Jerry Kim of AROMATICA has a vision for greener beauty future
AROMATICA is the first Korean brand to earn the EWG’s Skin-deep Champion status.
In conjunction with AROMATICA’s arrival at Sephora Malaysia, we caught up Jerry Kim, the founder of the Korean aromatherapy brand, as he shared his takes on beauty, wellness and sustainability.
What inspired you to begin AROMATICA?
I had opportunities to experience local culture in Australia, since my family was living in Australia during my school years. That time, I thought going to the hospital and getting prescriptions were the only things that I can do when I was sick. But I was surprised to find out that people use natural organic herbal products or aromatherapy products to prevent or treat their illness, instead of antibiotics prescribed from the hospital. Well, it was kind of culture shock to me. Every family in Australia had a tea tree essential oil in their house, and they used it for wounds, insect bites, and itchy areas. And they used eucalyptus essential oil to treat sinus infection.
This is how I met aromatherapy and became so fascinated with essential oils and natural fragrances as well. From there, I’ve decided to introduce culture of aromatherapy and essential oils to Korea market someday. After I left my corporate job a few years later, I launched the brand AROMATICA in 2004, and now it has been 19 years already.
What‘s the brand philosophy you want to introduce to your clients in Malaysia?
AROMATICA has a mission of ‘SAVE THE SOUL, SAVE THE PLANT’ to provide sustainable and effective products to protect our life and environment. And we actively work to protect environment to restore our planet to its original state.
Since AROMATICA began with the mission of eliminating harmful synthetic fragrance from the cosmetics market, our ethos is deeply embedded with our products. We use plant derived formulas without synthetic fragrance and any harmful ingredients to human and exclude any animal-derived ingredients that may violate ethical principles. We do not use any animal derived ingredients such as honey, dairy products or eggs; and we also exclude GMOs and endangered plant-derived ingredients as well.
What’s the definition of sustainable beauty in AROMATICA’s dictionary?
We believe that sustainable doesn't begin and end with packaging. Sustainble efforts need to be made in every step of production to be considered a sustainable beauty brand.
That’s why AROMATICA sources the best natural organic ingredients directly from around the world. We produce safe and effective products with essential oil focused, harmful substances strictly excluded, with our own company's research institute technology. It is not common for cosmetic companies to operate their own factory, but operating our own factory makes us possible to directly examine whether the ingredients are GMO-free or vegan. We directly purchase raw ingredients from the origin and manufacture our products in our own factory; this is how we can thoroughly control the quality of products and finally we provide safe & good products to our customers. If we entrust the formulation to OEM manufacturers, it is difficult to specifically know about the raw ingredients where they came from or how they were extracted. It’s like positioning the brand as vegan without knowing about raw ingredients whether the raw ingredients were animal tested or whether it’s palm oil that destroyed the forest. We believe that we can deliver the ‘sincerity’ of the company through AROMATICA products. There is a nickname that customers have given for these efforts – “A brand that you buy even before trying”. Producing good quality of products is an area where AROMATICA cannot compromise at all.
AROMATICA launched refill pack products and refill station to increase beauty packaging recycling. So we saved 25,000 pieces of new packaging with refill. And we changed 97% of the product packaging into 100% recycled transparency PET, and 90% recycled glass. AROMATICA operates a smart factory with 20% solar energy with a target of reaching 100% renewable energy. We are trying to reduce carbon footprints by saving water and energy during the produce manufacturing process. We, AROMATICA, keep thinking of sustainability and try to look for better ways. We aim to be the pioneer of sustainable beauty & life brand by keep communicating with employees, customers, and partners.
For those who are transitioning into a sustainable skincare routine, what’s your advice for them?
Do your research. Look at the ingredients listed and compare them to the EWG Skin Deep list. In term of packaging, try using products that are made of singular material like: PET, PP, HDPE, LDPE. These makes it easy to recycle and promote a more circular environment.
What else can we do to make our beauty routine greener?
I believe it's important to thoroughly check where and how a product is made and whether the ingredients are good. Many people don't realize that most of the cosmetics and household products we use contain synthetic fragrances derived from petroleum. These fragrances may also contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can even cause cancer (rated 8 on the EWG hazard scale). Essential oils, on the other hand, can replace these synthetic fragrances with natural scents. Furthermore, essential oils have therapeutic effects and can be used in preventive medicine to promote health. If consumers prefer products made with natural essential oils instead of synthetic fragrances, companies will eventually have to change their ways.
Which AROMATICA product would you pack in your bag when travelling to a humid country like Malaysia?
Considering weather in Malaysia, Rosemary Scalp Scrub and Rosemary Root Enhancer will also get lots of loves from consumers in Malaysia with its scalp cooling effect. Under the hot and humid weather, scalp easily gets greasy and stinky. The salt from Lake Andes within Rosemary Scalp Scrub can thoroughly clean up dead skin cells and residue on your scalp, and Rosemary Root Enhancer can cool down your scalp temperature in airy texture. When you have excessive scalp oil or stinky smell on your scalp, you can use it as a dry shampoo during the day as well.
What’s next for AROMATICA?
Since 2009, our Safe Cosmetics Campaign with EWG has influenced the change of K-beauty ingredients to follow EWG Green standards. And since 2020, we've been recognized as the best practice in resource circulation by recycling our cosmetic packaging. We want to spread out this positive impact to the global market as well.
We hope in the future when people think of the sustainable beauty & life brands, we hope that AROMATICA is the first brand to come to their mind.
Visit thearomatica.com to discover more.
