, Singles: Topics on modern friendships, relationships, and adulthood.

Any final thoughts or recent content to share with your readers?
We recently featured Rong Liang, a gaffer from the industry who suffered from Stage-4 Pancreatic Cancer.

During the interview he shared a Greek proverb, “As time goes by, people might forget about us, but society gets better when folks plant trees whose shade they might never enjoy.”

That’s the approach we take with storytelling. We hope to create timeless and impactful stories for everyone.