M'sian cosmetic and wellness brands making big splash in beauty industry

AT ONLY 28, Datuk Dr Azril Mohd Radzi, the owner of the V’Asia line of wellness and beauty products may well be the next Malaysian Max Factor.

Just four years after establishing his brand, the holder of an aircraft engineering degree from Universiti Kuala Lumpur targets RM4mil in gross sales per month, an achievable figure if each of the 8,000 agents selling his products can touch RM500 each.

Currently, the brand has 53 different products distributed by 100 wholesalers nationwide.

“I started in 2011 with RM100,000 saved from my past stints as an agent for a variety of local beauty products,” says Azril.

The bachelor found his niche in the beauty and wellness industry with a multi-level marketing company to earn some extra pocket money. It did not take long before he decided the pyramid system had its flaws. Undeterred he retrained his sights on homegrown beauty brands, which had a more straightforward manufacturer to wholesaler to seller to end-user style.

His first product, a slimming and skin enhancing aid was formulated with the help of a food technologist from Seremban. This formula was then manufactured under a joint-venture agreement with a factory in Nilai. Over the past three years, sales for this product alone have run into millions in terms of units.

Azril, the owner of the V'Asia, may well be the next Malaysian Max Factor.

By 2012, the company was ready to venture into cosmetics and skincare, developing its own line of creams, lipsticks, compact powder, foundation and eyeliner. Last year, V’Asia launched its own range of body enhancing undergarments, adding to their existing line of wellness drinks, hygiene washes and hair products.

Beauty does indeed come with a price, especially with the burgeoning market for Malaysian beauty brands. First to be considered is product placement — with the jamu shops taking precedence before supermarkets and pharmacies. It is a strategy that makes perfect sense considering there are easily 6,000 jamu shops scattered nationwide, which easily outnumbers the pharmacy and supermarket outlets.

Achieving this means finding the right stockist who can push the product. According to one established wholesaler, the emerging demand for Malaysian-made beauty brands has spelt good profits for their founders. Examples include the late Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya, founder of Nouvelle Visages, Junaidah Kitting of De’Wajah and Rozita Ibrahim of Sendayu Tinggi.

Providing a monthly rundown of the value of stock sent from the five top local brands, the wholesaler who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons, says totals for V’Asia stands at RM400,000, RM400,000 for D’Herbs, RM300,000 for Anugerah, RM200,000 for Nouvelle Visages, and RM150,000 for Tia Amelia.

“This is just for one stockist alone. Don’t forget there are hundreds of us.”

The demand has benefited others in the value chain, including the wholesaler herself whose current inventory takes up five storeys of a building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Having started as a direct sales agent herself after finishing Form Six, she observed it was Mustika Ratu, the Indonesian herbal and traditional cosmetic giant, which planted the seed of inspiration for the local beauty and wellness products industry in the 1990s.

“Among the early Malaysian brands that became very successful were Zaitun and Citra Ayu. The chemist for Citra would also start her own line, Riz Raynee”.

Going straight to the point to capture the attention of lipstick lovers. 

The success of the local beauty industry, she reckons, is not only due to the fact that it is everyone’s wish to be healthy and beautiful, but also the affordable price point, putting it within easy reach of the masses.

But crucially, she stresses, it is also the beauty and wellness industry that has helped to empower many women, housewives, single mothers and those from financially and emotionally challenged backgrounds.

“I know of one dealer who can make RM20,000 a day as she runs a hair salon in the high-traffic area of Bukit Bintang. You can say the beauty and wellness industry has been responsible for the rise of entrepreneurs from the lower-income group. This is something to be proud of”.

Currently, the Klang Valley has become the largest market, not because city folks are more vain but due to a bigger population and familiarity with beauty aids and enhancers.

Outside of the Klang Valley, Kelantan is currently outdoing Terengganu, Malacca beats Negri Sembilan, and Sabah leads Sarawak, in terms of beauty product sales.

Is there a possibility for Malaysia to become a beauty hub?

Lim Eng Huat, managing director of Sri Tanjung, a Johor-based stockist specialising in the wholesaling of local cosmetics and herbal brands does not discount the possibility. Lim, 49, who has been in the business 10 years observed the pick up began five years ago and has been gradually building.

What remains now is for the brands to be able to match their international competitors in quality. Lim surmises it will just be a matter of time before this happens.

Meanwhile, the driving force fuelling the growth is advertising, a crucial component for the survival of a brand.

“No matter how good your product is, if you don’t have a strong marketing campaign, you might as well throw everything away,” says Lim.

Per month V'Asia produces and sends out 400,000 brochures.

In Azril’s Shah Alam office, there is one section is dedicated to the creation of brochures, video and print ads. Every month, some 400,000 brochures are sent out with products and distributed to agents. Azril himself appears two to three times a week on paid slots in prorammes like Jom Singgah and Nasi Lemak Kopi O over TV3, selling products like henna rinses live on air.

“We spend up to RM90,000 a month just on advertising, including print ads in newspapers and magazines,” he reveals.

But the young entrepreneur stresses the business of beauty is not just about having a fat advertising budget.

“The most important element here is to deliver on your promise. You are not going to last long if you don’t have a quality product. Neither is this a free-for-all industry to sow false promises.

“Helping to keep things in line are the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health, and products have to be registered with the ministry. On our side, the onus is on us to test our products for effectiveness and stability. For each new release, consultancy and lab fees alone can cost up to RM5,000,” says Azril.

In truth, making beauty products does not require rocket science.

“There are many good manufacturing practice-certified factories with the capability to do this. In fact, for V’Asia, I have up to 30 suppliers who can cater to my ideas. The important thing is to find the right people to do a good job,” he adds. The science is in a keen eye for what people want. Currently, the reigning code is SWYT (pronounced sweet), which stands for slimmer, whiter, younger and tighter.

Packaging the whole deal is the element of good salesmanship, teamwork and a Malaysia Boleh attitude.

At a recent Ramadan event hosted by V’Asia, where some 500 guests including children from three orphanages, were feted to a buffet and performances by top notch artistes in Hilton Kuala Lumpur’s ballroom, Azril demonstrated the business is not just about making a customer feel beautiful. They should be made to feel wonderful as well.