In this week’s episode of The Art of Beauty, our host Amanda Imani sits down with LUMI Beauty founder Chryseis Tan to chat about what it takes to launch your own business!
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00:00I mean, I do have failed businesses before, I started an F&B and like when COVID hit, it got really bad and I had to shut it down.
00:12Hi everyone, welcome back to season four, episode seven of Art of Beauty with me, Amanda Imani.
00:18And today we have an extremely special guest with us, the one and only Chris's Tan.
00:23Woo! I'm so excited to have you here.
00:26Now you do a little bit of everything.
00:28You are a mom first and foremost, you are an entrepreneur.
00:31You're also, I would say, a public figure and a creator on Instagram with over 550,000 followers, which is amazing.
00:40And most importantly, you are a big beauty enthusiast and you have a very special brand that maybe you'd like to share with us, but it's called?
00:52It's called Lumi Beauty.
00:53Lumi Beauty.
00:54Yeah, so hi everyone, I'm Chris and I'm the founder of Lumi Beauty.
00:58Amazing, so maybe just to start it off, like how did you get the inspiration to maybe start like a beauty brand?
01:06Okay, so this was about four years ago and I remember it was COVID and, you know, actually the idea came before COVID.
01:14And, you know, I was so keen on doing this.
01:18I hired like two girls and I'm like, okay, you know what, I'm going to start my beauty brand because this is something I'm always passionate about and something I really love.
01:26And then I realized I was pregnant.
01:30I'm like, oh no, I'm pregnant.
01:32I have really bad morning sickness.
01:34So it actually got delayed a little bit.
01:37And in the process, you know, being pregnant and testing skincare products was even better because I was pregnant and I wanted the products to be, you know, safe for pregnant ladies and all that.
01:51So the idea came about for it to be like vegan, cruelty free and all that.
01:56So that was how I started the brand during COVID and when I was pregnant in 2020.
02:03That is amazing.
02:04Yeah, launched it in October.
02:06And yeah, I'm like really happy that it was, you know, we started literally really small and we kind of sold out in the first week.
02:16So that was really, yeah.
02:18Yeah, I do remember it.
02:20I remember seeing like the social presence all over Instagram.
02:24Yeah, just right before we launched.
02:25Yes, yes.
02:26And I remember seeing you kind of teasing about it.
02:28And one of the very first products I saw you tease about, I was like, wow, I have to try this now because I feel like you're such an innovator and you really do pave the way for a lot of things, fashion and beauty.
02:38And I do know a lot of people really look up to you and they're always like, wow, I wish I could, you know, emulate a little bit of Chris's beauty routine and maybe fashion sense.
02:47So I would say like, I want to ask you, so what made you came up with the name Lumi Beauty?
02:52Where did that inspiration come from?
02:53So I wanted a short name and Lumi actually came from the word luminous.
02:57So and it's also because my products are from Japan and Korea.
03:01So Lumi means grooming in Japanese.
03:04So, you know, it's kind of catchy and short.
03:07So that was how it came about.
03:08Just easy.
03:09Yeah.
03:10And fun fact, Chris, you do speak Japanese as well, right?
03:13I do, but do not test me.
03:15Which I think is so interesting, because like I said, you kind of like you do everything and it's so amazing to see a woman, you know, be successful in so many of her different ventures.
03:26I'm trying.
03:28So the second question I have for you is, I guess in a world, especially in a local world of Malaysia, we see so many brands and it's a pretty saturated market.
03:40It's a very saturated market.
03:41Yeah.
03:42So I want to ask you what were maybe some of the initial challenges you had when you first started your brand?
03:48Yeah.
03:48To be honest, when I first started my brand, I didn't think much.
03:51I'm like, OK, you know what?
03:52I want to do it and let's do it.
03:54You know, that was literally how it came about.
03:57And then when I launched it or when it's almost launching time, I'm like, you know, then we start freaking out like, oh, this, that.
04:04But what I really believe in is to produce quality products.
04:09Apart from marketing, you know, we can do all that.
04:12We can do like the marketing, you know, like knowing our target market, the niche market and all that.
04:20But what I do believe in is to produce good quality products.
04:25So I'm very involved in the process, the R&D process, the testing and all that.
