Raising the bar: Thai brand Cosmos & Harmony aiming to expand into the US

The brand is available domestically in leading shopping destinations such as Icon Siam, Siam Discovery, King Power Rangnam, Bangkok Art & Culture Center. It is also available to travellers in Donmuang airport.

The products are already available on Amazon, but the company hopes to continue expanding its presence overseas.

In March, the company participated in Natural Products Expo West to find opportunities in the US.

“We would like to go for the US market both online and offline. We believe that Thailand is a country that is rich with nature’s goodness and we can help people in the US learn more about us,” ​said Arunee Atipapong, co-founder of Cosmos & Harmony.

The company is working on expanding its range of products to include natural skin care and hopes to develop more organic products.

It has already expanded its line with its first bath and body care series which includes a shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion made with organic black glutinous rice.

“Black glutinous rice contains the highest amount of anthocyanin compared to other kinds of rice. It acts as potent antioxidant, hunting down free radicals… and also stimulates hair growth. That's why we wanted to put its goodness into more of personal care products” Said Atipapong.​

It also uses three other Thai rice varieties including jasmine rice, red rice and rice berry in its Khao Thai Rice Soap collection.

Discerning users love soap bars

While some people may see bar soap as a piece of nostalgia, Cosmos & Harmony believes the product is making a comeback.

“There is a group of people who love bar soap as they know that it is the most natural cleansing substance they could get for their daily life,” ​said Atipapong.

She added that Thai consumers were becoming increasingly concerned over safety and discerning about personal care products.

“People in Thailand are starting to be more concerned and better educated about ​toxicity of the skin and the personal care products they are using. With this knowledge, they have the desire to make safer choices in the personal care products they buy.”​

“Our products are made out of good quality ingredients and provide good benefits for both body and mind. We got good reviews from our customers that our Shea Butter collection is really good for people with sensitive skin and for people undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer,” Said Atipapong. ​She added that it considered its products gifts “either for others or for yourself​”.

"Each of our collections is designed to have different concepts and stories with carefully-selected ingredients that make each soap special — either with the look or the benefits for body and mind."​

With its quirky designs, Atipapong admitted that some consumers may view its products as novelty gifts. However, it believed consumers will appreciate the quality ingredients and benefits it has on skin.

She said: “Some of our collections are considered as novelty soap as they are fun to have or give to other people as gifts. But for other collections, we are clear that it gives benefits of the good ingredients as each of the collections tells different stories any gives different sensations.”​