Latest / Skin Anarchy / Julien Bouzitat, CMDO Amorepacific US, Interview

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Julien Bouzitat, CMDO Amorepacific US, Interview · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
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• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: This is Ekta.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to have a guest today.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: He is the CMDO for Amore Pacific Group US.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as many of you know, Amori Pacific is a wonderful and one of the original Korean beauty skincare lines, and under which falls brands such as Innis Free, Solvazu, Linage, so and obviously Amori Pacific.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Julian Bouzitat.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Julian.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: I am so, so excited you're here with us.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: This is truly a conversation I've been looking forward to.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Good evening.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Good evening.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so, Julian, you're the CMO, right, correct, for more Pacific US.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I'm the chief marketing and digital officer for Amori Pacific US, which oversees uh four of our uh key brands in the US, which are Suasu, Laneige, Inis3, and Amory Pacific.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: I want psychic brand.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I just, you know, I want you to tell me really everything that got you started in um, you know, the this industry, and just what made you really want to connect, you know, just connect this brand and make make it as big as it is now.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so basically uh uh I've been working in the beauty industry for 20 years, uh, and even though I have a very strong French accent, uh, most of my career was in the US and in New York.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I started with L'Oreal uh back in France, and I was sent very early on um to New York initially for 18 months, and I never left.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: And with that, uh so you never know, you know you never know what's gonna what's gonna lead to to your life and your career basically.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and from there, uh I did 15 years with the L'Oreal group in multiple marketing roles from operational marketing on brands like Redcan or Kerastas in the Salon Professional Division to Global Marketing Responsibilities, where I was in charge not only of North America but of the world uh for KILLS or for Redcan, where you do product development, product branding, uh uh brand equity, uh global strategy, and interact with the markets basically.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I have a very well-rounded uh beauty marketing uh profile.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh later, you know, like we started to add digital e-commerce, started with YouTube and Facebook before Instagram was a thing, um, and uh and really started to grow this way.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: And then I joined the Amori Pacific group uh in 2017, initially as the general manager of uh one of our brands, Inis3, which is our um our more green and affordable brand that is uh an amazing brand.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and we launched Inis Free uh in September 2017.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh initially with our own freestanding stores, we built 12 stores and a very, very strong robust e-commerce presence, and then at Sephora uh back in 2019.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then last summer uh we kind of reorganized the entire US operation and I was promoted to my current role overseeing all the brands.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I really, really, you know, I um I'm free.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: When I first saw that brand, I remember I was getting into skincare at the time, and um it was just it was just a great product that I had.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think I was using your volcanic uh cleanser, and it was just beautiful.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: It was a beautiful uh product.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: So um that's amazing in in marketing and the beauty industry, it's very, very interesting.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, Inisfree is uh is is is a lovely brand because it's a brand that has such a strong heritage and and brand equity.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: It we're coming from Jeju Island, which is the Hawaii of Korea, if you will, uh, and we're really inspired by all the natural ingredients uh uh that we can find on this on this uh on this island, specifically green tea, because Amore Pacific owns uh uh the third biggest exploitation of green tea in the in the world.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we have built uh uh a complete expertise on green tea uh over the last 60 years.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and it's really like a farm-to-face uh approach to skincare.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: We have this expertise of green tea for the face.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: We have developed our own species of green tea just for skincare, uh, and have developed all the knowledge uh and studies to understand the effect of green tea on the skin.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: I would love, uh Julian, if you could talk about the history of the brand, because you know, clearly it was but goes back to the 1940s, right?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love for you to talk about how it's preserved uh Korean beauty, and it's really, you know, when I think of Korean beauty, I'm not gonna lie, this is these are the brands I think of, all of your brands.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, so I really want to know, and I'm sure the listeners want to know how the you know, what's the tradition and the and the history there?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you can talk to us about that.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, before K Beauty was a trend, there was actually Korean beauty.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there was Korean beauty in Korea, if you will.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and Amore Pacific is by is for sure like the pioneer and and the group that put Korean beauty on the map globally.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, as of last year, we're the number 12 uh global beauty company in the world according to the WWD uh uh ranking.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and of course, it started in Korea and then progressively all over Asia, and more recently, North America, Australia, Europe have been where the brand has been the group has been expanding.