Two-door fan buys first four-door to go with fatherhood

Food tech founder and new father Alan Phua trades his BMW 2-series Coupe for a 5-series saloon

- Christopher Tan

Quite a lot has happened since entrepreneur Alan Phua first appeared in this column in 2021.

He has become a father, his company Alchemy Foodtech has opened an office in China and he has bought his first four-door car a BMW 530i.

Mr Phua, 41, bought the six-yearold sedan in 2023 in anticipation of the arrival of his son Asher, who is now three months old. He paid $130,000 for the car and promptly fitted it with Akrapovic exhaust tips, H&R shocks and carbon parts such as skirtings, a front splitter and mirror caps.

He also switched to 20-inch wheels up from 19-inch ones tuned the engine for better lowend torque, "had some work done on the exhaust but did not remove the muffler or catalytic converter", and upgraded its audio system with Harman Kardon speakers.

Several of the components are second-hand, which Mr Phua sourced from online marketplace Carousell. He imported the others from China.

the "I spent less than five figures on modifications," says says the businessman, who started his food tech company which focuses on lowering sugar and the glycaemic index of carbohydrates with plantbased fibres with his wife in 2015.