It isn’t unusual in Hong Kong to hear people complaining about yeet-hay, or ‘hot air’. Nor is it uncommon to catch the scent of herbs as you pass shops selling traditional Chinese remedies, each more fragrant than the last.

Many in the city have no doubt grown up with family members who swear by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its principles. Even so, it’s a world that can be difficult for outsiders to understand, much less adopt themselves. So it was for Stephanie Tan, who created wellness brand NOOCI with a determination to demystify TCM and make it more accessible for all.

Deriving its name from the words nu qi, meaning ‘female energy’, NOOCI offers supplements crafted in conjunction with TCM and western integrative health specialists.

While Tan’s original goal was to create products specifically for women – Noo Moon, for example, was developed for use during menstruation – she has since expanded her vision with products aimed at treating other health issues, like the Noo Air range for nasal allergies, as well as improving general health.

Now, the company is rapidly making a name for itself, including a new partnership with Cathay which allows buyers to redeem miles when they purchase NOOCI products, alongside collaborations with local brands like matcha café Matchali.

The project is a deeply personal one for Tan. After growing up around her grandparents who swore by TCM and tai chi, Tan moved away to study in Los Angeles, but never fully let go of their wisdom they passed down to her.

“So much of it is just ingrained in you,” she tells us during an interview. “And when you go study abroad and do your own thing, you forget about it. But there’s a part of you where you’re like ‘oh, this is very heaty’.”

Still, it wasn’t until she moved back to Hong Kong that she began to rebuild her connection with traditional Chinese medicine. Nasal allergies first led her to seek out an ENT doctor, but after numerous appointments and various prescriptions for pills and sprays, things weren’t getting better. So, Tan turned to alternative forms of therapy.

“I was pregnant with my second child, and I thought ‘I really shouldn't take this cocktail of medication’. So that's when I rediscovered my roots of TCM,” says the mother of two, explaining that she sought out Chinese herbs and nasal acupuncture to solve her issues.

As she retraced the steps her family had taken before her and began to find relief, she realised that there was a gap in the market for products that served people who were brand new to traditional Chinese medicine – but could surely benefit from its thousands of years of knowledge.

She explains: “Often going into it, it’s very confusing. You go to Mannings and you can’t read any of the names, or where they’re from or made. And then you go online for more information, but it’s really like going into this deep hole.”

“I thought, there must be something we can do to bring transparency to TCM herbs. That’s really how the birth of NOOCI came about.”