Cover Hegen founder Yvon Bock
Hegen founder Yvon Bock
1 / 1
Hegen founder Yvon Bock turned a decade of lived experience—and a fiercely defended patent—into one of Singapore’s most influential maternal-care brands. From pioneering the Sqround bottle to launching The Hegen Foundation, she is reshaping how mothers are supported around the world
Long before Hegen became a household name, Yvon Bock’s most consequential act as a founder was filing a patent. Her now-iconic Sqround bottle—square with softened edges—was born from more than 200 prototypes, a leaked concept and a painful lesson in what it means to defend an idea worth fighting for. “I was very trusting,” she recalls. “I thought it was a small idea. But I learnt never to underestimate how powerful your designs can become.”
That awakening shaped the company’s future. When she rebuilt the concept from scratch, Bock embedded a principle that would define Hegen’s growth: innovation must be protected before it can empower. “The lawyers asked, ‘Are you sure?’ and I said, ‘Yes. Because once this is achieved, we can go around the world.’” She went on to secure design and utility patents across 35 jurisdictions, planting flags from South America to Central Europe—a decisive act of faith. As she puts it: “When I see the North Star, I’m all in.” Today, Hegen’s products are available in 26 markets, from China to the US.
The bottle redefined the logic of infant feeding. Bock’s Press-to-Close, Twist-to-Open system removed the traditional screw thread altogether, creating an airtight seal that was leak-proof and effortless to open. Its Sqround form prevented it from rolling away and allowed bottles to be stacked neatly in fridges or travel bags. Each iteration bore the weight of lived experience. A mother of four, Bock spent a decade breastfeeding while juggling full-time work, lugging what she called her “parachute backpack” of pumping gear. Her goal was radical in its simplicity: one container for expressing, storing and feeding, so that no milk—and no mother’s dignity—was lost in transition. “Every drop counts,” she says. “If we can make a mother’s life easier, even for five minutes, that’s five more minutes of bonding.”
In case you missed it: Tatler Most Influential 2025: who are the captains of industry from Singapore creating lasting change?
The elegance of Hegen’s design belies the intensity of its defence. Counterfeits have become an unfortunate measure of its success—thousands of imitation products, even unauthorised uses of Bock’s likeness, surfacing across markets. “When a mother picks up a Hegen product anywhere in the world, she should feel confident it is safe and authentic,” says Bock. Thus, each suspect item is lab-tested, every infringement pursued. “Fifty per cent of my time goes to protecting our customers,” she shares, “but it keeps me levelling up. It reminds me why we must never settle—and always go above and beyond to serve mothers everywhere.” Hegen’s expanding ecosystem now extends beyond infancy, from straw cups and lifestyle bottles to collaborations that bring its minimalist DNA into the modern nursery.
If patents gave Hegen its legal foundation, purpose gave it moral gravity. The brand’s origins trace back to Bock’s near-fatal childbirth—recounted in her autobiography ExtraOrdinary—that left her questioning how to continue paying it forward to more mothers. That impulse evolved into a blueprint for systemic change—fusing innovation, empathy and education into a single continuum.
By 2022, Bock had become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) after dedicating three years and a thousand hours to one-to-one sessions with mothers. “Experience alone is biased,” she explains. “I wanted to make sure Hegen was science-backed and inclusive.” For her, knowledge became the ultimate safeguard—of both intellectual integrity and consumer trust.
Read more: Hegen founder Yvon Bock is transforming motherhood challenges into a Singaporean success story
She also founded Flegen, an educational and perinatal support arm that completes the old German idiom “hegen und pflegen”—meaning to cherish and nurture. Through classes, consultations and community programmes led by a growing network of IBCLCs, Flegen bridges the gap between product and practice. “You can have the best product, but if you don’t know how to use it, it’s like owning a Ferrari without a driver’s licence,” she says. “Flegen gives parents a kick-start [to parenthood].”
Now, ten years after its founding, Hegen marks the milestone with the creation of its charitable arm, The Hegen Foundation—a natural extension of Bock’s lifelong mission to nurture beyond the cradle. Guided by the company’s purpose to improve maternal and child health, the Foundation is built on three pillars: accessible education, supporting children and empowering women. Its initiatives include the Yvon Bock Bursary, the Yvon Bock Scholarship and The Hegen Foundation Bursary, all of which support nursing undergraduates at the Singapore Institute of Technology to nurture the next generation of compassionate caregivers.
Looking ahead, Bock’s ambitions remain unapologetically expansive: “to reach,” she says, “100 million mothers worldwide and, in doing so, redefine what maternal wellness can mean”. Yet, beneath the scale lies something quieter and more enduring: the belief that every product, every patent and every act of service is part of a single design for care—one that begins with mothers and ripples outward to families, communities and generations to come.
Credits
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Styling: Adriel Chiun
Hair: Angel Gwee using Davines and Tarte Cosmetics
Make-Up: Angel Gwee using Tarte Cosmetics
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
