Indonesia’s halal cosmetics pioneer ready for Thailand and Turkey
JAKARTA – After its first overseas foray into Malaysia in 2017, the Indonesian halal cosmetics company behind the brands Wardah, Make Over and Emina says it is now ready to venture farther abroad.
Nurhayati Subakat, the founder of PT Paragon Technology and Innovation told Salaam Gateway Thailand and Turkey will probably be her targets for Southeast Asia and the Middle East once COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted and the company's key personnel can take up their new roles in the two countries.
“Some resellers are already hand carrying and selling our products in the Middle East but they are not buying directly or officially from us. So from the brand perspective, we are quite optimistic,” said Nurhayati.
The company will tweak its offerings for different regions to suit local taste and climates.
Wardah is Paragon Technology’s flagship brand and one of Indonesia’s most popular cosmetics names. Nurhayati says her aim is to make Wardah a top five global brand by 2023.
Paragon Technology aims to keep up its growth momentum by releasing 200 new products each year until 2023 especially in segments where it is still struggling to become a major player. These include cleansers, shampoos and soaps.
| Indonesia cosmetics industry key exports and imports 2019 | |||
| Soaps | Beauty or make-up products, including skincare | ||
| EXPORTS | IMPORTS | EXPORTS | IMPORTS |
| $611.02 mln | $68.68 mln | $122.67 mln | $358.02 mln |
| Data source: ITC Trade Map | |||
Paragon Technology was forced to accelerate its digital transformation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurhayati said the company is currently expanding its digital channels through e-commerce collaborations.
Pre-pandemic the company’s online sales never exceeded 5% of its distribution channels. It now wants to increase this to more than 50% through resellers.
COVID-19 lockdowns and movement restrictions impacted the company’s performance in the second quarter but sales are recovering, according to Nurhayati.
“We launched several new products and consumers responded well. This shows that people are still concerned about their personal care,” she said.
(Reporting by Yosi Winosa; Editing by Emmy Abdul Alim emmy.abdulalim@salaamgateway.com)
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