It has been a whopping 17 years since the first episode of Singapore Idol. While the younger generation may not have heard of it, many of us older folk still hold fond memories of the reality television show.
One memorable contestant was the talented Olinda Cho, who was the first season’s second runner-up.
But where is she today?
With the entertainment industry being a major casualty of the pandemic, a very bored Olinda revealed in a recent interview with 8Days that she’s decided to step out of her comfort zone to try something new — hawking fruits.
She has partnered up with her friend Freda Poh — who also happens to be a third-generation fruit seller — to set up 888seasons, an online store specialising in premium fruits, mostly imported from Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
As Olinda herself is a passionate foodie who loves gourmet fruits, the new venture made sense, she told the digital magazine.
https://www.facebook.com/888seasons/posts/240272047574366
She added, “I used to travel to Japan and spend a lot of money on fruits. So now if you cannot go Japan, I bring Japan to you. But at a reasonable price lah!”
888seasons has a pretty extensive array of fruits, including premium goodies such as Shizuoka Crown melons ($98), Kumamoto Hinoshizuku strawberries ($82 for one box) and Ruby Roman grapes ($280).
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They even curate fruit baskets for special occasions, such as the CNY Seasonal Gift Set ($181), which includes fresh jujube dates from Taiwan, Hallabong mandarin oranges from Jeju and a rock sugar autumn pear.
The online business has done so well that the pair decided to open a physical store at Hougang three months ago. This had not been on their agenda initially, but according to Olinda, “the timing felt right and the numbers made sense”.
However, despite her booming fruit business, Olinda said she’s sticking to her roots and will continue to practise her singing so she doesn’t lose touch with music, her first love.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0sMvTYF0oE/
After Singapore Idol, Olinda has remained active in the music industry. She even emerged as the winner in the Singapore auditions for the first season of Sing! China. She was called her back for the show’s second season in 2017, joining Jay Chou’s team and making it to the Playoff rounds before she was eliminated.
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