Category: Interview

Interview with Ms. Lyn Huang, Founder & CEO of BeiYang Import & Export (Shanghai) Co., Ltd

Since its foundation in 2014, BeiYang Import & Export (Shanghai) has been dedicated to providing spas and salons with exclusive treatment products and tools, essentials and disposables, clothing and toweling, as well as design and installation services for all professional needs. Meanwhile, it continues to develop featured products and programs in line with hotel characteristics and market trends, such as Lava Shells, Bamboo treatment, Himalaya salt therapy, Delsera (luxury waxing), all of which are inceasingly popular with customers.

Ms. Lyn Huang, the founder of BeiYang, has rich industry experience. Possessing a Major in Art and Design, Lyn worked for many years for a German company, The Most Wanted, in the area of product research, design and development before joining Ellisons, the parent company of BeiYang based in the U.K. in 2004. In 2008, Lyn founded Paris Bijan International Ltd in Hong Kong to supply products to China’s spa markets. Then she moved to Shanghai and established BeiYang Import & Export (Shanghai) in 2014, bringing more fresh air to the mainland China market. Now BeiYang’s products can be seen in many top hotel spas including Ritz-Carlton, Waldorf, Wanda Reign, St. Regis, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza and more. SpaChina interviewed Lyn, an outgoing and articulate lady, and asked her to share her views on the spa market today and the sustainable development of a spa solution provider.

What changes are taking place in the spa industry both in Europe and China? And what are the latest trends?

The SPA industry in China is witnessing rapid development. Now more hotels than ever before are partnering with BeiYang for opening support. On average, we are providing consultation services to one new hotel spa preparing its opening or one old spa which wants to update itself every two weeks. I am also glad to see that, with time, our clients and hotel managing teams have formed a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of spa.

The main trend in Europe is that the spa service procedures are becoming more and more simplified and routinized. And large numbers of spa goers now choose waxing or nail care. So most spas in Europe will provide such services in addition to body and facial treatments. I once had a spa treatment at CHA LING at The Peninsula Paris and found that their treatments and service procedures were very simple, not complicated rituals.

With regard to product preferences, European customers love fundamental skin care products while Chinese customers focus more on diverse functions such as anti-aging or whitening. 

Regarding China and Europe’s spa industry, what are their strengths and shortcomings respectively?

As mentioned above, there is no big difference. Maybe the only difference is that European spa was born much earlier while China’s spas have prospered only in recent years. However, we are now experiencing very rapid growth, which is surely quite good news for us.

China’s spa industry is growing faster and faster with continual innovations. With cutting edge spa products and equipment, it makes more customers fall in love with this healthy lifestyle. But the challenge here lies in training. Due to insufficient training, many therapists lack professional skills and fail to flexibly apply the therapy theories to different treatments. This is what BeiYang keeps working on and making improvements.

European spas place emphasis on solving customers’ problems with simple manipulations and basic treatments instead of sophisticated rituals. The shortcoming is that the mature state of the industry makes development slow. Spa owners show less passion for renewing treatments and services. Besides, partially due to the economic growth slowdown, most spas in Europe no longer strive to offer luxury pampering. Instead, they focus more on basic yet effective ways of healing and health improvement and thus become more accessible to the public.

Which groups are the main consumer force for China’s spas at present?

It depends on the positioning of the spa. Luxury hotel spas such as The Sukhothai has a group of high-income customers who are savvy and demanding because they have a lot of overseas spa experience and thus have certain criteria and requirements. They care about product brand and the spa environment. Then there are some urban hotel spas such as Waldorf Astoria Chengdu which mainly targets the white-collar individuals working nearby, so they will offer more spa packages combining body treatments and fitness options. Day spas and club spas see more visits from stay-at-home moms who prefer functional products and equipment for anti-aging and whitening, as well as nail care. They tend to pay attention to the brands of the nail products they use and the products’ influence on the body.

Why do you want to bring European spa concepts and services to China? How do you do it?

Our parent company in the U.K. is a leader in the spa industry. We have over 10,000 SKUs and 85% of them are premium products and brands from the U.K., U.S. and Australia which work with us as their agency, such as the sun tanning equipment from the U.S., skin doctors from Australia and CND who have only four agents worldwide. Besides, we have our own training schools. I myself also have a lot of opportunities to get to the industry leading products.

The products and services which I want to bring to China are surely the ones I have experienced and liked myself. Every time, I would first do a lot of market research and consult with industry professionals to examine whether the products will be a fit for and develop well in China’s market. As everyone knows, it is a must for any skincare brand which wants to come to China to have certain certificates. So we will get these certificates and then get in touch with trustworthy hotel groups because they focus more on the quality and customer experience that the products can deliver.