04:32And I have to test the products myself and I have to believe in a product before launching it.
04:38So that's what I always believe in.
04:40Of course, it's not one skin fits all, one product fits all.
04:44But I feel like, you know, when I get give it to my friends, my family and myself to try.
04:50And if it's a goal and that that's how it comes about.
04:54Well, that is very, very interesting.
04:56And I guess, you know, since you do so many things and you did mention that you are very hands on from start to end with your brand.
05:05What's it like in a day to day for Chris's time?
05:08Like, you know, kind of managing and I guess kind of seeing it start to end, you know, when you launch products?
05:14Yeah, okay.
05:14First, when I launch, of course, now that I have a team, of course, it's a little bit easier.
05:19But when we started, it was only two of them and me.
05:23So we discuss a lot.
05:25And of course, like from the start to the end, there's a lot of processes, you know,
05:29like firstly, finding a good lab partner, working with them, seeing if they're qualified.
05:35And then the products, the back and forth takes such a long time.
05:39So I think that's the most intense part of the business, I would say.
05:44Got it.
05:45Yeah.
05:45And you did mention, you know, the quality is the most important thing.
05:49The most important to me.
05:50Yeah.
05:51I want to ask you, how do you manage to find a balance between, you know, creating products that are very high quality?
05:58And but at the same time, really accessible for people to actually purchase?
06:02Oh, yeah.
06:02So that's basically what I had in mind when I first started this brand, actually.
06:09Because obviously, I love beauty products, and I buy a lot of beauty products outside.
06:13And I'm like, oh, my God, sometimes it's so expensive.
06:16You know, you need to use so many products.
06:20And it obviously adds up.
06:22So I really wanted to create something that is of good quality, and at a reasonable price.
06:29And I feel like a lot of people, of course, everyone, I wouldn't say I'm like the scientist creating it.
06:35Of course, I have partners.
06:37And you know, they have like professional people advising.
06:40So that's where the back and forth is.
06:42You know, we have to tell them like, okay, it can be too expensive.
06:45But what can be done is always substitute and replacement.
06:48So that's how we come up with formulations that works.
06:51And at a reasonable price.
06:53Yeah.
06:53And one really cool thing is I always see a lot of your products are always sold out.
06:57Which is so cool.
06:59Oh, my gosh.
06:59It's always on screen or sold out right now.
07:02To be fair, we honestly did not anticipate for it to sell out so quickly.
07:08So sometimes, so these are production problems.
07:10We could have ordered a lot more.
07:12But you know, we also have to balance it out.
07:14Because cash flow in a business is very important.
07:17So I mean, we can talk a bit about that later.
07:19Yeah.
07:20But yeah, so in a business, there's just so many elements, not just the product.
07:24You know, it's like the business, the cash flow, the customers, your staff.
07:30There's just so many things involved in building a good business and healthy business.
07:35Yes.
07:36Wise words from Chris.
07:37And I feel like you are, you know, the perfect person to talk about business.
07:43A little bit of an off topic question.
07:44How do you think, you know, a beauty brand like Lume
07:48is it very different as opposed to maybe an F&B?
07:53Oh, yeah.
07:53So I'm actually an F&B as well.
07:56And I have a few restaurants.
07:58I have eight restaurants, I think, in Malaysia, one in Singapore, one in Dubai.
08:05It's very different from a beauty business.
08:07Because F&B is a lot to deal with staff, like, you know, HR.
08:15And because it's a service industry.
08:17Whereas Lume, I would say it's a balance of both.
08:20You know, of course, we have to service our customers as well.
08:23It's also part service industry, but also very product based.
08:28So I think that's where it differs a little bit.
08:31Yeah, definitely.
08:32That is very interesting.
08:35Have you found any specific strategies that you found to be maybe effective
08:39for maintaining, you know, relevance in a very crowded market?
08:43You know, we did mention it's very saturated.
08:45How do you?
08:46It's a very saturated market.
08:48That's why we have to know our customers and our niche.
08:52So we have to know what is lacking in the market.
08:55And then we go into that.
08:57We have to be innovative.
08:58We have to keep up with trends.
09:00We need to know what others are doing.
