'Anyone who can sell online can be a celebrity'

To mine growing interest from brands seeking live-stream hosts, Mr Tan, who has worked with more than 250 creators, is actively expanding Lucid's creator network.

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For brands, it is a game of get on board or get left behind. Mr Shawn Lee, vice-president of Fine Today Global and general manager, Singapore, homed in on live streaming as a new e-commerce channel to reduce reliance on physical retailers.

The Japanese company owns popular personal care brands Fino, Senka and Tsubaki, which are stocked here in Watsons, Welcia and FairPrice.

Since launching Fine Today's brand store on TikTok Shop in March, he has grown the company's Singapore revenue - from 1 per cent of Fine Today South-east Asia's total TikTok sales to 20 per cent. The relaunch of Tsubaki in Singapore, timed with the TikTok Shop opening, contributed to 70 per cent of that.

The page's followers grew by 40 per cent. Mr Lee also saw a halo effect where customers from Tsubaki's live stream in March went to its physical pop-up store in shopping centre Plaza Singapura that took place in April to repurchase products.

There can be a teething period for brands to find the right creators, Mr Lee warns. He had a false start trying live streaming for Fino in May 2024, generating less than $1,000 in three hours.

In November 2024, he tried again with the same products - this time working with Lucid, which introduced him to Mr Chia. The three-hour live stream hit a five-figure revenue.