In its 30th anniversary year, Dr. Recella continues to lead Japan's esthetic salon industry while expanding globally with innovative brands like LUMIXIA. Known for its meticulous pursuit of perfection and commitment to safe, effective products, the company now serves markets across China, ASEAN, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Can you give us a brief overview of your company?
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the company's founding. We operate a diversified business that "contributes to beauty, health, and the global environment," with a main focus on wholesale esthetic salons in Japan. Currently, the company operates in many areas, including cosmetics, fitness, agricultural production, food, and welfare businesses. Since its establishment, we have been committed to manufacturing products that are safe and effective, and we have become the No. 1 company in terms of market share in the domestic esthetic salon industry. It was more than 10 years ago that we began taking on the challenge of "overseas expansion" in the hope that people overseas would experience our products, which are recognized by professionals. At that time, we experienced some failures and realized that we could not compete in the world only with "high-quality products." There are two measures that have become major starting points for the growth of our current overseas business. The first was to create an exclusive brand for overseas markets, not the same products as in Japan, but one that incorporates the know-how we have accumulated based on feedback from overseas customers.
The first is LUMIXIA, a brand name coined for a product sold exclusively overseas, which means "something worth illuminating." As a wholesaler mainly to salons, we have been introducing products to each customer through counseling and have suggested usage methods and amounts after examining their skin conditions. However, overseas customers did not like complicated usage methods or routines with multiple steps. In addition, the e-commerce market is growing at a dizzying pace, and now that online purchases are commonplace, the market for counseling cosmetics alone is limited. It is wonderful to be able to "pursue individual beauty" with salon-grade quality products in home care, with simple skin care that anyone can easily adopt, regardless of gender, race, skin type, or climate. The launch of LUMIXIA, which is easy to sell both online and offline, has expanded the market rapidly. This year, we plan to further expand and strengthen our product lineup.
The second was the spin-off of the Overseas Business Division as a group company. In March 2021, the Overseas Business Division was reborn as a Dr. Recella group company. After all, the overseas market is fast-moving and easily influenced by external factors such as exchange rates and COVID-19. Therefore, we were able to strategically implement speedy responses and adapt to a rapidly changing environment by running a team composed of professionals with overseas experience as a group company. It is a great feat for only seven people to have antennas all over the world.
Currently, Dr. Recella products are available in multiple countries, mainly in China, but also in ASEAN, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Thanks to this, we have grown to the point where we receive inquiries from distributors who wish to deal with our products.
J-Beauty brands have historically faced stiff competition from Western brands as well as the upcoming K-Beauty industry with their strong marketing capabilities. But something that not a lot of people know is that many active ingredients in these products are made in Japan by Japanese manufacturers. Also, there is a shift in consumer preferences towards the Japanese mindset of “less is more” and ethically sourced ingredients. What do you believe are the advantages of J-Beauty?
This might not apply to all Japanese companies, but one thing that stands out here in Japan is the pursuit of perfection with the ingredients. If we look at our own Pure Moisture Water, it is made of seawater and sea salt. As you might know, Okinawa is known for its deep seawater. Of course, if a company labels its water as seawater, it could be any kind of seawater. Our pursuit of perfection goes beyond simply the label. I think this might be the simplest cosmetic product in the world. I don’t think you will find many companies that pursue perfection at the level of detail we do.
Even though some companies use additives, since the amount is less than the criteria, they don’t need to describe it on the label. For example, petroleum-derived BG is inexpensive and commonly used, but we use plant-derived BG such as corn or sugarcane. Also, not a few manufacturers do not even label the ingredients as carryover ingredients.
*1: Carryover ingredients are ingredients that are attached to the ingredients in the formula, or are contained in very small amounts that are used in extracting extracts or for stabilizing raw materials, and are not required to be labeled.
Gri-X is your deep ocean water ingredient contained in your products. Can you tell us some of the specific benefits of this α Gri-X that can promote healthy skin?
Dr. Recella has developed α Gri-X®︎ in pursuit of "providing moisture to more skin, to more people," regardless of skin type, age, or gender. α Gri-X®︎, which is a unique blend of deep seawater from Okinawa and mineral water from the foot of Mt. Koya is used as a base ingredient for most of Dr. Recella's products. Deep seawater has three characteristics: low temperature, cleanliness, and eutrophication. It is also said that the mineral composition of seawater and that of human body fluid have a similar correlation. We have conducted research on deep seawater for more than 20 years, and as a result of our pursuit of water that is close to the mineral balance of human skin, we found deep seawater off the coast of Kudaka Island, Okinawa Prefecture.