09:03I mean, we don't copy them, but we need to know what they do.
09:06So that we do, you know, we innovate and improve from that.
09:10Yeah, so it's a very fast paced industry.
09:14You know, one day you're like, you see everyone using this product.
09:17The next day, everyone's using another product.
09:20So it's very hard to keep up with it as well.
09:22So that's why I say like, you know, cash flow is important.
09:25So it ties into that.
09:27But I can do 1000 products or like different types of products.
09:30But, you know, that will eat into our business as well.
09:33So we need to really plan and see what customers want.
09:37What our customers want.
09:39Feedback, I think, yeah, definitely is really important to kind of improve.
09:42Yeah, feedback, you know, like we get feedbacks from customers all the time.
09:46And we really take it seriously.
09:48You know, if they say like, okay, you know, why is the product like that?
09:51But of course, we cannot cater to every single person.
09:54But what we do is we gather feedbacks.
09:56And then we try to improve on that.
09:58So on what we think we should, basically.
10:02And I will decide on that.
10:04Yeah, basically.
10:05And in a marketing sense.
10:07So Lumi started off, I want to say online, right?
10:10Yes, we're online.
10:11Yes.
10:12And then you now have, you know, boutiques.
10:14Yeah, we have like a kiosk now.
10:16And we're expanding that as well.
10:18Yeah.
10:18And so how is that process?
10:19What made you decide to maybe start online first?
10:22As opposed to, you know, a brick and mortar like shop?
10:25Okay, first, we started online.
10:27And I feel like online is definitely the way to go.
10:30Because the cost is definitely lower on our side.
10:33And then, but what I did was I did pop ups.
10:36So, you know, you came to one of our pop ups last year.
10:38So we do like anniversary pop ups and all that.
10:41And then I actually personally speak to customers.
10:44And they're like, you know, like some of them are a little older.
10:48So we have customers ranging from 18 to 60, 60, 60-ish, 65.
10:54And some of them like come up and they tell me,
10:56you know, I really wish like, we can like actually test the products.
11:00They can like, you know, touch and feel it.
11:04So that was when I thought, yeah, maybe it's time, you know,
11:07it's time to have a kiosk and people can actually see,
11:10touch and feel a product before committing to purchase it.
11:15So that was how like it came about.
11:17And of course, our pop ups did quite well as well.
11:19Yeah.
11:20And I thought it made sense.
11:22It made sense to have a kiosk now.
11:25Yeah.
11:25Yeah, which is so fun.
11:26I've been to it many, many times.
11:28So we try to do like different things in our kiosk now.
11:31Yeah.
11:31Yeah.
11:32And it's so fun to see.
11:33Also, I think, you know, the colors and the, you know,
11:36packaging of the products plays such an important role.
11:38So I love yellow, like the color.
11:40And I thought like it's a color that stands out.
11:42So that was why I chose the color as like our theme for Lume.
11:46It's so appropriate because it's such a happy,
11:48I feel like every time I use it.
11:50Like a happy color.
11:50Yeah, I feel really happy.
11:52And I'm like, oh.
11:52And our first product was the Vitamin Glow Super Serum that did really well.
11:56And it's still one of our best sellers.
11:58And that was a yellow in color.
12:00And I loved it.
12:00I feel like that's such an iconic product.
12:02I actually still use it myself along with the mask as well.
12:05So and also the sprays.
12:06I love that.
12:08The rose spray is one of my favorites.
12:09So you guys, if you guys haven't tried it, you do definitely go check it out.
12:14But yeah, like for you,
12:15how do you personally manage your day to day with Lume, for example?
12:19Like, do you do you constantly, you know,
12:22do you constantly think of new things that maybe you want to produce?
12:25Or how does it work?
12:27Like, do you maybe.
12:28So my day to day now, because we've grown, you know, after four years,
12:32I have, I think, more than 10,
12:36more than 10 of them in my team right now.
12:39And I'm going to it's a lie if I tell you I do everything from A to Z.
12:43No, of course not.
12:44But I do give ideas.
12:45So what I do now is the day to day.
12:47OK, but I'm still very involved in a product, though,
12:50because I do want to try and test the products myself.
