Interview with COSRX & Their Philosophy of Expecting Tomorrow
3rd Jul 2019
It was a great pleasure to be the first company from the UK who visited COSRX headquarter in Korea. Your favourite and affordable brand has plenty to offer and their office is like one big adventure, a modern museum of beauty lab.
We would like to invite you learn more about the history of the brand and people who created it.
History of COSRX
Karolina: How long has it been since you started the company and launched the brand?
COSRX Team: COSRX is derived from the words Cosmetics and Prescription (Rx). Our goal is to provide customized solutions for our customers’ individual skin concerns.
We believe that cosmetics should be more than just looking beautiful on the outside. We are devoted to enabling individuals with various skin concerns to solve their problems, gain self-confidence, and find their true beauty. We have been trying to provide such solutions to customers all over the world since 2002 and founded COSRX, a brand that focuses on effective ingredients, in 2015.
Philosophy of the company
Karolina: What were your reasons for, approach to, and philosophy on launching the cosmetics?
COSRX Team: Simply put, our philosophy is to listen to our customers to provide products that can meet their needs in the most effective way and at the most reasonable price point.
Products
Karolina: What is the most important feature of your cosmetics?
COSRX Team: We think that all the cosmetic manufacturers are at the same level in terms of technical development. Even under the circumstance, COSRX has several unique aspects. One thing we would like to point out is that we develop our products thoroughly based on our customers’ feed-back.
Karolina: This sounds amazing. What would be the best example?
COSRX Team: ‘‘Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence’ and ‘Low-pH Good Morning Cleanser’ are the prime examples. We believe that our relationship with our customers is not just one between clients and a company, but a close friendship. We have been making every effort to stand as an honest, reliable and friendly brand, hence we share our customers’ feed-back, identify their needs and answer their questions.
Another unique aspect of COSRX may be defined as cost-effectiveness. A big part of our customer satisfaction comes from our reasonable price-positioning. It is our goal to continue to provide satisfactory products at an affordable price range.
Karolina: How does your brand differ from Western brands?
COSRX Team: Our brand differs from other brands because we use unique ingredients such as galactomyces and snail mucin that are traditionally widely-used in Korea but not frequently seen in Western brands. We use naturally driven ingredients in order to deliver the benefits of each ingredient in a gentle way and avoid harsh ingredients that can cause irritation.
Modern skin concerns
Karolina: What is/ are the biggest skin concern/ s nowadays (e.g. pollution, premature ageing, adult acne)?
COSRX Team: I believe that the sensitivity of our skin is the main issue. Outside stress including environmental pollution and unhealthy diet trigger our skin to be more sensitive on the outside and inside. With that said, COSRX runs all products through a sensitivity test in Korea to make sure that they are suitable for sensitive skin.
Karolina: How do your cosmetics tackle this/ these issue/s?
COSRX Team: Following our brand philosophy, we are keen on using as few ingredients as possible in order to eliminate irritants. If we include too many ingredients in the formula, our skin may get irritated and it is often difficult to determine which of the ingredients triggered the irritation.
Karolina: How long does it usually take to see the results and benefits of the cosmetics?
COSRX Team: We generally recommend using the product consistently for at least a month to see maximum results. Keep in mind that it can take less or more time for you to get visible results depending on your skin condition and living environment.
Future plans
Karolina: In which direction is the company/ brand going? What are your plans for next 3-5 years?
COSRX Team: The new products that are lined up to be launched in 2019 will showcase our new designs under our “NEW LOOK NEW COSRX” initiative. We have added simple symbols to aid in communicating the information about ingredients, directions, and benefits of the products.
Ex) Low pH Centella Cleansing Powder, Hydrium Line, etc.
COSRX was able to grow as a brand through our active communication with customers in the past 4 years. Now as we move further as a brand, we are aiming to grow as a channel that customers can come to learn more about skincare more easily and efficiently.
Karolina: What are the new products we can expect? What will be their purpose?
COSRX Team: We are planning to expand our nourishing and moisturizing product lines. Currently, the Propolis Light Ampule is gaining massive popularity in the Korean market and is attracting a lot of consumer curiosity. With that said, we are working to expand this line and upgrade it with more effective products in the future. Even our customers in hot and humid South East Asia have brought to our attention that their skin becomes dry due to heavy air conditioning. Our Propolis Light Ampule can deeply nourish the skin with propolis extract and moisturizes without leaving the skin feeling greasy.
Vision of the company
Karolina: How do you want customers to remember your brand?
COSRX Team: We want to be a brand that transcends time and space to be close to our customers no matter where they are in the world.