Finer details: US brand Ingredients targets APAC’s ‘lagging’ clean beauty market with ‘transparent’ approach

The brand is the latest venture by Myriam and Eric Malka, the duo behind The Art of Shaving. The prestige men’s grooming brand was bought over by Procter & Gamble in 2009 for an undisclosed amount, but industry sources estimated that P&G likely paid around $60 million for the brand.

With its foray into the world of clean beauty, Ingredients aims to take a truly transparent approach. The brand takes a striking departure from industry standards by including the exact formulation percentage on the front of each product.

Ingredients was launched at the beginning of the year with offering skin care, body care as well as tea ranging from U$14 to U$48.

Aside from establishing the brand in North America, the company is also aiming to expand the brand internationally.

“We launched our brand Ingredients five months ago with a three-channel distribution strategy — direct to consumer in the North American market, retail distribution in North America, and international distribution with strategic partners throughout the world,” ​said Eric Malka.

Malka told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the three main regions it is targeting for international distribution are APAC, Europe, and the Middle East.

In particular, the company believes it can tap into what it believes is a gap in a clean beauty space in the APAC region.

“The skin care category is strong in the Asia Pacific markets, but the clean movement is lagging. We feel there is an opportunity to be part of leading this movement in Asia by introducing ingredient- focused wellness products to that consumer,” ​said Malka.

The firm has already established a distributor in Hong Kong and Macau and is hoping to expand its presence in within APAC the company’s goal is to focus on China, Korea, and Japan.

Launching Down Under

Most recently, Ingredients launched in Australia through local beauty and personal care e-commerce platform, MU Australia.

Carly Watterson, founder of the Queensland-based outfit, told us that the brand was a welcomed addition to its brand portfolio.

“Through the feedback I get almost daily from customers, they want products that do what they say will. With a focus on plant-based formulations that are, essentially, just very good for our skin, Ingredients is exactly the type of skin care brand that works for the MU Australia portfolio.”​

Watterson elaborated that product efficacy was a really strong focus in Australian beauty consumers.

“Giving the beauty-obsessed consumer those finer details around ingredient composition is such a huge opportunity for the brand here,” ​she said.

“With their focus on formulation transparency, I see Australian consumers getting excited about the fact that they will know why their skin care is working for them — why certain products are anti-inflammatory or really supporting in slowing the oxidisation of the skin, or even why certain ingredients will support cell turnover.”​

Furthermore, Watterson believes the pedigree of the brand’s creators will be well-received among Australian consumers.

“This is a business built on expertise. Myriam and Eric are innovators in the natural beauty space, so they have that trust globally and I know that is another reason Australian's will fall in love with the brand too. There is trust that you are buying into something backed by years and years of industry experience.”​