Kenneth Li always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, so in the middle of his undergraduate studies at Nanyang Technological University, he founded Scube Gift – a corporate gifting company – with two classmates. By the age of 26, he had built Scube Gift into a profitable business with annual sales of SGD250,000. Today, its products are sold in Singapore and overseas markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the US.
Kenneth believes that innovation is the key to sustainable business growth, so Scube Gift has assembled a team of in-house marketing professionals, product designers and product engineers to develop novel and meaningful gifts. The company also works with local research partners at NUS to develop, patent and commercialize technologies that give its products a unique edge in a highly competitive market.
Key innovation
One such innovative product is SWANZ – a line of ceramic thermal dishes. In collaboration with material scientists at NUS, Scube Gift has developed and patented ceramic-based food containers that are more shatter-resistant than regular ceramic while having better heat retention than stainless steel food containers. SWANZ containers can be used to store, microwave or oven bake food, eliminating the need for consumers to purchase separate containers for storage and cooking. Based on this ceramic technology, Scube Gift has developed an entire line of bento boxes, food warmers, mugs and bottles in different designs to appeal to different customer groups. The products are sold through both brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce platforms in Singapore and abroad.
IP Journey
Image: Samuel He
Intellectual property – including patents, trademarks and registered designs – is at the heart of Scube Gift’s business strategy. Scube Gift’s intellectual property is created in-house or in collaboration with research institutions such as NUS. IP protection is then used to protect key product differentiators and secure a market advantage. Although the company’s journey has been fraught with challenges, Scube Gift is committed to learning how to better protect and commercialise its intellectual property in order to grow stronger and expand into new markets.
Challenges in IP management
Scube Gift participated in the IP Management Clinic Program, specifically the Singapore version known as the Mentorship for Intangible Assets Transformation (MINT) program, because it wanted to take its innovative product overseas. Therefore, it first needed an IP strategy that could finance and facilitate this rapid expansion. Expanding overseas also brought Scube Gift into contact with competitors who wanted to challenge or copy its innovations. Scube Gift therefore needed to figure out how to protect its innovations cost-effectively across many jurisdictions.
Results from MINT
Through MINT, Scube Gift worked closely with his assigned mentor to achieve these two important outcomes.
Image: SWANZ
To protect intellectual property, the mentor developed a cost-effective approach to help Scube Gift stay away from trademark squatters. The MINT program also helped Scube Gift settle patent infringement allegations from a competitor. A patent valuation suggested by the mentor enabled a successful settlement with the competitor, preventing a costly and damaging lawsuit. The MINT mentor then provided comprehensive advice on what constitutes infringement and how to avoid similar incidents in the future.
In terms of monetization, MINT also helped Scube Gift develop a comprehensive licensing strategy for its operations in Taiwan, resulting in a major licensing agreement that established a win-win relationship with one of its competitors in Taiwan to collaborate on local manufacturing and distribution of its products.
I am looking forward to
Through MINT, Scube Gift successfully secured a three-year licensing agreement for its products in Taiwan. In the future, the company hopes to expand its market reach and extend this licensing strategy to other regional markets such as Japan and China. Scube Gift also intends to use licensing agreements to monetize its future innovations with research institutions, such as a more resource-efficient glass manufacturing process and its AI-powered robot salon.
This licensing strategy will provide Scube Gift with increased revenue through royalties while minimizing the high capital expenditures required for overseas expansion. In addition, the strict manufacturing standards and use of Scube Gift’s trademarks required by the license agreement are expected to further increase Scube Gift’s brand awareness.
Our enhanced IP strategy will enable us to protect our innovations more effectively while building stronger collaborations with partners to monetize our innovations.
Kenneth Li, Director, Scube Gift Pte Ltd
This case study was developed as part of the IP Management Clinic Program, more specifically the Singapore edition known as Mentorship for Intangible Assets Transformation (MINT). MINT is a joint initiative of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) that aims to promote the strategic management of intellectual property among Singapore companies.
