Longevity has become a growing focus in today’s wellness landscape, as people seek ways to enhance their vitality and extend their lifespan. From diet and exercise to cutting-edge supplements, the pursuit of a longer, healthier life is driving innovations in health sciences. Central to this movement is the role of nutritional support, particularly through supplements designed to boost energy, enhance immunity and optimise overall health.
In this edition of Prime Interview, we are joined by Dr Eugene He, the visionary co-founder behind Xandro Lab, which has a revolutionary line of longevity blend supplements.
Dr He has combined his nutraceutical expertise with his passion for wellness to create a range of supplements aimed at promoting long-term health and vitality. With a keen focus on preventive care, Dr He’s formulations harness the power of natural ingredients to support the body’s natural defenses and ageing processes.
Today, we delve into Dr He’s journey in the nutraceutical industry, his experience in leading Xandro Lab, as well as the unique innovation behind his products that is helping people to live not just longer, but better and healthier lives.
Good morning, Dr He. Thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule for this interview. Let us start with your career in the nutraceutical industry. Can you take us back to when your journey with Xandro Lab began?
Dr Eugene He: Good morning and thank you for coming down for the interview. Let’s see: I’ve been involved in the nutraceutical industry since 2004 so that’s 20 years now. I started by prescribing supplements to my patients when I was a practising naturopath, and eventually I moved into formulating, research and brand building.
Xandro started because I had a need for the brand. At that time, I was asked by a lot of people to give recommendations on what they should be taking, but I had a repertoire of different supplements that I sometimes either did not trust or like, or I just couldn’t get the products I wanted. So Xandro really emerged from this need.
I wanted to create a brand with products that I could truly and wholeheartedly recommend to other people. At the same time, I also have a responsibility to ensure that these products are accessible and affordable. I believe that longevity should be a right and not a privilege. It should be accessible and within reach for everyone.
I wanted to create a brand with products that I could truly and wholeheartedly recommend to other people. At the same time, I also have a responsibility to ensure that these products are accessible and affordable. I believe that longevity should be a right and not a privilege. It should be accessible and within reach for everyone.
Over the years, I’ve met many patients and it’s still very disheartening to find out when someone has developed or acquired a disease or even passed away due to a nutritional deficiency. To me, this is something that’s very preventable and executable from the standpoint of what I’m doing.
While we cannot control the environment or the landscape around us, I want to make sure that everyone has access to not just basic nutrition, but nutrition that can allow them to thrive, excel and ultimately live longer. With Xandro, I want to be able to offer such nutritional solutions to everyone.
In building Xandro, what was the biggest misconception about longevity supplements that you had to overcome, and how did you address it?
EH: One of the biggest misconceptions about longevity supplements is that they are either very expensive, very novel, or very new and experimental. In actual fact, a lot of longevity supplements we consume consist of very basic ingredients that we can find in our daily multivitamins. This is a misconception we need to address through education.
I think education is something that has taken off in recent years, especially in the field of longevity supplements. We’re seeing influencers talk about longevity and we’re also seeing celebrities and entrepreneurs become a lot more involved. However, at Xandro, our approach is to distill a lot of confusing information into something that is accessible and understandable by general consumers. That is key to education, I believe.
Let us talk about your experiences leading Xandro. How did you and Mr Shantanu Kumar, now CEO and co-founder of Xandro, first connect? What convinced you that he was the right person to lead the company alongside you?
EH: When I was incubating the Xandro brand, I needed someone to come in and do direct consumer consulting, because it was not an area that I was very strong in. I had the opportunity to meet Shan, and he has extensive and impressive experience in the direct-to-consumer market in India. So, I brought him in as a consultant to build our direct-to- consumer ecosystem.
I think what really struck me was how passionate he is about what he is doing. I’m also someone who’s driven by passion, so I can sense when passion is coming from another person. When I saw him, the way he talked about how he would do things as well as the way he was carrying himself when discussing strategic ideas, I just had the gut feeling that he was the right person.
