kopi-C with Pasture Holdings CEO: From pharma distributor to mask producer to drug delivery pioneer

In the early days of Covid-19, as the pandemic slowly became a reality, Singaporeans began lining up not just for toilet paper and hand sanitiser but also for face masks. As a result, many profiteers began reselling boxes of face masks online at five times the price (many purchased from Singapore-based healthcare and pharmaceutical company Pasture Holdings).

Frustrated by the profiteering he witnessed, Pasture Holdings founder and CEO Lloyd Soong recalls thinking, “There has to be a better way.” Soong imposed purchase limits and rerouted two container loads of N95s—originally meant for overseas clients—back to Singapore for local use.

When confronted with the opportunism of scalpers, his response was to ensure Singaporeans could access supplies, even donating face masks to nursing homes that had no budget to buy them.

This episode thrust Pasture Holdings into the public eye in 2020, earning it considerable attention as a crucial early private-sector source of N95 masks in Singapore, filling an important gap in supply before centralised distribution took over.

“Our focus on operational efficiency and strategic investments has positioned us well for long-term resilience.”

More than masks

As Pasture Holdings approaches its 30th anniversary and its third year as a listed company, it has ambitions far beyond its size and its reputation for face masks. Its plan is to become a pharmaceutical and medical supply business with its own R&D, manufacturing, and global distribution network (partnering with clinics and hospitals).

The company’s next chapter, Soong says, will focus on three priorities: expanding across ASEAN, in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and India; strengthening supply chain resilience through AI and logistics; and finally, deepening its pipeline of products aimed at chronic disease, ageing populations, and public health emergencies.

Soong shares candidly about some of the challenges Pasture Holdings has faced over the years. 

During the pandemic, when Taiwan blocked exports of all medical supplies, including Pasture N95 masks, the company found itself unable to fulfil part of a Malaysian government contract. 

“In an emergency, everyone wants the same thing,” Soong recalls. The answer was diversification – partnering with multiple manufacturers across the region to avoid over-reliance on any single source. In the face of a crisis, he found a way to become resilient against supply chain fragility. 

In Malaysia, Pasture Holdings once secured a tender to supply N95 masks to every government hospital through a local distributor. Recognising the value of closer collaboration and long-term engagement, Pasture later acquired a Malaysian entity to deepen its roots in the local healthcare landscape and support continued growth in the market.

These were all very real business impediments Soong has faced over the years, but none of them have stopped him from taking a deliberate and relationship-driven approach to expansion. 

In Thailand, his partner is someone Soong has known for over two decades. In India, his counterpart runs a pharma fulfilment centre which serves retail chain pharmacies such as Apollo, and corporate hospitals nationwide. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest healthcare market, represents the next chapter in Pasture’s regional expansion. 

“You work with people you know – and who know you,” Soong says. Trust, he believes, is a critical form of currency in this industry.

Innovation and rebuilding

Soong’s fascination with drug delivery dates back to his early years as a medical representative in Swiss pharmaceutical firms. With a background in immunology and organ transplant medicine, he was never content to accept easy answers. 

Once, he asked a superior if a sustained-release pill’s effect might shorten if a patient had diarrhoea. It was a question stemming from genuine curiosity and a desire to learn, but it was greeted with irritation. 

As it turns out, that superior did not know the answer to that question at all. 

“It’s okay to say you don’t know,” he says. “But don’t brush aside the question. Being open to receiving questions is how new solutions are found.”

This curiosity fuels Pasture’s most distinctive innovation: the oral disintegrating strip, or ODS. A paper-thin strip placed under the tongue, it dissolves within seconds, delivering medicine rapidly through the mucous membranes, without the need for swallowing or water.

For dementia patients who can no longer swallow, or for chemotherapy patients suffering from nausea, the strip can be transformative.

Clinical trials led by Thailand’s government have validated the strip’s effectiveness, with results published in the British Journal of Sexual Medicine. Thailand has also since signed an agreement with Pasture for the distribution of Sildenafil 50mg ODS, opening the door to neighbouring markets. 

For Soong, innovation is not simply about producing drugs. It's also about solving everyday medical problems with empathy and scientific rigour.

Today, Pasture operates three key divisions: essential medical supplies, a pharmaceutical wholesale arm that includes cold-chain logistics and oncology products, and a pipeline of ventures in drug delivery and adjacent services. 

Metrics, momentum, and the road ahead

For FY2024 (12 months ending June 2024), Pasture Holdings’ revenue rose to about US$14.063 million, from about US$9 million the previous year. Revenue then moderated slightly to about US$12 million for FY2025 (12 months ending June 2025).

The company remained profitable with a reported net profit of US$0.5 million in FY 2025.

“Our focus on operational efficiency and strategic investments has positioned us well for long-term resilience,” Soong said.

Pasture Holdings also declared a tax-exempt one-tier final ordinary dividend of 0.23 SG cents – equivalent to 0.1776 U.S. cents per share.

"Paying out a dividend is one way to acknowledge the trust our shareholders have placed in us, and to signal confidence in our fundamentals," Soong adds. 

“We’re committed to balancing returns to shareholders with reinvestment in growth—especially as we deepen our regional footprint and scale new verticals.”

This same spirit defines Pasture Holdings’ internal culture. 

For instance, Soong shares that he hires for curiosity over credentials, often taking on fresh graduates or non-degree holders who are willing to learn. 

Modernisation has also reshaped the company from within. Long before COVID, Soong had pushed through a digitisation programme with SAP, even at the cost of losing staff resistant to change. When the pandemic forced remote work, Pasture adapted almost overnight, proving the strength of its early investment in digital infrastructure. 

Today, the company is exploring how artificial intelligence can optimise logistics and cost management. 

“The people who will lose their jobs are not those displaced by AI, but those who don’t know how to use it,” Soong says.

Pasture Holdings’ journey—from curiosity to crisis to innovation—shows that even small companies can punch above their weight when driven by conviction. In an industry dominated by multinationals, it stands as a reminder that innovation begins with simple, persistent questions, and a refusal to accept easy answers.

“Strangely, the Singapore brand is recognised everywhere except in Singapore,” he reflects, recalling how Pasture’s N95 masks were first validated in the United States rather than at home. 

His hope is that companies like his will help change that perception; and encourage Singaporeans that homegrown firms can be globally competitive not by copying others, but by solving problems that matter.

About Pasture Holdings

Leading with a people-first approach grounded in agility, care, and community, Pasture Holdings Ltd. distinguishes itself as a trusted pharmaceuticals and medical supplies distributor. The Company integrates R&D and manufacturing capabilities to deliver innovative healthcare solutions. 

Since the Group’s founding in 1996, Pasture has grown steadily, expanding from Singapore into over 50 countries. While our reach is now global, we stay grounded in our values, putting people and their health first. We focus on providing lean, effective solutions that meet the needs of our partners, from distributors and governments to institutional customers such as hospitals, pharmacies, and healthcare providers. 

In contrast to the traditional pharmaceutical model, we remain adaptable, constantly exploring new ways to improve healthcare access and meet the needs of evolving markets. This includes ventures into B2C segments such as the pet pharmaceuticals market. 

Our subsidiaries work together to offer a comprehensive range of products and services. From our innovative Hart-S ODS and other oral disintegrating strip products, to our pet health platform and community, furlife, we are constantly driven by the desire to improve lives – be it human or pet.

About kopi-C: the Company brew

kopi-C is a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout, a MAS-licensed investment advisory platform, that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations.