Intimate Wellness Redefined: Inside Antevorta with Cofounder Annie Ho

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For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has revered women’s stages of life and reproduction, from the ‘heavenly waters’ of our periods to menopause, ‘the great gates of life.’ TCM carries an ethos that a woman’s health begins in her ovaries.

Antevorta was born to create products for our most intimate parts, from cleanser to on-the-go wipes and sprays, inspiring confidence that everyone notices. Each formulation is thoughtfully crafted with natural ingredients to support intimate wellness and celebrate the body’s innate balance. Meet Annie Ho, the cofounder and formulator of Antevorta.

Antevorta founders: Sarah Jane Ho (left) and Annie Ho (right)

When was Antevorta found?

We started conceptualizing Antevorta in 2022. Sara Jane and I have been long time friends and during a casual girls get together, she told me about her upcoming Netflix show “Mind Your Manners”, which has incorporated some elements about Traditional Chinese Medicine and other oriental lifestyle tips. We immediately saw how a brand rooted in TCM that can pamper women all around the world would resonate well and would also support our mission as international Asian women to bridge the best of both the west and east.

What inspired you to start a feminine care brand rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Sara Jane and I had TCM in our blood. Even as little girls growing up, TCM has always been an integral part of our lives. We have accumulated much knowledge about TCM, both from our family background as well as our personal experience.

How does TCM philosophy shape your approach to feminine care?

TCM has a holistic approach that treats the mind body continuum as a singular system. Therefore, TCM doesn’t look at just one organ and targets that organ. The ultimate objective of any TCM intervention is to help the body achieve homeostasis and harmony, and this requires achieving and maintaining balance among various organs. Based on this, a woman's feminine health is an essential foundation to her overall health. Another key philosophy of TCM is it aims to prevent the body from falling into the traps of disease, ideally before it is too late. TCM oftentimes can be used to complement western medicine’s objective to cure symptoms.

How do you source and select the herbs and ingredients used in your products?

One of the key worries about TCM herbs is pesticide control and Antevorta takes precautions to source only herbs that adhere to strict quality control during the harvesting. Such standards are justified by safety data sheets that are provided by each ingredient supplier.

Meet our core formula: Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin (our Herbal Fab Five)

An ancient TCM ingredient composed of 5 different herbs, this formula for promoting skin health has been used and passed down in China for over 2,000 years. It consists of Japanese honeysuckle (jin yin hua), wild chrysanthemum flower (ye ju hua), dandelion (pu gong ying), Chinese violet herb (zi hua di ding), and semiaquilegia root tubers (tian kui zi). Effective at clearing away heat, detoxifying the skin, and supporting skin renewal, this formula is gentle enough for extra sensitive skin – like that of your intimate area.

Which product from your brand is your personal favorite/holy grail and why?

The Intimate Wipe is by far our best seller. Although we love all our products equally and recommend customers to adapt a full collection approach to incorporate the full ritual into their routines, but many customers start with wipes because 1 – it is considered entry level product, the most approachable price in our product universe 2 – the product concept requires very little product education 3 – multi-function 4- the single sachet packaging is discreet and suitable for on-the-go lifestyle 5 – customers love the 100% flushable and biodegradable characteristic of the wipes and are willing to pay a premium to enjoy such qualities.

What’s a daily wellness practice you swear by?

Drink lots of hot water! This helps with improvement of body metabolism and hence can even support fertility. Getting a full night’s sleep (with peace or no dreaming) is also important.