Yonsei News

Recipe for Cosmetics: Secrets Hidden in Labels

Upon close inspection, you would come across around 20 different types of ingredients recorded and arranged in a complex manner onto one single label pasted on a cosmetic container. It might be hard to comprehend how all these listed ingredients are contained within a small container. Still, depending on how these numerous ingredients are arranged and mixed, new cosmetics that fulfill the desired effect, as well as the brand's concept, are developed and showcased in the market. Just like how each patient receives an individual prescription from a hospital, and just as how a dish is made according to each chef's recipe, the composition and combination of these ingredients differ for each cosmetic brand.

Biostandard is a cosmetics company run by Yonsei University alumnus Young Wook Jo. It develops and prescribes cosmetics raw materials with its own technology suitable for each cosmetic brand and even develops and supplies products and branding according to the needs of client brands. Even in South Korea, the country called a "cosmetics exhibition hall," Biostandard's position in the industry stands out. It is garnering more attention as the company shows the rare capability to develop unique prescriptions and supply solutions that can improve customer value instead of simply pursuing rapid mass development and production. We met up with Jo, who was spending yet another busy day putting out the cosmetics he imagined in his head into the real world through various prescriptions.

A Scientist Meets New World in Humanities

Since he was young, Young Wook Jo was always drawn to making something, to the extent that he would buy children's magazines to get his hands on the add-ons he could assemble. During his elementary school years, he was wrapped up in the world of dinosaurs; Through his middle to high school years, he took an interest in genes and organisms, which are the sources of life, eventually leading him to enter the Department of Biotechnology at Yonsei University. Though majoring in the field that "explores for answers," on top of attending his major's lectures, he also found meanings and values in other activities he took part in during his life on campus. He devoted much of his passion to club activities such as music societies and bands in his department. Above all, Yonsei's broad and vibrant academic fields provided him with the foundation to gain a better insight into the world.

"After completing my military service, I started finding great appeal in literature and movies and was drawn to them; this led me to take humanities subjects, such as aesthetics and philosophy.  I initially took these courses because I told myself that I should not end up being a "science student" with no cultural assets. I remember being shocked after discovering that students majoring in humanities and social sciences were learning such interesting things. A lecture on the topic of consilience by Professor Eee-Moon Park, in particular, comes to mind. In the past, everyone chased after absolute values, but we live in a multicultural society now. While listening to Professor Park’s lecture, I experienced a huge change in my science-and-engineering way of thinking I only thought of exploring "absolute answers." I began thinking that there isn't just one answer, but various values exist and continue to be created. Also, it would be more fun to respect and enjoy diversity itself rather than to distinguish the values' superiority. It was a time when I filled up my inner self. In a way, I think the humanities-based perspective that I experienced during my time at the university was what appealed to me to the cosmetics business at the interface between technology and sensibility."

Stepping into the World of Startup, Just Because It was Fun and Exciting

Jo became a young entrepreneur in 2013. However, he did not start this journey with a detailed plan of creating his own business in mind. After graduating, he went on to further his education at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Dentistry, as recommended by a friend from the same major. While researching biomaterials and stem cells, he had an opportunity to participate in the Seoul National University's patent startup competition with the idea of setting up a "large stem cell factory" that can produce stem cells in large quantities. He found the process of developing his idea and leading it to a startup to be delightful.

"I found myself no longer feeling any excitement about achieving new academic heights as I continued my education. However, the process of coming up with ideas for the competition and materializing them to become something real and physical was extremely stimulating. I could have thought more about other career paths, such as being a professor or a medical professional. Still, instead of taking on a job that felt static and focused mainly on research findings, I wanted to do something that more people could relate to. I thought to myself to just go with the flow and do what my heart desired. As long as something looks fun, I should give it a go."

With that, he gave the startup a try, not with any grand aspiration in mind but only because it was something "fun and exciting." With a mere capital of one million won, Jo established a company with a friend of his, and with the help of the Yonsei University Enterprise Support Foundation, he managed to set up a desk in the basement of the Yonsei University Foundation's Y-Building to begin his research. In the beginning, he had a vague goal of developing a service that is based on academic and industrial governance that could become the standard in the industry of bio-derived consumer goods, but as his company was selected to be a government-supported start-up project, a more detailed business idea started taking shape. He wanted to apply his basic knowledge of biomaterials to make something that could be used widely in everyday life.

