Alicia Yoon finds her calling with Peach & Lily

Alicia Yoon, founder and CEO of Peach & Lily / Courtesy of Peach & Lily

By Kim Ji-soo

One of the highest-flying manufacturing industries in Korea had been cosmetics and beauty products, despite being momentarily set back lately by increased Korea-China tensions over the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery here.

As the new Moon Jae-in administration sets sail, however, China is looking to relax its stance. Nevertheless, cosmetics and beauty industry leaders like Alicia Yoon, founder and CEO of U.S.-based company Peach & Lily, attest to the viability of the American market where Korean cosmetics and beauty products have been making their presence known.

With licensed esthetician Yoon at the helm, Peach & Lily provides both curated products and education — through online and offline retail platforms. Peach & Lily-curated products are also available at Target and at Macy's in Flushing and Arcadia.

"Initially, in 2012, Korean beauty was a completely unknown entity. A lot of people were wondering what Korean beauty was," Yoon said in an email interview with The Korea Times. "There is a lot more knowledge (about it) now."

Nowadays, American consumers are more exploratory, seeking out new cosmetics ingredients after initially being surprised by unusual ingredients found in Korean cosmetics and beauty products such as snail mucin, she said.

"People used to wonder what an essence is, and now it's about finding the right essence. There is a lot more awareness now," she said. "K-beauty is definitely going mainstream." She added that more consumers seem to be realizing K-beauty products' results are long term and come from within.

A section for Peach & Lily at CVS Pharmacy / Courtesy of Peach & Lily

Yoon works hard with her team to curate K-beauty products to bring to the American market. The company, founded in 2012, has offices in New York and Seoul. Recently, the company launched its products at 2,100 CVS pharmacy stores in the United States.

As a CEO who constantly searches for the right products, Yoon said she noticed Korean cosmetics and beauty brands may be pressured to offer consumers "fast beauty."

"Before a brand really allows a product to permeate the market, they're onto the next. You need to give it enough air time," especially in the United States, she said. "In the United States, let things sink in a bit; market and reinforce the message. Here you need to do more marketing. Having a good marketing budget and strategy are important stateside."

Yoon stressed that Korean companies need to be careful about branding.

"In the global arena, you don't want to put your foot forward with a replica — if the packing and branding are off, people can't get past that even if the formula is innovative," she said.

Yoon, a CEO and industry leader who has grown her firm exponentially over the past several years, did not hesitate to share her secrets for success.

"Trust your team. Give them the opportunity to do things and allow them to surprise you. People are motivated by ownership. The more ownership you give them, the more they can step up. (Organizational) culture is really important," she said.

She also said Korean cosmetics and beauty companies should check whether a product will translate well in the American market, where consumers have diverse skin types and preferences.

"In Asia, skincare is a whole experience; benefits are secondary. In America, the benefits come first — it's a very results-driven consumer; they want to know how and why things work," she said.

In Asia, consumers have brand awareness and so many products to choose from, but "in America, there may be a need among consumers to be more educated about the brand and product categories. In China, there is a lot of celebrity marketing. In America, the consumer may not be familiar with those celebrities. Education is really key. Education needs to be concise and clear, easy to understand," she said.

In Korea, Yoon is known as an "eomchinttal," or your mother's best friend's Alpha-girl daughter. The Columbia University and Harvard Business School graduate worked at Goldman Sachs, Accenture and Boston Consulting before launching Peach & Lily in 2012. She came up with the name to hint at radiance and a beautiful blossom in nature without being so obviously about beauty products. She did not disclose the company's 2016 sales, but said whenever the company holds a one-day event, they register $250,000 in sales. As the company grows, Peach & Lily is partners with Restore NYC, a non-profit group that aims to end sex trafficking of foreign national women in New York City. "We have donated a portion of our profit to Restore NYC, and we have also done marketing campaigns to raise awareness about this organization and the important work they do, and have spent time with the people they help to encourage them," she said.

"Ultimately, I think life is a marathon. I took myself very seriously in college and kept thinking about my calling, but you don't get there overnight. Do your best wherever you go and seek opportunities that resonate with you," she said. For example, she said when she worked at Goldman Sachs, it wasn't the most fun job, but it provided her with a solid foundation. It took her eight years after graduating from college to get Peach & Lily to where it is now. Also, for her, dealing with an uncertain future is exciting.

"Be patient," she said. "Never stop listening to your heart. As you navigate, don't put pressure on yourself."