#743 – From Childhood Friends To An 8-Figure Amazon Matcha Brand

What does it look like when two childhood friends turn a side hustle into an eight-figure global brand? In this episode, Bradley Sutton sits down with Samuel Loo and Singchuen Chiam, the co-founders of Naoki Matcha, to unpack how they went from selling generic glass teapots to building one of the most recognizable matcha brands on Amazon. Their story starts in Singapore, stretches into Japan’s tea-producing regions, and becomes a masterclass in patience, product-market fit, and long-term brand building.

Sam and Sing did not stumble into success overnight. Their first products were fragile, generic, and easy to copy, forcing them to rethink the kind of business they really wanted to build. That search led them to matcha, a category with higher barriers to entry and far greater complexity than a typical private-label product. Instead of sourcing from a marketplace and calling it a day, they had to knock on digital doors, travel to Japan, build supplier relationships, refine taste profiles, and learn how to create a product customers would come back for again and again. Their growth was slow at first, but their commitment to quality and feedback gave them a durable edge.

As the brand grew, so did its sophistication. They expanded from Amazon into other marketplaces, built teams across Singapore and Japan, invested heavily in in-house creative, and began thinking beyond Amazon PPC into upper-funnel channels like Meta, DSPs, and TikTok. They also shared how Naoki Matcha navigated the recent matcha shortage without major price hikes, using strong supplier relationships and careful supply chain planning to stay in stock while competitors struggled. It is a reminder that real brand power is not just built through ads and listings, but through trust, consistency, and operational depth.

This episode is a powerful example of what can happen when founders play the long game. Sam and Sing did not chase shortcuts. They built slowly, learned deeply, and stayed obsessed with product quality as they scaled into an eight-figure business. For sellers who want to move beyond quick wins and build something that lasts, this conversation shows that the biggest advantage is not speed. It is discipline, vision, and the willingness to keep improving long after the first sale.

In episode 743 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley, Sam, and Sing discuss:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:05 – Meet The Founders Of Naoki Matcha
• 03:25 – Their First Amazon Product Before Matcha
• 04:28 – Why They Chose Matcha As The Long-Term Play
• 07:18 – Slow Early Growth And The Mindset That Kept Them Going
• 08:40 – Finding Japanese Suppliers Through “Digital Door Knocking”
• 10:23 – Expanding From Amazon USA To Other Marketplaces
• 12:30 – Why TikTok And Brand.com Are The Next Growth Channels
• 14:42 – The In-House Creative Strategy Behind The Brand
• 16:31 – How They Navigated The Matcha Supply Shortage
• 21:20 – Upper Funnel Marketing And Growing Branded Search
• 35:04 – Supply Chain Control, Factory Relationships, And Future Growth

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