"I started with a mindset to do things as much as I possibly could. Since I had no prior knowledge of business management, I had a vague idea of "Let's make something good." I started with the things I have experienced in the labs. Dentists put Vaseline on the patients' lips to prevent them from getting hurt during surgeries. I wanted to create a product like Vaseline, something versatile that could be used by anyone and everyone all over the world for a long time. Since Vaseline is extracted from petroleum, it is not considered healthy for the human body. While finding an alternative to petroleum, we came up with a solution to make raw materials for cosmetic moisturizers out of protein materials extracted from cocoons. This led to the development of "Derma Shell." During then, we just moved our laboratory from the Y-Building to the Engineering Research Park inside the university campus, and since government-supported projects have to be commercialized, we also had to set up a small factory, the scale of which was comparable to that of studios that make handicraft products. It was so small that it stunned the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety officers when they came to examine our factory before granting us permits. Back then, Yonsei also allocated us two students who were on their internships, and with the raw material and formula developed, the three of us were producing, filling up, and packaging these products in bulk."

At its initial stages of development, the company had to manage the entire process from developing raw materials to prescription, production, branding, and marketing with a limited workforce while facing new challenges every day due to a lack of funds, human resources, time, and resources. Nonetheless, every moment was an exciting one back then. Enduring these tough times allowed Biostandard to possess a unique strength that is rarely found in other companies in the industry. Jo accounts it to experiencing the world as it is and developing a stronger inner-self due to it.

From Customized Cosmetics Prescriptions to Supply Chain Management

During the early growth period of the start-up, Jo continued working through his set of challenges by conducting market examinations on sales in China, and he even attempted to launch a brand. In 2016, he managed to receive an investment from a venture investment company that was looking for a brand with research and development personnel, from which he established a stable foundation for the company. That led to the company's strategic direction being reinforced, and soon the company began building a reputation for being a secure independent prescription company. In 2018, it achieved massive growth by attaining an investment from "iicombined," a company operating brands such as "Gentle Monster," "Nudake," and a cosmetics brand, "tamburins." The driving force behind the company's growth is its reliable products and a three-dimensional solution beyond the products. Biostandard has not only the capability of cosmetics content manufacturing technology but also the ability to coordinate supply chain issues related to this.

"The core of our business is to develop prescriptions of cosmetics that feel like blueprints to the content of cosmetic products. It is about discovering what kind of materials can be used to develop products that fit its purpose and needs. Based on the prescriptions developed, we also carry out the production and delivery of the final product. The current structure of many cosmetic companies in the industry has a clear divide between the manufacturing plants, or manufacturers, and the brand company, or sellers. This division inevitably leads to conflicts arising between the two sides due to the lack of communication and restrictive information management. Since we develop new materials to fit the needs of our consumers, we do not use any pre-made prescriptions for our cosmetics. Therefore, we are also in charge of the coordination between the brand companies and manufacturing plants."

This is a business that not only requires the technical skills to fulfill its core business agenda of cosmetics prescription development but also sufficient experience and understanding of the entire process of the supply chain's value chain. This is what makes Biostandard so competitive among other existing manufacturing plants that simply focus on the aspects of "cost" and "production."

The Answer Lies in the Customer Value

The most crucial thing is to find an answer to the question, "what value would the company provide to customers?" This is something that gave Young Wook Jo the greatest challenge in the early stages of his business, and it remains to be a key concern even today, but it is also distinguished strength possessed by Biostandard in the industry. This can be seen from the positive feedback the company has received from its collaborative projects with renowned brands in the market.

"It is heartening to see a high repurchase rate. It is of great fortune to have met a client company that can accurately pinpoint what consumers want, but I believe that the development of prescriptions that can aptly target the direction of where the product of the brand in question is going is also contributing a lot. We focus mainly on customized development and production of products that best suit the customer companies' projects. For the majority of cosmetic manufacturing plants, raw materials and ingredients cannot be easily swapped out because they have pre-existing stocks of these materials. For us, however, if we become certain that using another material will fit the needs of our customers more, we do not hesitate to replace them. In addition, by conducting various tests, we can also carry out research to develop textures, scents, and combinations that cannot be replicated anywhere else, which would be later recommended to our customers. We design the prescription in a manner that would ensure positive experiences for ordinary consumers so that they would recognize the brand and its products to be worthy of being "remembered and reused."

Jo is set on making "good products" from "good raw materials." In the case of a major client brand, "tamburins," delicate efforts were put into ensuring that only high-quality materials were used and creating the ultimate fragrance points that the brand was looking for. Olfactory is the most effective way to stimulate a customer's five senses and immediately engrave a unique image of the brand in their minds. Deer oil cream from deer oil ingredients developed by Jo is a bestseller of the brand "Century Recipes," loved by Korean and Japanese customers. Inspired by the Inuits who overcame harsh weather conditions by applying reindeer oil on their faces, this product was developed and branded to fit the latest needs of consumers. It also made use of a unique and refreshing scent reminiscent of the image of a deer used for its branding.