Mr Shantanu Kumar plays a key role as CEO of Xandro. How do his leadership style and strengths complement yours, and how do you both manage the challenges of driving innovation, meeting customer expectations, and navigating regulatory hurdles?
EH: I’m a very big picture kind of guy. I have a lot of ideas, and I also have a lot of suggestions on how to do things, but I generally do not have the time to execute them. Shan, on the other hand, is very detailed. He’s a numbers guy, and he’s very analytical. Hence, we have a very complementary relationship.
As we were developing Xandro, I found that he is also very passionate about longevity. This made it a lot easier when we communicate, because I know that he understands me. He’s able to take my ideas and put them into numbers so that I can get a clearer picture of what is going to happen. This was very important because we were creating a new brand and reaching out to consumers. We wanted to have as much data as possible, but at the same time, we didn’t want to lose track of our passion and our ultimate goal.
In summary, it has been a very pleasant and fulfilling relationship working with Shan. We have been able to deal with and overcome a lot of challenges. While it hasn’t been easy, I think with our complementary personalities, we have been able to work together very well.
A great team is the backbone of success. What principles guide you in ensuring that every member of your team is aligned with Xandro’s vision of advancing longevity science and making it accessible globally?
EH: I’m going to be honest here and say that I don’t have the time to talk to our team members every day. What I do is I sort of set an example because I’m very much involved in the longevity space. For example, last year, I filmed a longevity docuseries. I’m also very active and I do a lot of sports; I take care of myself and I take a lot of supplements. So, I think I inspire people with the things I do.
Ultimately, I think the credit has to go to Shan for keeping our team members aligned with our vision, because he is with them daily. Shan knows our culture and environment, and he’s very much involved in a lot of things we do.
Your parents have been involved in Xandro’s development. Can you share more about their role and how it has influenced the company’s journey?
EH: My parents are with Quvo, which is the manufacturing arm of our group that produces the products for Xandro. When I started Quvo, my parents were retired, but I asked them to join the group, because my mom is very detailed, and she’s very responsible. She was also in the complementary medicine field, where she had worked with a few doctors, and she had also worked in clinics. Hence, she understood what we were doing and having her on board was not just helpful, it also provided insights on consumers from her age group.
On the other hand, my dad came from the construction industry, and he had experience managing a lot of people. Like my mom, he is also very responsible, but he is also really good at solving problems. In Quvo, we’re dealing with machines and people every day. He is good with both. In fact, he is the best person I could think of to handle our factory.
As we were building the factory, we had to do a lot of troubleshooting, and almost everything was solved by him. So, while my parents are not directly involved in the day-to-day running of Xandro, they have been extremely crucial in supporting the supply chain of Xandro products, ensuring quality and efficiency, and making sure that the supply chain is undisrupted.
On another note, I also didn’t want them to retire, because I have seen a lot of Singaporeans retire and then they seem not to know what else to do. This can take a toll on their physical and mental health because, I think, you lose that momentum in life. I’m an advocate for working as long as we can – not for survival, but to keep our lives fulfilling. That was another reason why I got them into our journey.
What sets Xandro’s formulations apart from others in the longevity market?
EH: Our formulations are very accessible but science-backed. We use curated ingredients that we think are beneficial in supporting performance. Being in the industry for 20 years, I have seen and worked on many formulations. I’ve seen how different formulations work differently on different people. Having that experience helps us to develop products that are a lot more precise in delivering the advocacy we desire.
Furthermore, we have an established global network of suppliers, and we also have an in-house laboratory as well as external laboratories we are working with which are developing very interesting, novel ingredients. We look through scientific papers and we are very involved in the longevity space. We try to filter out the noise to create a curated line of products that we think is essential. I think this is one of our key differentiations.
We have heard that there is a revolutionary new product that Xandro is developing. Without giving too much away, can you offer a glimpse into what makes this formulation so groundbreaking?
EH: The formulation is revolutionary because it is a formulation that would evolve. That’s all I can say for now. It is a pure longevity product that is developed and manufactured in Singapore.
Why was Singapore chosen as the base for Xandro, and how has the country’s innovation ecosystem helped to support your growth?
