The global beauty industry is also known as “recession-proof” given man’s never-ending desire to unlock the fountain of youth.
But it is usually a competitive industry in Singapore, dominated by international skincare and cosmetics giants including Clinique from the United States, Japan’s SK-II and Laneige from South Korea.
Despite the cutthroat environment, over the past 4 years the local market has seen a gradual but distinct latest wave of smaller, homegrown players, all hoping to attain in the large leagues like their hugely successful local predecessors Skin Inc and Strip .
Local entrepreneur Sabrina Tan’s Skin Inc became the primary local skincare brand to be available globally at Sephora in 2013.
National waxing brand Strip, which was founded in 2002 and is an element of Spa Esprit Group, is now present in 10 major capital cities, including London, New York and Beijing.
Over the past 4 years, a minimum of 15 local beauty and sweetness brands have entered the fray, with various degrees of success. The appeal of starting your personal brand despite Singapore’s competitive beauty scene is since the industry is an untapped marketplace for local beauty brands, brand founders say.
“This is definitely an area that still has potential – especially with products created with Asian skin and our unique climate in mind,” says Keith Codling, 40, and co-founder of Alexiares & Ani, the botanical skincare brand he founded along with his wife Dawn in 2013. “We started our brand because we wanted to create tropical-specific products that don’t really exist, even though there are so many brands on the market.”
Source : Times of the Strait
