Paul Keegan先生出生在北加州，毕业于洪堡州立大学，毕业后在广播公司工作。上世纪80年代，他搬到了加州中部的圣克鲁兹，开始学习各类按摩疗法，如瑞典按摩、伊莎兰按摩、深层组织按摩、极性疗法，并钻研阿育吠陀、瑜伽、印度教、佛教。在圣克鲁兹的10年里，Keegan先生在多家SPA和养生中心工作过，包括在Well Within Spa担任总经理和水疗总监。如今，他在意大利最大的化妆品和美容养生器械供应商——Alfa Parf公司集团担任高级国际培训师，负责Dibi Milano、Becos、TeN，以及Olos等品牌的全球培训工作。
我们在意大利的Dibi Milano / AlfaParf集团公司向各大水疗中心和美容沙龙销售产品，但并不能直接对其进行管理，我们无法命令客户要实施可持续发展政策。不过，我们可以为他们树立一个榜样，让他们看到我们是如何进行可持续发展实践的，从而也积极的参与其中。能够为意大利的水疗市场提供安全可持续的美容护肤产品，我们为此深感自豪。
An Interview with Ms. Wing Yu, General Manager of Mt.Sapola China, CEO of Guangzhou Mandier Trading Co. Ltd.
Wing Yu
Mt. Sapola, one of the top three aromatherapy brands in Thailand, was founded in 1997, with its own laboratory, GMP production plant, global marketing companies and training academy. Mt. Sapola can be found at Bangkok landmark malls, KingPower, airport duty free stores and many five star hotels and resorts. The company’s R&D team continues to develop new products year by year and updated all the formulas and ingredients into pure organic in 2019.
“We insist on selecting the best raw materials as the core ingredients of our products, so that consumers can enjoy the gift from nature. Mt. Sapola advocates a ‘zero burden’ natural, healthy and sustainable lifestyle, with the aim of making SPA available for everyone everywhere at any time.” said Ms. Wing Yu, General Manager of Mt.Sapola China. “The fragrance of the products is from natural plants, and features diverse layers of notes to make the pleasant aroma linger long.” SpaChina interviewed Ms. Yu.
What is the star product or product line of Mt.Sapola at SPA?
To target the needs of customers, we have a complete set of program management systems: 1. SPA management; 2. Sub-health regulation; 3. energy enhancement; 4. private customization.
In the SPA management system, our signature massage oil is blended with five pure natural essential oils and we have a diversity of essential oil products to target different parts of the body. Among them, the Lavender line is one of the most popular, with Bulgaria’s narrow-leaf lavender as the core ingredient, as well as chamomile and other natural ingredients, which are very effective in anti-aging, promoting collagen regeneration, reducing fine lines, stimulating circulation, relieving stress, improving skin health and relaxing the body and mind. It is an excellent natural antibiotic and antiseptic. Due to the favorable feedback from the market, we plan to make this line an “Urban Favorite” star line, to help more urbanites to achieve a “body, mind and spirit” balance through the unique efficacy and pure fragrance of lavender.
What makes the brand different? Why is it able to attract professional SPA operators in China?
First of all, it’s attributed to the quality of the product. Mt.Sapola has very strict criteria for the selection of raw materials. We go to the place of origin for purchase and extract high-quality essential oils with advanced technology. Secondly, the brand image of Mt.Sapola is quite competitive. As one of the top three aromatherapy brands in Thailand, it can greatly enhance the image of the SPA and improve customer satisfaction. In addition, it is the brand expertise. As a famous aromatherapy brand in Thailand, the product image can greatly enhance the style of the spa. Developed based on aromatherapy, our products target both physical and emotional sub-health conditions, to give guests better experience and higher satisfaction. All of our products feature the Thai heritage and make guests better understand the Thai spa culture.
Although Mt. Sapola originates from Thailand, it respects the distinctive business atmosphere and consumers’ needs in the Chinese market. While maintaining Thai characteristics, we will continue to develop products and programs that meet the needs of Chinese consumers, allowing spa operators to introduce proper treatments quickly to their guests.