Generally, deep seawater is taken at a depth of 200-400m, whereas ours is a unique blend of water taken at three depths: 600m, 1400m, and 1500m. The water taken at a depth of 1500m has been measured to have been on the surface of the earth more than 2000 years ago. Water from a time when there was no air pollution has been preserved in a clean state deep in the ocean, where sunlight does not reach and photosynthesis does not take place. We blended three types of water with different depths in a perfect balance to bring it closer to the mineral components of human skin while ensuring it blends well with the skin. We do not purchase deep ocean water from a water intake company but rather take it ourselves to ensure the highest quality. To further enhance skin penetration, we added mineral water from the foot of Mt. Koya after researching and studying all kinds of water. Mineral spring water is naturally occurring underground water that contains a variety of mineral components. In addition to working on the beauty of the skin, "α Gri-X" allows us to make products using only ingredients that the skin enjoys, without preservatives such as parabens, petroleum-based synthetic surfactants, alcohol, or other substances.
One thing we often hear during our interviews is the idea of partnerships and collaborations to penetrate new markets, co-develop exciting new products, or even just the exchange of ideas. How important are partnerships and collaborations in your business model and are you currently seeking any new partnerships either domestically or internationally? Is LUMIXIA only designed for this market, or are you going to distribute it worldwide?
When expanding overseas, collaboration with local companies is an essential element for business success, which leads to sustainable growth and competitive advantage. We currently do business in more than 13 countries, including China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. By collaborating with trusted partners in each country, we are able to effectively deliver our ideas to local customers by taking advantage of different perspectives and mutual expertise.
For the overseas market, we will strengthen the “LUMIXIA” brand, which is limited to overseas markets. Based on feedback from overseas customers who seek results with simple care, we have developed products that are simple yet provide esthetic salon-grade results, incorporating technology and know-how cultivated over the 30 years since the company's founding.
LUMIXIA products are formulated with fruit extract water known to have moisturizing and skin conditioning effects, and more than 10 kinds of active ingredients such as Pea Peptide, Asparagus Officinalis Stem Extract, and plant stem cell culture solution to enhance the skin's natural ability. The base ingredient makes up about 70-90% of a cosmetic product. A common base ingredient is said to be plain water. By using fruit-extracted water as the base ingredient, we have achieved skin-friendly cosmetics that create a synergistic effect with beauty components. We are confident that our simple and easy-to-use brand will be accepted in any country.
LUMIXIA products are formulated with plant stem cell extracts that act on both the epidermis and dermis. It has two roles: one is to regulate the turnover of the epidermis and make the surface of the skin healthy, and the other is to act on the dermis to make the skin firm and elastic.
We will continue to actively pursue collaborations with overseas companies that share Dr. Recella's corporate philosophy, and we plan to expand LUMIXIA globally.
You mentioned earlier about catering to international markets, so looking towards the future, which markets do you believe have the most potential for growth? As you expand into new markets, what strategies will you employ in order to grow your reach overseas?
We have always placed importance on partnerships, but at the same time, we are cautious to look for partners that are trustworthy. Once a partnership is established, we begin to expand our presence into the market where the partner is located. Going forward, if we are able to find more partners that we consider trustworthy, we would like to increase our presence in their market.
Imagine that we come back in four years and have this interview all over again. What goals or dreams do you hope to achieve by the time we come back for that new interview?
We would like to continue to contribute to improvements in our customers’ skin. In overseas markets, it would be nice to find more partners who agree with our philosophies and are willing to work together with our company. It would depend on the supply chain, but ideally, we are looking to expand our distributors and factories in foreign markets. In the long term, we would also like to take on new business challenges to meet the needs of the market, without being limited by existing management resources. We will focus on approaching potential customers through new initiatives and contributing to the development of local communities through collaboration with local communities. It is exciting to imagine that more and more people will share our vision in the process. We will continue to grow together with overseas partners who share our philosophy and cooperate with us, and we will continue to aggressively challenge new markets without forgetting our gratitude and expand the circle of happiness. We believe that this will lead to "making people happy," which we have cherished since our founding. Last September, Dr. Recella celebrated our 30th anniversary.
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