SUCCESSSTORIES
INSPIRING TALES OF STARTUPS , GROWTH AND OVERCOMING HARDSHIPS
Sparkle Collagen
Introducing Ingestible Beauty Through Spas
When husband and wife entrepreneurs Derek and Yu Ming O ’ Neil , co-founders of Sparkle Collagen , moved to Tokyo 10 years ago for Derek ’ s job at a technology company , they saw the popularity of ingestible beauty supplements in Japan and began to realize the business potential of introducing the products in the U . S .
Initially , Yu Ming didn ’ t exactly think of herself as an entrepreneur , but she has always been passionate about skin care . “ I graduated as a double English major from a university in Singapore and had two career paths — to be a teacher or a journalist . I chose to work in a women ’ s magazine ,” she says . It was during this time that she began her love for skin care and makeup . “ I got on like a house on fire with the [ girls working in the magazine ’ s beauty department ] who showered me with loads of products from the beauty closet .”
By her account , she is an “ accidental ” entrepreneur . “ Since it was difficult to find work in a women ’ s magazine in Japan , my husband encouraged me to start a blog . It was a creative outlet for me to combine my two loves — writing and beauty . There was much to explore in Japan because the culture of beauty was so different from the rest of the world and it was a fascinating space ,” she says .
Discovering a New Culture of Beauty While living in Tokyo , Yu Ming stumbled upon a Japanese beauty secret : collagen peptides . She began to casually sell a Japanese brand from her blog shop . When Oprah Winfrey featured the peptides on a segment called Beauty Secrets from Around the World , the orders started streaming in .
“ This made me realize that there was a nascent but growing demand in ingestible beauty products ,” she says . “ I loved the Japanese brands I tried but there were always a few missing elements and that drove me to create a collagen product I want to consume every single day , so Sparkle Collagen was born .”
In terms of formulation , Yu Ming claims Sparkle Collagen ’ s
BY KELLY HEITZ
YU MING AND DEREK O ’ NEIL
Co-Founders • Sparkle Collagen Hawthorn , New York
formula is easy to understand . “ It has no sugar , contains hyaluronic acid for added moisturizing benefits and has lots of vitamin C ,” she says .
Getting the Word Out But having an innovative product idea isn ’ t the only ingredient for success . The co-founders had to work extremely hard to get the Sparkle Collagen name out in front of its target market and gain the trust of experts so they ’ d recommend an unfamiliar product to their customers . “ The biggest challenge to date was building a brand from nothing and getting people to trust a new , unknown brand ,” she says . “ We ’ ve been building our brand by seeding Sparkle Collagen in the spa world . We place our products in the hands of skin-care experts , namely estheticians in spas who are trusted by their customers to make solid recommendations .”
This marketing concept essentially used word-of-mouth advertising to propel the brand nationally . It ’ s the perfect fit for
62 PULSE ■ March / April 2017