EH: Singapore was chosen because the group is based in Singapore, including our manufacturing. It also helps that we have a lot of scientists and institutions in Singapore that are very much involved in the longevity space. So, locating in Singapore lends a lot of credibility to our products, which are made in Singapore, and the team developing our products.
Singapore’s evolved longevity ecosystem has helped us to network and connect with like- minded individuals.
And we’ve also found that a lot of Singaporeans are very much interested in this field. Singaporeans all want to live healthier and longer, and we are willing to invest in that.
How do you see the future of longevity supplements, and how do you envision Xandro shaping that future for consumers worldwide?
EH: I believe that longevity supplements would become the norm within the next five years, just like how the concept of anti-ageing in skin care has become a norm. Consumers are now asking for anti-ageing products and I believe that supplements would play a role in the attainment of our anti- ageing or longevity goals. I see that as our natural progression and I know that Xandro will be a part of that journey.
Xandro is already the most comprehensive longevity- focused brand in Singapore. I hope that we would eventually become the most comprehensive brand in the region, and maybe one day, the world. I hope that when people think about their nutritional partner in their journey for longevity, they think of Xandro, that we would be the choice of solution for them.
As a global advocate for longevity, what societal changes do you think are essential for people to fully embrace a longer, healthier life?
EH: I think that Singapore has done a great job in patient care. When we’re sick and we need treatment, I think Singapore has done a wonderful job in supporting that. However, I think we lack focus in prevention. In fact, preventive medicine is a field that is often overlooked.
This is probably due to our mindset, because, well, if something hasn’t happened, why think about it?
But as I’ve traveled around the world and interviewed multiple centenarians, I’ve found a common thread among them. A lot of them are doing things that are preventive and stopping them from developing chronic disease, and they are doing these things not deliberately or knowingly, but as a habit. I think that is something we can learn. We need to inculcate that a preventive lifestyle is not just about avoiding chronic diseases, but also about extending our lifespan.
Another change we need to make is the way we view the elderly. Generally, there’s a misconception that the elderly cannot be productive and therefore, a lot of people fear growing old. When I talk to people and I say that one of my goals is to live until I am 120 years old, a lot of people would tell me, “Oh my God. Why do you want to live so long? You’re not going to be able to do anything when you’re that old.” But that’s not the case.
I’ve seen many healthy and productive centenarians. It’s really all about the mindset, and having the health to do it. This is why longevity medicine and longevity science are so important. Because it’s not just about extending the lifespan, but it’s also about increasing our health span as we age.
We are coming to the end of our interview so let’s end on a light-hearted mood. When you’re not working, what do you enjoy doing to relax and maintain balance in your personal life?
EH: I’ve kind of structured my life around work. I find so much joy and passion in my work that I don’t see it as disrupting my personal life, because it is my personal life. But I do also work out a lot. I play badminton and I go to the gym, so I guess those would be times when I can just not think about work at all. I try to spend time with my dog as well.
I also have time out when I’m traveling on the plane. I don’t ever work while I’m on the plane, because I think those are the few hours when I can really switch off. Because otherwise, I do not really switch off, not even when I’m socialising because I’d want to talk about longevity science.
Finally, what is the best piece of advice you have ever received, and how can our readers apply it to improve their lives?
EH: Actually, I’ve never had a mentor or guidance growing up. I’ve always been on my own, and it didn’t help that I was always involved in very obscure fields. I guess being someone at the forefront of starting new things, I don’t really have a reference. I couldn’t have a mentor, so I never really gotten advice. But I’ve always gotten encouragement and I feel that encouragement was the best advice I could get, because it just gives me more motivation to keep doing what I’m doing.
You don’t necessarily need advice, just find energy in encouragement and go with it.
So, what I want to tell Prime readers is this: sometimes, if you don’t get any advice, self-encouragement can go a long way. You don’t necessarily need advice, just find energy in encouragement and go with it.
For me, encouragement, be it from another person or self-encouragement, is like an energy booster. It just gives you more energy to keep doing what you’re doing.