Is there any difference between the spas opened today and those ten years ago?

Firstly, spas today normally have less time for pre-opening preparation than before. That means they need more professional support rather than simple supply of goods. Usually when a project is started, the spa manager of the client hasn’t yet arrived to take up the office. The proprietor side doesn’t put much time or energy into the spa either. Therefore, suppliers need to be more involved in the whole project, such as going to examine the site, offering professional instruction, and communicating about the logistics. We don’t want to see the spa opening time being postponed.

Besides, spas today use more equipment in treatments than before. We encourage the usage of quality equipment because they can guarantee safety and comfort. Today, more and more spas begin to pay attention to the prevention of occupational disease. That’s why our spa tables are all adjustable in height. We have many other tools that are designed according to scientific data to prevent therapists from getting tenosynovitis so that when they deliver heathy services to the guests, their own health can be maintained too. Such tools are very much welcomed by spas today.

Do resort, hotel and city spas have different requirements for BeiYang’s products?

Yes, there are some differences. Resorts usually have their exclusive characteristics, say their DNA. So when they are opening a spa, they focus more on the accessories. For instance, the design of the footbath basin or the tray must be consistent with the resort’s whole style. Meanwhile, they would spend more time seeking the “right” essential oil. BeiYang has invested in an essential oil factory in Shenzhen, so we are more able to meet the resorts’ demands of creating their own essential oil. 

Hotels, especially chain hotels, usually have a fixed preference in line with the group’s standards. They clearly know what brands and products they need. They are more standardized.

For day spas, it depends on what spa philosophy they want to convey. If their target customers are top white collars in the CBD area, then they will prefer comparatively faster and more convenient services and products so that they can deliver effective treatments as completely as possible within a limited time.

Nevertheless, all of the spas want to offer guest the things that most suit them and have the best sales performance based on their capabilities.

What kind of experience and benefits does BeiYang want to deliver to the spas and spa-goers?

The first label I want to give to BeiYang is “keep pace with the times”. That means we need to keep learning hard. In addition to the experience we have accumulated in the European market, we now focus more on China’s culture and the habits and preferences of the customers here. We hope to create for hotels their exclusive spa programs by integrating cultural elements so that the customers will have more treatment options which touch these points. We also extend our services to design, the display of disposable products, and more aspects that will influence the customer experience.

If our energy and time permit, we hope to launch more seasonal projects with the hotels. For example, we have recently launched a Himalayan salt therapy program with Waldorf Astoria and Ritz-Carlton because we found that people today show increasingly greater interest in salt therapy. We will soon launch a chocolate program to cater to the valentine theme. During the Spring Festival, we will introduce certain treatments that help with digestion. We have made all these efforts in order to let the hotels understand our capability in program development and our sharp market perceptions.

What are the challenges and opportunities for spa industry development in the future?

I hold a quite positive outlook to the development of spa industry. I am happy to see that our peers, clients and the whole industry are showing greater respect for professionalism and tolerance for new tools and treatments. I feel the main challenge in the industry is the instability of products and personnel. In order to solve the former, we have invested in factories in China to produce products that meet the local demands and retain the same quality as our UK manufacturing as well. Therefore, we can have a continual stable supply of products and quicker development and manufacturing of new products. Besides, personnel training should never be neglected. The industry is in need of truly professional training institutes for support.

Interview with Ms. Joy Tsang, Founder of of AEVUM SPA and ORiNERGiE

ORiNERGiE, a professional French medical aromatherapy brand, has come to China. “Selling products is not my aim. We want to help Chinese females restore their mental health, inner energy, and a holistic well-being from inside out.” This is the wish of Joy Tsang, the brand’s founder. She is also lucky enough to find the people with the same goal. A group of leading French aromatherapy experts and aesthetics designer contribute to the excellence of ORiNERGiE.

Joy Tsang joined the beauty industry in 2006 and has since been the general manager of Joy Plus. She has successfully introduced many global cutting-edge beauty brands to China including Valmont from Switzerland, [comfort zone] from Italy, Natura Bissé from Spain and HISTOMER from Italy. Her operational goal is to convey positive energy to the world and help people gain true beauty and well-being. That is why she founded AEVUM SPA, positioned as a European noble spa, and today’s ORiNERGiE. SpaChina interviewed Joy, a gentle and graceful lady. She shares with us her experiences of creating and introducing an essential oil brand to China in every aspect from just an idea, to research and development, manufacturing, design and marketing. She also expresses her thoughts about China’s spa industry.