12:54But the other things I do delegated to our other girls in the team.
12:59Yeah, and I do think it's important.
13:01You know, it's a lot of teamwork, of course.
13:04Yeah, a lot of team.
13:05I do give the ideas and tell them what I want
13:07and how I want the brand to be perceived by others.
13:11And also, of course, like the product.
13:13Yeah.
13:14And I think that's a really important thing.
13:15I think as a leader, right,
13:17because you do have to delegate certain things to people.
13:19But it's a lot of delegation.
13:21Yeah.
13:21So I guess I also want to ask you, like,
13:25how do you manage to stay different?
13:27Right.
13:28Like stay constantly, stay different,
13:29because you mentioned things are always changing.
13:31It's such a fast paced industry.
13:33Everything is based on like trends
13:35and what you see on social media, for example.
13:37Yes.
13:37Do you think social media plays a very important role
13:41in what your consumers are looking for in your product?
13:44I think for us, we started online.
13:45So I would say social media is very important.
13:48You know, I do think that's how people look at the brand,
13:52like the first contact.
13:53You know, not everyone will pass by our stores,
13:56our kiosks or our pop-ups,
13:59but they will see things online.
14:01It's just easier.
14:02It's just more accessible to everyone.
14:04You know, the social media, the news and all that.
14:07So I think that's quite important.
14:09Yes.
14:10And you did mention that your products are pregnancy safe.
14:14Yes.
14:15I make sure that it's very safe and all that.
14:18So that, you know, everyone can actually,
14:20you know, try and use our products.
14:22Right.
14:23And also the most important thing is
14:25our product needs to be effective.
14:27Yeah.
14:28So I don't want people to buy and spend that money
14:30and feel like, oh my God, this is lousy
14:32or this is useless to them.
14:34So it has to be effective.
14:36And honestly, like years ago, I do have bad skin.
14:40So, you know, I feel like...
14:41You have perfect skin now.
14:43Oh my God.
14:43You've always had perfect skin.
14:45No, not when I was younger, honestly.
14:48But yeah, I think taking care of your skin
14:51is actually very important.
14:52It's more important than we think it is.
14:55Yeah.
14:55And for Lumi, do you see it always being a skincare brand
14:59or do you ever think of maybe branching out to cosmetics?
15:01No, we will branch out, of course.
15:04But I think maybe more into like body first,
15:08you know, like we actually have like a hand cream now.
15:12So we do want to do other parts of the body.
15:14OK, that is so cool.
15:16I have tried actually your hand cream.
15:17I hope you love it.
15:19Love, love.
15:19Love the packaging too, I would say.
15:23Maybe you need to get the new one with the charms.
15:25Oh, I haven't seen that.
15:27Oh, cool.
15:28I'm so excited.
15:31Can you share some stories from your entrepreneurial journey
15:35and maybe some of the key lessons you learned
15:37because you've always, I guess you've grown up,
15:39you know, being in business
15:40and you started business at a very young age.
15:42What maybe do you have to say to some people watching
15:44that maybe are looking to start a business?
15:46I think you need to know your market, actually.
15:50Don't jump into something.
15:51I mean, I do have failed businesses before.
15:54I started at F&B and like when COVID hit,
15:57it got really bad and I had to shut it down.
16:02What I think is persistence and resilience
16:04is really important.
16:05You need to innovate.
16:06You need to adapt to market.
16:08You need to know your consumers.
16:10You need to know your customers
16:12and always listen to them
16:13because you know what I feel?
16:14Customers are always right.
16:16Because if you want to, you know,
16:18make them spend on your product
16:20or what you've created,
16:23you have to consider what they want, right?
16:25Yeah.
16:26So customers are very important.
16:28Customers are always right.
16:30And no matter what, you know,
16:31sometimes we do get ridiculous, like,
16:33complaints and things like that.
16:35But I'm like, you know, I always tell my staff,
16:38just be patient.
16:39We need to know what they want.
16:41Right.
16:41And maybe there's a point somewhere.
16:44Yeah.
16:45That's a really, I think, a very important thing
16:47when you are starting a business
16:48because you can't always please everybody,
16:50but it is.
16:51Yes, exactly.
