Sisters from left to right (Oon Lay Teng, Oon Kim Suan, Oon Lay Ean and Oon Lay Kim) taking part in a trade show in Hong Kong in 2024.
JOHOR BARU: A family of six sisters, who wanted to help some villages in a remote part of the Himalayas, are now sourcing a powerful fruit that is used to produce vegan skincare products.
Oon Lay Kim, said their venture into the health and beauty business was a coincidence, as four of the sisters had travelled to the Himalayas in 2012 in search of a Buddhist monk who was carrying out social work and helping a rural community there.
“We all grew up in an average family in Penang, where we were trained from young to give a portion of our earnings to help the poor.
“All six sisters were graduates holding important positions in healthcare and the corporate world.
“So we wanted to donate the RM10,000 we had collected to this charity organisation in the Himalayas,” said Lay Kim, who is the second child in the family.
She said that during their visit, they discovered a fruit known as the Himalayan Apricot, which grows at about 4,500m above sea level.
“This hardy plant is harvested by the women in the villages, who then turn the fruit into oil that is applied on the skin daily by everyone,” she said, adding that they noticed the villagers had good skin complexions despite not using any sunscreen, even with the high levels of ultraviolet (UV) rays due to the altitude.
She said most of the villagers were very poor, and the excess apricots were used to feed livestock.
“We realised its medicinal potential, and in 2013, I decided to carry out more research, including enrolling in a four-year course in organic cosmetic science,” she said, adding that in 2015, they all chipped in some capital and decided to start their company, Onn Natural Enterprise Sdn Bhd (Idemo).
She said the sisters, who began as part-time workers at Idemo, eventually took on different roles in the company, with her leading research and development.
“We continued purchasing apricot kernels from the villages for our research, and in fact, we only started marketing our product this year after obtaining all the necessary certifications.
“Earlier, we were carrying out research, and for three years during the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to stop to care for our ailing mother,” she said, adding that their skin cream helps to heal the mother’s bedsores and promotes a healthy complexion.
Lay Kim said they now operate a factory in Penang and have expanded their product range from one to seven, including oils, creams, and gels.
“This year, we also won two awards Best Vegan Natural Skincare Brand 2025 and the Beauty Shortlist Awards 2025 from the United Kingdom,” she said, adding that their products are currently being exported to the Middle East, Europe, and Indonesia.
They now plan to attract more investors to expand production and market their products in China and across Malaysia.
Lay Kim said that for the six of them, Idemo is still more of a project than a business, one that is helping to change the lives of people in rural mountainous regions, as the raw materials were sourced directly from local farmers.
“We want to create skincare that truly nourishes the skin, using only the best ingredients which is plant-based, vegan, halal, and cruelty-free,” she added.
The brand, Idemo means “Beauty of Nature” as kim said. The products crafted are more than a skincare. It’s a nourishment for the skin, senses and soul.
For enquiries can visit: https://idemobeauty.com/
