Man first began to understand the concept of ageing through her interactions with her grandmother, with whom she lived after moving back to Hong Kong aged seven from Germany, where her parents used to run a Chinese diner at a US army base.

“She had a head full of fluffy black hair,” Man recalls fondly. Initially unfamiliar with Cantonese, Man mistakenly thought her grandmother was calling her “sour” or that she was making her feel “sour” because the term she used—“grandkids”—sounded almost the same as the adjective in Chinese.

“She loved to cook and often prepared a feast for me. She made sweet coconut pancakes, a classic after-school snack, and braised pork with preserved vegetables for dinner. When it came to steamed fish, she always preferred the tail because it had the smoothest meat,” Man says.

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The first time Man called the police was for her grandmother, who fainted at home because her pacemaker had run out of battery. Fortunately, she was rescued in time.

Years later, her grandmother moved into an elderly home. Man’s family visited her regularly, often treating her to a dim sum feast. It wasn’t until five years later, in 2015, that her health started to decline.

“One day, I received a call from the staff at the elderly home informing me that she suddenly couldn’t remember who they were,” Man says. In just three months, her grandmother’s condition deteriorated rapidly. She was reluctant to eat or drink and even no longer recognised her family before she passed away.

“She lived a good life. I consider myself very fortunate to have had my grandma around from such a young age, which has given me an understanding of what it means to be born, grow old, get sick and die. For some children, ageing might just mean getting a new octopus card [a Hong Kong smart card for electric payment] or growing taller,” she reflects.

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After graduating from the UW Foster School of Business in the US, Man spent a decade from 2009 working as a brand consultant at the creative agency Lippincott. She assisted many international companies, from coffee giant Starbucks to the South Korean electronics powerhouse LG, with their branding efforts, which took her to various cities around the globe.

In 2017, she reconnected with a secondary school classmate, Stephanie Law, who operates Culture Homes, a family business specialising in elderly care and service products. Coincidentally, this company runs the elderly home where Man’s grandmother lived. With a vision to make its work more relevant to the public, Law brought Man on board as the director of corporate strategy to help rebrand it.

What began as a logo redesign evolved into a comprehensive year-long brand transformation project to crystallise the company’s position in the industry. Throughout this process, Man spent considerable time in elderly care homes, where she noticed that many seniors struggled to eat and often lost weight due to swallowing difficulties.

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“It was always so quiet during their meal times. They don’t socialise and often eat alone from a tray,” Man recounts. “For those with swallowing issues, options are quite limited. There’s pureed food, but it all looks the same with mixed colours. The staff try to help feed those who don’t want to eat, but if they refuse and the food gets cold, it’s taken away and replaced with nutritional milk instead.”

“Is this what life is supposed to be like?” continues Man. “Do we just call it a day as health practitioners? While I understand many factors, such as costs and space for preparing food, complicate the situation, we should be able to enjoy life as we age. We deserve respect, dignity and choices.”

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In 2018, Man created and launched a superhero character named Captain Softmeal to raise awareness about the need for better meals for individuals with swallowing difficulties. This led to the establishment of the social enterprise The Project Futurus.

Their first step was to produce manga that illustrated how Captain Softmeal comes to the rescue of those struggling with poorly prepared meals. Man even found a costume to bring the character to life, featuring a shirt emblazoned with the S logo, a silver wig and vibrant green leggings and gloves. She began creating engaging YouTube videos and attending various events.

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“Cosplaying this character is daunting,” Man says. “I really care about how I’m perceived. I have to put my ego aside and focus on the important work of raising awareness for a meaningful cause.”

As people approached Man at events, they asked all sorts of questions like, “If I cough while eating, should I be worried about my swallowing?” and “Where can I find more recipes?” Many also reached out to Man through social media to share their stories about preparing meals for loved ones and the emotional weight they often felt.

The social enterprise has produced over 100 soft meal recipes, including classic dishes from Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Rather than creating pureed food in liquid form, the group teaches people how to blend ingredients and shape dishes so that they can retain their original appearance and flavour. It also provides workshops and catering services for senior living facilities.

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One of its most recent projects is launching a chewing- and swallowing-friendly menu featuring eight dishes at Yung Kee Restaurant, a renowned 83-year-old eatery in Hong Kong famous for its Cantonese roast goose. Man points out that the restaurateur recognised the importance of inclusivity, especially as long-time patrons aged and sometimes required their meals to be cut into smaller pieces.

“It’s essential for families to come together and share a meal, especially in Chinese culture,” Man says. “One dish with various textures can cater to both children and the elderly. Our menu is not stigmatising as it doesn’t label it only for those with swallowing difficulties. We want this experience to be universal.”

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Another key programme of The Project Futurus is the Sensory Restaurant on Wheels, which brings the dim sum dining experience to elderly homes, particularly for residents with dementia. It aims to boost their appetite and stimulate their five senses through various activities, such as toasting with cups of tea and enjoying dishes that evoke a sense of nostalgia.

Since the inception of its programme in 2020, the social enterprise has organised 126 shows, delighting over 3,600 attendees. The venues are carefully arranged to mimic traditional Chinese restaurants, complete with authentic tablecloths and thermal pushing carts for delivering the dim sum soft meals. Along with volunteers, the team dresses up and takes on roles like servers and chefs, creating an experience akin to a ‘Broadway’ performance.

“We have the power to transform the lives of these residents. They started uninterested, but soon, smiles lit up their faces. They held your hand and told you they’d never experienced such joy. It was a genuine connection that money couldn’t buy and couldn’t be engineered,” Man says.

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Putting this show together with a small team of seven has been physically and mentally challenging. Each time they roll out to an elderly home, they transport the pushing carts and many boxes and suitcases filled with props. Then, they must maintain their high energy to create an engaging experience. After the event, they also needed to clean up and wash all the dishes; for 80 attendees, that meant scrubbing down 80 sets of utensils.

“The value we create is huge and vital, but as a social enterprise, we also face the challenge of maintaining financial sustainability, which is no easy task. Whenever I hit a bottleneck, I ask myself how to keep moving forward,” the CEO says.

“Then, after every show, we debrief and share our experiences. It’s emotional, and we often end up in tears, reminding us that spreading joy to others fills us with incredible happiness. I’m immensely grateful for my team because this journey can’t be tackled alone. It’s about collective effort because we all share the vision of doing something great.”

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The social enterprise is set to take on new challenges in 2025. A similar project, Good Times on Wheels, aimed at individuals with disabilities and intellectual challenges, is already in the pipeline. The idea is to create a lively carnival featuring stalls with light food and entertaining performances tailored for them and their families. It also plans to introduce a swallowing-friendly menu in at least 12 more restaurants. 

Besides her entrepreneurial venture, Man wears many hats. She is the managing director of Forward Living, a residential care home for the elderly, and serves on the Elderly Commission, where she advises the government on elder care policies. She also enjoys organising meet-ups to connect impact designers and social enterprise founders and leaders. 

Though she jokes that she manages to juggle all these responsibilities by sleeping less, she always wakes up feeling energised, reflecting on her work’s positive influence on others and herself. She encapsulates her spirit with lyrics from one of her favourite songs, Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.”

Front & Female Changemakers celebrates the extraordinary journeys of inspiring women who have emerged as powerful changemakers in a range of fields, offering a glimpse into their lives and showcasing their courage, vision and relentless pursuit of change and progress. From social entrepreneurs and business leaders to educators, artists, activists and scientists, Front & Female changemakers exemplify the ability to challenge the status quo and demonstrate the power of women to effect change.

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