You have recently launched a new product brand, “ORiNERGiE”. Could you share some details about it? Why did you want to launch such a brand?

ORiNERGiE combines two French words: Energie (energy) and Originellel (original). Besides, OR means gold in French, reflecting the rarity and elegance of the product. With ORiNERGiE, we want to guide users to experience the energy from natural plant and find a way back to their inner self. Our philosophy is to “Healing mind and body with French medical aromatherapy”.

I have worked on skincare products for ten years. Gradually, I discovered that solving skin problems alone cannot satisfy guests’ inner needs. They want true beauty and happiness from inside out. So I want to do something more to help them. I hope to create products that can give them holistic healing from heart and soul to body and skin. Then I begin to think and seek for the way. Finally I reach enlightenment. As creations in the universe, it is the natural law for human beings to experience birth, growth and death. Likewise, plants, absorbing the essence of the Earth and the message of the universe, also grow and thrive according to the laws of Nature. So I believe it is a perfect way to use plant oils to improve people’s mind, body and skin condition.

Why did you choose three French experts to develop the products?

First of all, they share the same heart with me in helping guests to restore holistic healing from inside out, from the mind to the body and skin. Besides, French essential oil are the most scientific. In France, it is a normal practice for dentists, pediatricians and physicians to prescribe essential oils to patients. In French families, their medicine chest is half occupied by essential oils with only another half for drugs. I want to bring such good things to China as well. And this wish has attracted three French essential oil experts: Nelly Grosjean, Doctor of Medicine, a pharmacist born in a well-known family of medicine specialized in healing with natural plants; Patrick Colli, Doctor of Medicine, pharmacist and leader of modern French aromatherapy. André-Jean Brin, Doctor of Pharmacy and a senior pharmacist. The support of these three great figures has enhanced ORiNERGiE’s professionalism, safety, reliability and ability to cure, as well as its positioning as “French medical aromatherapy”.

What are the differences between “Made in Europe” and “Made in China” skincare products? What are their strong points and weaknesses respectively?

With growing national power, China’s traditional manufacturing industry and technique levels have already reached international standards. But Chinese people’s awareness of organic skincare and their usage of essential oil products have just started. In Europe, on the contrary, the usage of essential oil products can date back to the Roman Empire. Europe’s early medical institutes were all supported by the achievements of the ancient alchemists. They sought to unlock the mystery of Nature, discover the healing power of herbs and work out various prescriptions to cure diseases and prolong life based on herbs. This is the origin of the extraction of plant essential oils. So Europe does better than China in the blending and application of essential oil products.

Raw materials for ORiNERGiE essential oil products are from the best organic plantations all around the world. Through professional distilling and extracting techniques, we do sterile packaging for the raw materials and then transport them to China. We do packaging in China because we believe China’s production and manufacturing industries have reached and even surpassed international standards. From material production to formulation and packaging, we use the most professional design and technology.

Today, the 1980s and 1990s generations are the main consumption force in China’s spa and skincare market. As a spa owner and product seller, how do you meet their needs in your spa services and product development & design?

As a naturopathy, spa helps to balance the Yin and Yang of the human body. To the 1980s and 1990s generations, spa is a necessary part of their daily life. However, due to different social and family status, their needs for products and functions also differ. The1980s generation is not only the main consumption force of the society but also the pillar of their workplace and family. Most of them are facing sub-health conditions. So their main demand is to recover from tiredness of the body and set their heart free from burdens. They desire to be purified in body and mind and gain more energy during the spa experience. So we will tailor every detail of the treatment from their perspective, aiming to pamper their inner parts, and strengthen their mental and physical capability. In comparison, the 1990s generation are more direct in expressing what they feel and what they want. So they are less stressed than the 1980s. When choosing spa treatments, they show more interest in a wider scope of functions. To them, skincare such as whitening and anti-acne goes before spiritual treatment for stress release and energy lifting. Our customer service staff contact our members regularly to get their feedback. Also, after every treatment, the therapists will ask guests about their experience and feeling. This feedback becomes our precious first-hand information for further product and treatment development.

ORiNERGiE is undoubtedly a professional and high quality aromatherapy brand, but Chinese customers today haven’t yet gained a profound understanding about essential oil products. And young customers are often easily attracted by product packaging or media promotions. How will you guide them to focus more on the quality of the product, and let them gain more knowledge about aromatherapy?