Are there any difficulties in bringing Mt. Sapola to China? How do you manage to make it stand out in the spa industry?
Since Mt.Sapola’s entrance to China, we have been endeavoring to fill the gaps in the market, the most difficult part of which is the delivery of the spa concept. We have a complete training and education system, with every process being implemented strictly in accordance with the standards and requirements of five-star hotel services. We strive to deliver multi-dimensional information around brand characteristics, product knowledge, and service concepts. We not only teach the professional spa knowledge, but also convey the spa culture and philosophy, and guide the practitioners to change their service mentality.
We hope to give some guidance to the operators through our services. There are surely many difficulties alone the way, but with our love for SPA and our belief in the brand of Mt. Sapola, we work with a group of like-minded partners to infuse the SPA culture to the hearts of the customers little by little. It is inevitable to be questioned and denied, but we never withdraw, but fix firmly on the goal. Following the cooperation purpose of “high quality, strong expertise, remarkable service”, we have gained our due share in the domestic SPA market. We also know that this trust and attention from the market is not easy to come by, so we have been constantly pushing ourselves to make the brand better and more perfect. We keep learning new things, studying the new projects and investigating the new models. We align ourselves with the pace of the market, and constantly optimize the product, upgrade the project, improve services to meet the needs of end customers, and achieve a win-win business with the operators.
An interview with Mr. Guo Bin, the Founder of TaiOursea
Guo Bin
In 2012, when I was traveling through Thailand, full of fatigue, I walked into a Thai massage spa. After a relaxing Thai massage, I felt I was fully restored and was so impressed by it. After looking up the materials, I realized that Thai massage is one of the three treasures of Thailand. The massage techniques originate from ancient Indian yoga, and the pharmacology is actually from the Chinese medical classic Huangdi Neijing (The Inner Canon of Huangdi). At that time, however, in China, not many people were interested in relaxing body and mind through spa treatments. Though many Chinese are in sub-health conditions, there weren’t many spas. I realized that Thai spa can be perfectly integrated with TCM to improve the health of Chinese people, so I made the decision to bring authentic Thai massage to China. ” Mr. Guo Bin, the founder of TaiOursea, told SpaChina.
TaiOursea was founded in 2013. In cooperation with a Thai massage training school designated by the Thai Ministry of Labor, the company established a training center and research laboratory to train professional talents, develop and continually upgrade Thai spa products, with the aim to enhance the professionalism and overall quality of the industry. Over the years, TaiOursea has constantly upgraded its services and products to meet the customers’ needs and has provided millions of customers with the original Thai massage experience. So far, the company has opened more than 60 directly operated spas including one directly operated spa and a technical exchange center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In addition, it has three training bases in China. SpaChina interviewed Mr. Guo Bin.
Have you made any local adjustments in the process of introducing Thai massage and services to the Chinese market?
A pleasant and relaxing Thai SPA journey requires not only massage techniques. We hope that customers will feel relaxed the moment they walk into the spa. We pay special attention to the five senses of customers during the services. After entering the spa, everything they see, hear, smell, taste and touch are infused with Thai style. So they can now enjoy immersive Thai Spa in China. Our customers become younger and younger. This younger generation have higher demand for trendy elements and modern aesthetics. So we keep upgrading our designs. At present, we have launched the 3.0 version of modern style, which has more trendy elements and products that cater for the young people compared to the 2.0 version of Chinese style in 2018.
The skills of the therapists and the quality of the treatments are key factors in retaining guests. How do you train and assess your staff?
TaiOursea formed a cooperation with the Thai massage training school designated by the Ministry of Labor of Thailand in 2017 and has established a training and research center to train professional talents and develop Thai spa products to enhance the professionalism and overall style of the industry. TaiOursea Training Center has a senior professional team to provide comprehensive training and assessment for each new employee, and regularly organizes study tours to Thailand for outstanding employees to learn authentic Thai massage techniques and services. We also diligently learn from outstanding enterprises in other industries, and invite experts to come for knowledge and experience exchanges, all with the aim to constantly improve the level of operation and management.
