Cover Love, Bonito CEO Dione Song and co-founder Rachel Lim; Butter co-founders Olivia Yiong and Tiffany Chng, all wearing Cheak (Photo: Love, Bonito)

The Love, Bonito co-founder tells us all about the fashion brand’s expansion into activewear through the launch of Cheak

Love, Bonito has always had a knack for knowing what women want. From maternity wear to bridesmaid dresses, the Singapore fashion brand’s offerings are vast and varied enough to see you through both special occasions and your everyday life in style. And now the fashion label is going to take up even more space in your wardrobe, thanks to its acquisition of the homegrown activewear brand, Butter.

Butter was founded by Singaporeans Olivia Yiong and Tiffany Chng in 2020. It became a cult favourite among the local fitness community for its colourful and comfortable activewear styles, ranging from sports bras to leggings. What made the brand so special? Its activewear is designed to fit Asian bodies perfectly.

You can discover that for yourself now that Butter, which has been rebranded as Cheak, has launched at Love, Bonito’s website and boutiques in Singapore. Or you can take the word of Love, Bonito’s co-founder, Rachel Lim, as she tells as why Cheak has everything that an Asian woman could want in activewear—and why she can’t get enough of their bike shorts.

Read more: How E-Commerce Entrepreneur Rachel Lim Built Her Fashion Empire

Tatler Asia
Above Cheak (Photo: Love, Bonito)

How did you come across Cheak, formerly known as Butter?

Rachel Lim (RL): Earlier this year, I was walking into the Love, Bonito office and noticed a whole commotion at the end of the studio. Quite a big group of our TeamLB women—Gen Zs, millennials—were getting excited over opening up a huge package. And lo and behold, it was a Butter package.

They were getting excited trying out their pieces. And I was so intrigued—what is this brand that’s able to incite such excitement and brand love from women of different generations with very different styles?

I decided to try it out. I ordered the biker shorts, and when they arrived, I was won over. Biker shorts are very telling of whether an activewear brand is good or not—where they end, how they fit. I was really impressed by the product and the experience that I had.

Tatler Asia
Above Lim and Love, Bonito CEO Dione Song wearing Cheak. (Photo: Love, Bonito)

How did the partnership between Love, Bonito and Cheak come about?

RL: I decided to reach out and slide into the founders’ [Olivia Yiong and Tiffany Chng’s] DMs and ask them out for drinks. When I met them, I realised that they had so much heart, soul, passion and tenacity. They really want to cater to the Asian women community, especially in the activewear space. I really wanted to see how I could come on board to support them in their journey.

What does Love, Bonito’s acquisition of Cheak mean for the latter brand?

RL: Even with this acquisition, we are two separate brands. We want Cheak to be even stronger and what they’re already strong at: branding, storytelling, products, visuals. For Love, Bonito, we can see how we can support them in terms of infrastructure that we’ve built. We’re also providing that firepower for Cheak to grow and scale better and quicker, in order to reach out to more of their target market.

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Love, Bonito
Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Love, Bonito)

Why did Butter rebrand as Cheak?

RL: It’s simply to mark a significant milestone. For example, 16 years ago, before Love, Bonito existed, we were known as BonitoChico, operating on LiveJournal. In 2012, when we really wanted to solidify our mission to empower and serve the everyday Asian woman, we rebranded into Love, Bonito. We wanted a rebrand to really encompass and mark a new beginning—both back then for us, and now for Cheak. It’s something we decided to do together.

Can former Butter customers expect the same great products from Cheak?

RL: 100 per cent. At Love, Bonito, we really want to bring out the essence of Cheak and help them become more of what the brand already is. The brand has already come so far with just a few products. We want to see how we can support them in extending and expanding their product range to cater to even more women.

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Love, Bonito
Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Love, Bonito

What do you think the Love, Bonito woman will love about Cheak?

RL: Firstly, it’s a natural extension of the Love, Bonito woman’s life and lifestyle. Activewear is not just for intense workouts—it’s also for everyday wear, it can be mixed and matched, worn for grocery shopping, a quick coffee or lunch, or a meeting as well. It’s so comfortable, you can live in it. And we really want to democratise great activewear outfits. Secondly, our customers will appreciate the quality of Cheak’s activewear. It has great quality, fit and price—the same thing they already get from Love, Bonito. Also, what’s exciting is that we have specially curated and dyed Cheak’s bestsellers in fresh, new colours for the Love, Bonito community, like periwinkle and green.

Which Cheak product are you most excited about?

RL: If I had to pick one thing, it would be the biker shorts. I don’t have the longest legs, so it’s very important to me where the shorts end. And Cheak’s shorts have a magic length, so they’re very flattering and I don’t look short. They fit the Asian woman very well. Another thing is that the shorts don’t ride up. When trying shorts from other activewear brands, I’ve always felt like I’ve had to pull them down or they ride up into a camel toe that is unsightly and uncomfortable. I had written off biker shorts because I thought they were just not for my body type. But when I tried Cheak’s biker shorts, I realised all the difference that the right fit made.

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