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it started literally 75 years ago, uh back in 1945, uh, with the roots of the company even going earlier than that, 1932, uh, with the the in the the company was was started in the kitchen of uh of uh our founders.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh his mother was doing uh creating like uh a Camilla Albay's uh hair, hair, hair and skincare product that she was selling on the market, and that's what infused progressively uh our founder's sensitivity to uh uh uh to beauty and to and to the cosmetic market and the cosmetic opportunity.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: And from there, uh our founder really uh developed a group uh based on uh uh uh an in uh an intimate understanding of natural ingredients, uh, and also being inspired by by how French companies were doing it at the time.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: He traveled a lot to France and being inspired on how actually L'Oreal was doing it, and then built uh this empire uh in Korea first and in Asia second.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I didn't know that there was this uh French collaboration and you know this this intermingling with that going on.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the French always seem to do it the best way sometimes, yeah.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's the I can I can take part into that uh that conversation.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: But um no, honestly, that that's very, very interesting.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I love that um, you know, the the whole line, all the well, all of the lines are founded in this um beautiful journey and this formulation, right?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I wanna, for example, I'm gonna tell you my favorite essence is the amorphacific essence, the the was the single ferment essence.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: What is the full name?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, vintage shingle extract essence.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, oh my god, Julian.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: That that one product, I'm not joking, has changed my entire skin since I started using it, you know.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: So it's phenomenal.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: No, it's an amazing product because this is you know, this is exactly what I was mentioning about our expertise in green tea and owning the field.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like this essence, you know, you know that KBT, a big part of KBT is fermentation uh and fermented uh extraction.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: And this product literally has is one continuous extraction process.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like we take the green tea uh out of our green tea leaves out of our our field and we ferment it, and it's a hundred-day process uh from drying to fermenting, and then uh when we press, we extract literally what comes directly into the bottle.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: The bottle is just a glass bottle, it and what you get into the inside of the bottle is completely unmessed with, untouched, and it's the pure extraction of that process.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow, that's wonderful.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so, how much like how much lab, like I want to I want you to dive into like more of the formulations for your product?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how much do you work with the labs and like what are some things that you guys really, you know, like because I I feel like all of the brands that that are under this umbrella are very, very forward, you know what I mean, in the technology, in the so I want to know about that how you keep everything cutting edge and amazing.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: So, like you know, you thanks for mentioning the labs and uh research and innovation because uh we have the biggest RD center in Asia for beauty uh with over 500 researchers.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's based right outside of Seoul in a beautiful building.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: Our founder is uh loves architecture, and every uh Amber Pacific building is uh is uh uh an architectural uh prowess, I would say.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so uh investing in research and development has been at the core of the success of our company uh with this passion for natural ingredients.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: So ginseng, uh, camellia, uh green tea, all those are specific ingredients native of Korea that uh we've developed uh a real expertise over the last 60 years, and we constantly be at the forefront of technologies for that innovation research center.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's interesting because you're right, ginger and tea have been around for so long, but you know, um to see brands such as you know yours doing it the right way, you know, we have to bring medical research in and we have to bring chemistry and more, you know what I mean, to understand what's going on there.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I really like that you guys are doing this.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, it's uh it's a very uh timely process, you know.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: Again, like I think Amora Pacific is really well known for like doing things over a long period of time and really committing to the long time and to the process.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I think something that I forgot to mention is every single brand of the group has been completely created internally, contrary to other uh beauty groups that uh grows through acquisition of smaller brands that they then globalize.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um has created every single of its 30 brands uh in in-house, basically, which is a very interesting way to think about it.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: That is very interesting.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, can you walk us through like kind of what which was the first one and how did you guys come through?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: I want I want to know the timeline of this.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: So, even myself, I don't know all the details, but what I can say, you know, we we we we started to be like the ABC group, which was uh Asian beauty company, I believe.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh no, uh sorry, Asian beauty creators, ABC, Asian beauty creators, and that progressively became Amore, and then Amore Pacific became like a bigger thing.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: But Amore was one of the first brands uh that still got like uh a progressive evolution to today, and then other brands uh were born more recently.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh Suwasu was born in the early 90s, uh Inisri came to be in 2000, basically.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: So uh Laneige back in the late 90s.