Jo spares no effort in trying to internalize the customer's perspective in the process of organizational operation and product development. To enhance their understanding of customers' needs, the company is conducting curriculums that help them view stages of production of their items in reverse order, all the way from a customer's voice to the development of a new product item. They are also getting their researchers involved in face-to-face meetings with their clients to increase their understanding of the customers' needs while making efforts to prevent the development of myopic perspectives for researchers who would spend most of their time in laboratories.

Holding onto the Blueprint for Future Growth

Despite the harsh conditions such as COVID-19, Biostandard's business performance has been experiencing exponential growth, doubling its sales yearly. Following the growth of its main shareholder and client, tamburins, the company has been heavily invested in the associated line of work. Recently, the company also managed to get an investment from the Wish Company, a company leading the Korean beauty scene in the United States, contributing to the development of its products as well. Everything has been nothing but uphill for Biostandard. However, Jo is determined not to be complacent, as he still tries to continue to work on opening new doors of opportunities. There are indeed growing concerns about the future of the cosmetics manufacturing industry due to issues such as the dichotomous relationship between manufacturers and sellers, the problems caused by the ODM method where companies would simply change the design and text of a pre-existing product to make a new product, as well as the recent revision of the legislation on cosmetics registration by the Chinese government. However, he has a clear vision, conscientiously drawing a blueprint of the future business that can overcome these issues.

"In South Korea, the significance of cosmetics prescription is not highlighted as many manufacturers already have their hands on an array of them. Shortly, however, upon the establishment of smart factories, it is predicted that there will be changes, such as production transfers between cosmetics factories and global cross-production. And suppose the rights to cosmetics prescriptions are tied to these smart factories. In that case, it is forecasted that many brand companies will not have the liberty in the operation of production in the future, which will bring about the greater significance for companies like Biostandard. We are planning to pursue the development of block "modules" made out of complex raw ingredients that can be combined to create unique products that meet the needs of the clients. Just by making a few modifications to a combination, the functions and usability of a product would change drastically. It is a much faster and easier method than the traditional way of doing it."

Biostandard is also making preparations for an online platform business; the company has been digitalizing manufacturing information since 2017 so that information regarding the manufacturing processes can be disclosed for client companies to gain easy and convenient access to these data anywhere, anytime. He hopes this would lay a foundation for customers and manufacturers to work in transparency so that even within the cosmetics industry, there can be a system that allows businesses to engage in "consultation" rather than "negotiation."

Going Beyond the Satisfaction from Laboratory

Quite a number of Yonsei alumni have taken up important roles in the cosmetics industry, such as Chairman Suh Kyung-bae of Amorepacific, CEO Hyun Ok Han of CLIO Cosmetics, CEO Yeo-Won Yoon of Kolmar Korea, and CEO Byunghoon Kim of AprilSkin. The community of Yonsei alumni in the cosmetics industry, known as the "YIB (Yonsei In Beauty)," has been a reliable pillar of support for Young Wook Jo. Within YIB, challenges faced during business are discussed, information is shared, and motivation is gained through interaction with alumni currently leading some renowned beauty brands. He has faced countless numbers of trials and errors, from a tiny office and factory located on the university campus to a successful company today, but he stands firm in the belief that "if he did not start the business, he would not have dealt with the concerns that ultimately shaped him to be the way he is today." With that, he offers the most practical advice and warm encouragement to his juniors planning on starting a business.

"Getting into startups is relatively easy. However, growing this business into one that is sustainable takes a lot of effort and time. During this process, you must also constantly think about consumers' needs. Especially for technology-based laboratory startups, you may face a lot of unforeseen difficulties if you only focus on the technology without acquiring an accurate understanding of the market. So did I. You may feel a great sense of accomplishment when you get back meaningful results from the laboratory, but you should be wary of this as well. You should link this to considerations of "Will a consumer purchase this?" and "How can we make them purchase this?" Consumers will only be willing to spend their money when provided with a product that exceeds their expectations."

Jo has been pursuing "things that he liked and found interesting" all his life since childhood. The young boy who was obsessed with dinosaurs took an interest in studying organisms and genes, then soon went on to study biotechnology, and developed a simple hope and curiosity in finding something that was "better than Vaseline" while studying different materials; this became a starting point for him to venture out on his journey of making "cosmetics that last in a customer's mind for a long time." With him publishing a book on various unique bingsu recipes that he created back when he was passionate about the shaved ice dessert and making several appearances on numerous television programs to talk about bingsu, he is the living embodiment of "turning one's job into a job." So far, he has only been chasing after things that he liked and thought were fun, and is now making efforts to think from a customer's perspective and listen attentively to their needs, thinking "the fruit of what I do is held in other people's trees." Jo aims to provide his consumers with the essence and standard of cosmetics that will not lose their value over time and make cosmetics that consumers would "want to try" and "want to use all the time" and has the "quality acknowledged worldwide." We look forward to seeing the success of Young Wook Jo and his company, Biostandard.