We will do market promotions for ORiNERGiE via different steps and channels. We believe that user recognition is the best reward. We will first promote our possibly most acceptable and affordable products to the public and establish our brand image on professional information platforms such as Baidu and Zhihu. Meanwhile, we actively work with different media to share with consumers the practicability and application methods of essential oil products. Moreover, we launch “free try” activities through official WeChat account and help consumers solve their problems with our expert products.

Could you tell us where ORINERGIE products will be designed and manufactured? What are your distribution channels and development plans in China?

ORiNERGiE advocates nature and skincare aesthetics. We invite French leading designer Jean-Christophe Gaydon for the packaging design of ORiNERGiE products. With a deep understanding and recognition of the brand’s aesthetics philosophy, he has created an elegant French style, with black and white as the main colors, going together with hand-drawn flowers, conveying the purity and gracefulness of our brand.

Each raw material of ORiNERGiE products comes from the best plantation of the particular plant. Our R&D team is based in France where Dr. Nelly leads pharmacists to develop formulations that best suit Chinese females. Currently in China, we have our We-shop on WeChat platform. We are also seeking agents in different provinces. But selling products is not our goal. What we want to do is to help Chinese females release from physical and mental stress as well as other problems with our essential oil products. Therefore, we will also shoot a series of massage videos for a better application of essential oil products, and send the videos to our consumers via the agents. In the future, we hope to promote our products more on e-business platforms like Xiaohongshu, Tmall, and JD.

How will you integrate ORiNERGiE products with AEVUM Spa treatments to offer better services to customers?

ORiNERGiE and AEVUM will be closely weaved together. AEVUM itself is positioned as a European noble spa that offer professional treatments integrating global leading brands such as Natura Bisse from Spain, [comfort zone] from Italy and LPG from France. Our main spa treatments are focused on stress release, anti-aging and body shaping. We want to deliver more humanistic care in our spa offerings, turning from skin-deep beauty and body treatments to overall mental restoration and energy enhancement. So we will integrate ORiNERGiE with our treatments to comprehensively protect female health from all aspects of body, mood and mind.

Do you have any suggestions for the spa and skincare industry in China?

China’s spa industry has changed and improved a lot over the years in terms of both market segmentation and professionalism. I hope that we can move a further step forward to care more about people’s mental problems today and help them release stress and restore mental balance. Products should be more professionalized and categorized. We need to design more treatments to target different physical and mental needs together with different massage skills so that guests can get complete relaxation both in body and soul and embrace their work and life as a brand new self.

Interview with Mr. Rupert Schmid, Co-president of Biologique Recherche

Originating from Paris, France, Biologique Recherche personalized methodology has a reputation for astounding effectiveness for 40 years based on a clinical approach to beauty care using intentionally pure, concentrated, raw ingredients, as well as innovative and meticulous protocols and procedures. It has strong partnerships with the medical field including integrated research team, famous universities, genetic research team, professional clinics and more so as to be able to develop deeper expertise in the field of DNA, epigenetics, microbiome, anti-pollution, innovative solar filter and innovative marine biomaterials.

One of the core figures in the company who drives its success is Mr. Rupert Schmid, the Co-president of Biologique Recherche. Before joining Biologique Recherche, Mr. Schmid had been a media magnate from the age of 21 as Development Director at Journal des Finance in 1988, followed by key posts at Défis magazine, Sorio communication group, Vivendi, Veolia. He also had seven years’ experience in a very political group accustomed to the classic profiles of French excellence: HEC, ENA, Polytechnique.

In 2007, a connection with the Allouche family, Biologique Recherche’s owners, gave him this opportunity in the luxury cosmetics field. He partnered with Josette and Philippe Allouche as well as his friend Pierre-Louis Delapalme who left the Yves Rocher group to join this adventure. They invested in R&D and regulatory compliance, developed internationally, negotiated with distributors and brought production in-house to an almost pharmaceutical-grade laboratory. The brand is now used at top cosmetic and spa destinations in more than 70 countries around the world, including Air France’s spa lounge La Première at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport and hotel spas at The Peninsula in New York and the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. SpaChina interviewed him.

What changes have taken place in the European beauty and skincare industry in recent years? What are the latest skincare trends in Europe?