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: So all the more the more famous brands that we have brought in the US are more like on the more recent side of our portfolio, but we have this 75-year-year-old history basically.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: I wanna, you know, that's that's so interesting because I feel like you're also representing a huge um you know gradation in the market for the what type of consumers.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I know that you know some people really gravitate towards um, you know, a more Pacific, and some granite gravitate towards other brands.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did you really um kind of craft that um with in terms of demographics of who you you were targeting?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I think you know, each of our 30 brands and each of our four brands in the US really have like a strong brand equity, a strong territory, a strong storytelling, and are um engineered for specific uh demographics or specific distribution channels.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that's what I love in my job, is like every day I have to think, you know, a more like a very luxury approach with a more pacific, a more affordable approach within history or la neige, uh, where it's all about fun or natural ingredients and sustainability for in history.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um La Neige, it's all about like sleeping masks and Sephora, like we're the number eight brand at Sephora at this point.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: So we're very, very much we're going extremely fast.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: And then when you and then you go to another meeting and it's about ammo pacific, luxury, uh process, uh uh artisanship, uh, beautiful decor and experiences.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so it's very interesting and fascinating to see uh all the different facets of our portfolio.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: And and at the end of the day, we have this matrixal approach where you kind of you know you have a product for every um every skin type, every demographic, every budget, and every distribution channel, from uh you know, very luxury with Burdlock Goodman and Neyman Markus to Sephora, uh to Amazon, uh to of course digital.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we're we're we we're able to cater to uh a big diversity of consumers.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's actually what I want to talk to you next is about your you know the company's uh real dedication to this diversity and growth initiatives.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you you guys are all about growth and all that.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I think inclusivity is done so well um by your brand.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I just want to know more about that.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: How do you you know approach this?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think you know, we we're really about so as I mentioned, you know, our brands are organized to really be complementary to each other so we can kind of canvas uh most of the needs out there.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh after, um uh we're really about star products, we call them engine products, uh, and we really believe in the power of, you know, uh we really believe in our formulas back to our investment in uh in research and innovation.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so we know that when people start touching our formulas, whether it's through sampling, through demonstration, or just purchasing a first product, they will come back, they will be convinced by the power of our formulas, and then they will dive into uh uh um into the uh more deeply into the brand.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're really focusing on our star products.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh for Laneige, it's obviously the lip sleeping mask.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: We sell one every minute uh at Sephora in the US at this point.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, that mask is so good, too.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: I know why.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: We can't keep it on the shelf.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: There's always more people that discover it every day.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we're very um we're very excited about this.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: On Sulwasu, we have our first care activating serum, which is really encompassing all body's expertise about ginseng that I was mentioning earlier.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and this from this product is the number one uh product in Korea uh in the luxury world, uh, and has been uh growing extremely fast uh in the US and putting the brand on the map, basically.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, Julian, do you see a trend when uh what's like really popular in Korea versus the US market for your brands?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is it usually like going hand in hand or is there like some differences?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think I think that was more true a few years ago.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: I think very much, you know, like sleeping mask, which we call in Korea sleeping pack, that really came from Korea.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: That was a K beauty, that was a key uh category of the K-Beauty Crave, I would say.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: And that was really like you know, synonymous uh of uh of K beauty.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: Sheet mask in the same way uh came from there.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: And industry is very strong on sheet mask, it's a key category for us.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: We have biodegradable sheet masks uh in line with our uh sustainability uh profile for this brand.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: So you you saw that um, and and in a way, you know, some serums and and and toners, all all the liquid skincare was very much inspired by KBUT.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: I would say that in the last couple of years, I'm seeing a bit more less, you know, of like a key obvious category that is coming from Korea.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's a bit more blended at this point.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: However, hybridation of um uh and uh of skincare uh has been inspired very much by by Korean beauty as well.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that makes sense.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually want to uh shift back to the science and research stuff because you know I'm a huge science nerd, so I love talking all things, you know, formulation.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so I want to talk to you about how you guys have in your formulas created a balance of um old and traditional ingredients, for example, ginseng, but then keeping the new innovative stuff that's coming up, you know, in technology.