Growing in Asia: Grown Alchemist furthers Asia expansion with Sephora SEA launch

The move will see the brand gain a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines from September onwards.

“We are very excited about the launch because customers in SEA are very smart in terms of how they choose their skin care. There’s constant exposure to social media and that’s where they learn about ingredients. That makes us want to make sure that we have the most cutting-edge products,”​ said Jo Ruo, head of marketing, Grown Alchemist.

This is in line with the company’s goal to scale up its international presence. In July, it debuted in the Chinese market.

“That has been going really well so far. We have the full distribution in China and have launched in 324 Sephora doors in China,”​ Ruo told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.​

Given its importance as the leading skin care market, Asia represented the biggest opportunity for the company, said Ruo.

Grown Alchemist will launch with a limited collection of 21 products. Ruo said the line-up was curated especially for the SEA market.

“The selection process was tailored for the SEA consumer in terms of texture, smell and function. We also picked out top-selling products because its important to showcase the best of Grown Alchemist.”​

She added that the company will evaluate its selection and expand the collection if it deems necessary.

Ripe for the picking

She added that the company felt that it was the right time to expand in the region as the brand was aligned with the current skin care trends in the market.
“Asian consumers are now looking for simplified products because their routines and how they perceive and use skin care have changed after COVID. More people are conscious about what they use. We’re not just a natural brand, we are a functional skin care brand, that that’s why we are popular in Asia because that’s what they are looking for.​

Simplified skin care routines are one of the key themes identified by Sephora SEA. Dubbed skin streaming, the beauty major expects beauty consumers to forgo lengthy routines in favour of focusing “only on what the skin truly needs”.​

Ruo explained that Grown Alchemist advocates a three-step system to create an optimised environment to nurture healthy skin.
“The three steps are cleanse, renew, and activate. It’s all about how we activate the skin function for it to reach the optimal level. We believe that if your skin cells are not healthy with damage and pollution, what ever you put on the skin won’t work as well. This concept is well understood by the Asian consumer because they prioritise health.”​

Grown Alchemist was founded in 2008 by brothers Jeremy and Keston Muijs. In 2022, the L’Occitane Group acquired a majority stake​ in the Melbourne-based brand as it looked to expand in the clean beauty market.