In most of the markets worldwide you have a lot of cosmetic lines available. This is also true in the European market. But to understand a market you have to go back to the cultural drivers of the market. What we can see in Europe and in the Western Countries: the first trend is hypersonalization, and this is a worldwide trend. Each of us is unique and is interested in what fits with its own and unique need. Biologique Recherche has been a precursor in personalization. The second trend is that skincare and especially cosmeceutical skincare is growing much quicker than other beauty segments. It represents 45% of the growth of the beauty market in the U.S. for example. The third is that people are consuming skincare treatment in spa and salons much more than in the past. This is a surprise which can be linked with the fact that each person is willing to get a personalized attention. The fourth is that real science and skin doctors are the reference for trust in a Brand. In Europe, the social media are getting more and more important in the beauty market and as a brand. The trust in a brand is built on this and also on perfect transparency and honesty with your guests. Biologique Recherche offers all those trends in its unique approach for the past 40 years. This may explain our actual success.

What are the differences between European and Chinese females when choosing skincare products? What factors will be taken into account?

Chinese customers are highly influenced by the social media and it is a common habit to buy online. European customers in everything are buying much less online actually. We believe that in the future the Chinese customer will understand that a real personalization will offer them a much higher result in both the short and long term. And a real personalization cannot be done online only. We believe that Chinese customers will in the future go more and more for personalization and will more and more be careful on which product they choose. For example, we were impressed by the fact that educated customers in China are very happy to use natural and clean whitening products that we produce because they understand the real risk of quick fix solutions.

How does BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE help customers transform their skin conditions with its strong R&D and medical support?

At Biologique Recherche, we consider that each of us is unique and that each skin instance is unique. This can be affected by the pollution, stress and diet for example. For all these reasons, hyper-personalization can only be done during a meeting with a doctor or a skilled professional. Then to be able to offer real personalization, you also need a large range of tools to answer the needs of your skin. And for this reason, the R&D department of Biologique Recherche offers not only 150 different products but always reformulates them with the latest discoveries coming from the best research centers from all over the world.

What do you think about the potential of personalized skincare? Will more and more people be willing to invest in it?

We believe that in the future, each and every person will ask and buy only personalized goods and services. And it will be possible not only for rich people! In Europe you can buy personalized products for 50 to 1,500 Euros. The difference? The real level of personalization, the expertise of the brand and the price of the active ingredients which affect a lot the price.

Have you offered any training or other support to your partner spas in China?

If you want to offer a unique personalized approach you need to have the best professional staff. The only way to achieve this is for them to be trained as much as possible to be able to address all the different situations you may face. Expertise and training use a lot of different tools. Extensive online training, hands on training and permanent support through a 24/7 hotline, and all this in Mandarin, Cantonese or English. At Biologique Recherche, we offer all those amazing tools to offer the expertise to our partners in China.

Do you have further expansion plans in China’s market? What are the potential and challenges here?

The future potential market in China is enormous. Because the more our clients become experts the more they will take care of their skin in a personalized way in a spa or at home. And this is coming in China very quickly. It is so impressive how quickly that knowledge and habits are changing through education. And now to expand in China our challenge is to find the doctors and the therapists who are willing to share our hyper-customized approach. The challenge for us it to meet them and work with them.

Please share with us more details about your newly-launched La Grande Crème.

The “Grande Crème” is a scientific breakthrough in which we use the first peptide which is proven to slow down and reverse the gene expression linked with aging. It’s a very concentrated product with six different platforms that will fight against skin aging signs. The main platform is Regenerating: EpigenActiv which repairs the dermis and epidermis by stimulating expression of genes and increasing the natural synthesis of proteins; thistle and mimosa have a complementary action on regeneration. There is then the Pigmented platform: white tea extract, young shoot of watercress and pure genistein from soya extracts work together to fight against the two principal pigments of dark spots: melanin and lipofuscin, and so as to unify the complexion. In the Firming platform: Vegetal complex composed of elderflower, sweet chestnuts tree wood and tropical almond extracts increase the elasticity and cutaneous tonus. Anti-wrinkle platform: Myorelax peptide and Matrikine complex stimulate the synthesis and the well organization of collagen and elastin fibers while Carcinine fight against glycation. The Structure and Volume platform: peony extract densify the hypodermis to balance face volumes. The Protection platform: Oligosaccharides improve microbiota, pichia anomala stimulate the synthesis of epidermis lipids to reinforce the barrier and wasabi and grape extract act against oxidation. Good results are shown after just one month of application including younger and regenerated skin, visibly diminished wrinkles, improved skin structure, reduced pigment irregularities, more luminous complexion and the epidermis more protected from external aggressions.

We also elaborately design the packaging. The cream is contained in an exclusive jar of a futuristic and unconventional form made by one of the last handcraft glass and crystal factories in France. Then there is a jewelry box with a scientific and original coffret, a gold corolla and a special metal spatula to apply the cream presented in a test tube.