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: How do you how do you balance that?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like in terms of formula.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I think again, you know, it starts with the natural natural ingredient um and uh and and that expertise and so and locally sourced ingredients, sustainably sourced ingredients, and really uh uh an in-depth in-depth understanding of uh the properties of those ingredients for the skin.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then uh we pair them with either uh delivery systems to to go deeper into the skin, even though I'm not supposed to say that.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we'll pretend like we never heard it, guys.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: Or you know, marrying those natural ingredients exactly.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what what we believe very much is this trend that is kind of you know, we've all heard about clean beauty, and we believe that where we're going is clinical, which uh clean C L E N of clinical and really merging those natural ingredients and those clean beauty um uh fundamentals of you know being extremely respectful to the skin.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: But we we are gonna now pair them uh with um uh uh boosted active that comes maybe from you know uh uh a green chemistry uh or uh uh uh sustainably sustainable farming that are boosted by technology.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's something that we're really interested with, and we're speaking with our labs about.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like that's the dream child in skincare, which you just described, you know, clean and clinical skincare.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you know, this is a very interesting point you're bringing up because I think in the uh conversations right now, um, there is no idea of this merger of the two, right?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's all there's like either clinical skincare or there's clean beauty skincare.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it's I completely love that you guys are merging this.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: This is this is gonna be great.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then you know, after like beyond the product, it's all about the experience and how do you merge digital with it.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so, what has been an amazing journey for Amore Pacific uh and a great pride for us is that two years in a row, since last year, uh we've been presenting at CES, you know, the big trade show in Las Vegas, uh the consumer show, and we won some prizes for the beauty innovation.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the one last year, the one last year was my favorite one.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: Again, you know, we are an expert in sheet mask, and we presented um uh uh a new technology that was uh was allowing you to print uh a face mask completely uh suitable to your face and a 3D face uh customized sheet mask basically uh that we will take a picture with a scan or with an a cell phone and then be able to print uh a sheet mask completely suited and fitted to your skin contour.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: So that was super cool.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and this year that is so cool.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, wait, wait, you can't keep going yet.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I sorry, sorry, I'm so excited.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: I seriously, for me, sheet masks are like game changing.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: I it's my favorite skincare product, so I'm gonna have to look more into this.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: This is very cool.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, so that was you know, I we we love that innovation, and this year we did uh something completely different.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: It was actually in makeup.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: I've been talking a lot about skincare, but we have a big uh makeup business in Asia.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh we've launched uh a new technology this year, uh, which is pretty much a customization of of lipstick with uh where you can select a amongst two 2,000 shades with different pigments and have your uh uh lipstick completely customized uh uh for uh for your skin tone.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, so I can finally find my perfect nude lip color.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's oh wow, yeah.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's also so how do you how are you guys managing to do that?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: 2,000 shades, that's a lot.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: How did you realize that?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because you know, like the the limitation when you're producing traditionally basically is you have like you produce in a factory far away from the point of sale, and now when you have this ability to blend and to have to bring the lib factory on the point of sale, on the point of purchase, or wherever the customer consumer is for that experience, then you can have this customization and personalization and tailor-made approach to beauty, which is really exciting, and which of course, with digital, uh has been making us go much faster in this area.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: I I really love that.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I'm just curious how uh from the digital standpoint, how you're going to interact with the consumers for that, you know, in terms of the buying experience.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so you know, beyond those experience, those so of course, what we present at CES is uh is is very much you know uh uh forward thinking and is not gonna make it to the market tomorrow, but like Trends.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, speaking of digital closer to home, of course, with the COVID pandemic, we had to accelerate our digital pivot and our digital acceleration.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: We were well on our way to it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: So we were not taken by surprise in a way, we were ready for it.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: But for sure, we saw this influx of uh of more demand consumer and traffic on our sites.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: So the big conversation we're having right now is you know, how do we, specifically for our luxury brands for Amway Pacific and so as too, how do we build a digital luxury experience?
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: How do we bring that service and that consultation and that personal touch, if you will, uh, that goes with a$450 cream to a digital experience for someone that is uh at home?