What are the most popular treatments at TaiOursea? What new treatments and programs are being launched?
Every guest can find a treatment that suits him or her most at TaiOursea. If you like to stretch, choose the traditional Thai massages. If you are seeking something soothing and relaxing, the essential oil treatments are best for you. If you want to remove dampness and cold, choose the herbal treatments. For relaxation of certain parts of the body, we also have a range of treatments to target.
In order to improve guests’ experience, our R&D team has independently developed our own product lines. After 2 years of labor, with more than 100 test experiments, and over 1,000 trials on staff, we finally launched the essential oil products designed for Chinese people. In December 2020, we officially introduced TaiOursea·Unruly Line to upgrade our aromatherapy experience. In March this year, we launched our Spring & Summer massage oil package to help customers unblock the body meridians and heal the body. The feedback is quite impressive. Many people say the products make them begin to focus on the body’s self-healing energy.
In June, TaiOursea extended the aromatherapy experience to the face. We created an innovative aromatic healing experience with a new O+X formula, the precise combination of natural essential oils and technical ingredients, to pamper the skin with oil and improve physical and mental balance and skin health. In the future, we will develop more essential oil treatments and products that can be used at home.
What’s your thoughts on market competition?
We are very happy to see the birth of brands that convey health and beauty and healthy competition in the market, which not only guides customers to pay attention to their health, but also allows people to have more choices.
On the way of continual development, TaiOursea understands more and more about the power of focus. We focus on the development of the subdivisions of Thai massage to improve the quality of our services. We cooperate with the Thai massage training school designated by the Ministry of Labor of Thailand, and have set up several training centers to comprehensively train and assess each new employee. We organize regular study tours to Thailand for outstanding employees, learn from outstanding enterprises across industries, and invite various experts to come for knowledge and experience exchanges in order to improve the operations and management level.
We hope to revolutionize the massage industry with digital intelligence. We launched our middle ground system in 2020 to collect and analyze a large amount of data to gain insight into customer needs, improve service quality, and provide more personalized services. We have adopted the “community + store” mode of operation to break through the constraints of time and space, give full play to the advantages of the store experience and use the community to enhance the cohesion with customers and build a sense of trust.
TaiOursea has been continuously improving and optimizing its service standards, and has been recognized by the industry and the society. We have won the “Best Brand of Thai Spa in China in 2017 and 2018” issued by the China General Chamber of Commerce – China National Spa Committee, and been awarded as the “Golden Store” by Meituan and the “Most Influential Enterprise” by China Blue Crystal Award for many years. In 2019, TaiOursea was awarded “Best SPA Culture Award” by 2019 CHIANG MAI SPA AWARDS in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In 2020, we won the BLUEPRINT AWARDS and APIDA AWARDS. In the same year, many leaders from the Consulate General of Thailand in Shanghai and the Shanghai Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand visited TaiOursea and gave us full recognition and a lot of encouragement.
What are the development goals of TaiOursea in the next 5 years?
In the next 5 years, TaiOursea will continue to focus on the subdivisions of Thai SPA, and strive to become a benchmark brand for creating a healthy and beautiful life, as well as an excellent enterprise with high talent efficiency and strong competitiveness. We hope to attract more and more young people to join us, who may grow to become the mainstay of the Thai SPA health and life aesthetics business. We will complete the innovation of digital intelligence and provide personalized services to more people with the help of big date. The research and development team of TaiOursea will continue to launch new essential oil products that extend to all aspects of people’s lives, bringing health and beauty to more people.
We perceive that more and more young people are becoming “health enthusiasts”. Many of them get used to putting some wolfberry into their vacuum cups. This is in fact a reflection of their interest in wellness. So we will pay more attention to the young people market.