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so we we went really quickly, and I'm so proud of the collaboration with our field team and our digital team.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: And we launched virtual consultation uh very early on, back in April, uh, after we all started to work from home and retail stores were shutting down in March.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, at the beginning it was very low-tech, it was literally like our teams at home with our cell phones, and progressively we're with, you know, we we saw a lot of interest from consumers, great conversion, a higher basket size actually, uh, compared to people just you know uh shopping online.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we're progressively investing more into like uh a stronger back-end technology to make that experience even more seamless.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: Julian, why not mix the 3D idea with um customizing your luxury brands?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: That would be amazing.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like that that's certainly on our roadmap, you know, we have a little bit of logistic to figure out to figure out behind that.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: And again, you know, in the in the case of the US right now, we have yet to have a strong makeup brand.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: We're more focusing on building skincare.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of makeup though, I did uh bug Maria because I I I wanted to try your uh SPF foundation, and I she was like, We're not big on makeup right now, but sure, and I love it.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: I am in love with that product, so I can't wait for your makeup.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I you meant are you referring to the cushion technology?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, the cushion foundation, it is truly, truly a beautiful product.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and you know, so in it, so a more pacific group was the inventor of the cushion technology.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: So, in addition to that's that's probably one of the biggest things, you know, that is associated to KBT, and that was a huge, a huge breakthrough.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: And this idea of a very wearable, um, embraceable uh foundation uh that you can apply very easily in a compact with SPF, and that has been a huge success.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that is a hundred percent a breakthrough and a patent.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that that it's a beautiful foundation, and I'm somebody who never wears foundations, so for me to be able to use it and go to work is has been a huge game changer.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited about the customizable lipstick, though.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna be something I'm I'll be on that website all day.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: So uh um a lot of these smaller brands that are interview, you know, oftentimes they can't, you know, the innovation part right of the formula is where we always get stuck.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to ask for your advice for smaller brands that don't have their own lab facilities, they're relying on these, you know, external labs.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do they take more control of this um, you know, innovation-backed uh idea that you guys are practicing?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: Put your finger on the on a critical issue and a critical difference between uh you know big big big beauty groups like Amora Pacific and and small DTC brands, uh, to have the capability to have your labs in-house and your power of innovation in-house, and so come up with true differentiated technology that only you are gonna have is a huge point of difference.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_02: When you do work with a third-party uh vendor and manufacturer, uh, of course, you can always be first to access a technology, but more often than not, you're gonna have to share it with other brands.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so that's a key point of difference.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_02: So it's very uh, I think what is important um for those those uh independent brands is to really stay true to your core and who you are, uh, because uh that's for your point of difference, and that's how you create uh the fandom and the loyalty of your consumers.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I I read recently an article a few few months ago an article about uh how drunk elephant, you know, was very much all about like airless packaging, and one product they launched without airless packaging, and immediately, you know, it was uh it was a challenge because consumers felt it was not true to the core of the brand.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I think staying to the your brand core and equity and what you stand for um is important because if you're not gonna have you know uh the power to invest in breakthrough technology uh all the time.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that makes sense.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's great advice.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's really great advice because you know, and also I from a research standpoint, I wonder if this, you know, there needs to be this more collaborative environment from the get-go.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, do you agree with that?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think right now skincare is is shifting.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously, brands such as uh as yours, you guys are doing it right.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you're you're putting numbers out there and you're you're showing transparency.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: But I wonder for smaller brands, you know, uh really bringing in the science and the and the innovation.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I I just wonder if it would be easier if they collaborated with larger brands or other brands.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's um it's it's it's hard for me to comment on that because I'm I'm not on the other side.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know, I know.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but um uh you know, I think what is very important is uh uh full transparency and accuracy to the consumer.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you have to spend money on your claims uh and being really like say say truly what you what your your formula is gonna deliver and not misrepresent it.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: I really believe in that.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, everybody out there, I hope you've loved this interview.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: Julian, thank you so much.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: This has been amazing.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's been a dream come true because uh, like I said, every brand that you represent is my all-time favorite Korean beauty brand.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, I very much appreciate your time.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's always fun to talk about something I'm so passionate about.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm I'm glad we got a chance to chat.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody listening, please leave us some comments and I will pass them along to uh Julian's team if they have time to answer them.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: But thank you so much and stay tuned for another episode.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: Bye.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Bye.
• 28:36
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