16:52We cannot please everybody,
16:54but we try to do our best we can.
16:56You know, whether it's our products
16:58or the restaurants, our service.
17:01Yeah.
17:01In your opinion,
17:02what are some of the business strategies
17:04that maybe has worked for you most
17:06or been the most successful growing Lumi?
17:10Business strategy.
17:13Of course, when we started,
17:14we do have, we do a lot of online strategies.
17:18You know, we do like ads.
17:20We do, I mean, the things that everyone does.
17:23Marketing.
17:23Marketing.
17:25But I do feel that when you say strategy,
17:30I just really want to give the best for our customers.
17:33Yeah.
17:34So no rocket science,
17:35just giving the best quality products to your customers.
17:39And once that comes in,
17:40you know, they promote you through word of mouth.
17:42Yeah.
17:43And, you know, people just come.
17:45And that's really, really important, I think.
17:47It's so important.
17:48If you are, you know, returning customers.
17:49Exactly.
17:50And people forget that sometimes, you know.
17:52Yeah.
17:53A lot of people, okay, you know,
17:54they just create products for the sake of it.
17:56And they just market it.
17:57They think marketing is everything,
17:59but you don't get return customers.
18:00Yes, that's true.
18:01And return customers are so important.
18:03Yeah, definitely.
18:04So that's a really good point.
18:05I think Chris has just brought up.
18:08Are there any current challenges that you find
18:12currently in the beauty industry in Malaysia?
18:15Okay.
18:16Yeah.
18:16For example, like, you know, in the US,
18:20people are so much more,
18:22example, more aware, I guess,
18:25more woke about, you know,
18:26you know, having brands that perform in a certain way
18:29or being inclusive.
18:30And I know that Lumi is very inclusive
18:32because I've seen a lot of your ad campaigns
18:35and your photos and all that.
18:37And I really have to applaud you on that
18:39because you do really try to include people
18:41with different skin color, skin types.
18:44So do you think that...
18:45I mean, we do get like a lot of feedback as well on that.
18:49They're like, you know, of course,
18:50it works on you because you're fair skin and all that.
18:52But I'm like, no, that's not true, you know.
18:55So we need to also use marketing to actually show them like,
18:59you know, our products are for everyone.
19:01Yeah.
19:01You know, it's, we include everyone in our products.
19:04So it's not just for like the fair skin
19:06or like, oh, yeah, because you're glowing
19:08because, you know, obviously it suits you
19:10because you're fair.
19:11But that's not the case.
19:12You can have glowing skin too,
19:14even if you're dark skin or tan skin,
19:16you know, it's no different.
19:19We're the same.
19:19Yeah.
19:20And we have skin, which is the same.
19:22Yeah, totally.
19:23Would you say that Lumi is also suitable for people
19:26with maybe acne skin or teenage breakout?
19:28Yeah, it's very suitable.
19:30I mean, sometimes, you know, if it's not suitable for you,
19:32then just don't use the product anymore.
19:35But a lot of people, we do get a lot of reviews
19:37and feedbacks that, you know,
19:38the products are really good for like acne skin.
19:41You know, it clears up scars.
19:43So sometimes like it makes me really happy
19:45looking at our reviews online.
19:47Yeah.
19:47On our site.
19:48Yeah.
19:49So and I think it's really interesting
19:51because I have seen you at events
19:52and I truly with my own eyes,
19:54I've seen Chris's go and speak to people
19:57and really ask for, you know, their opinions
19:59and how she can improve, you know, her products,
20:02which I don't see a lot of brand owners doing necessarily.
20:07I think a lot of smaller brands tend to do that,
20:10especially if you have a very small team.
20:12But it's really amazing to see someone like you
20:14actually, you know, have that sort of interaction
20:17with the public.
20:18And I think that's something that...
20:19Because I'm honestly passionate about this beauty industry
20:22and I love what I'm doing.
20:24So like talking to people and getting their feedback
20:27makes me, you know, improve as well.
20:29Or like, you know, once when they love our products,
20:32you know, it makes me happy.
20:33Yeah.
20:34So that's it's very fulfilling.
20:35Yeah.
20:36Is there any word of advice that you could possibly share
20:39with people who want to start a business in beauty?
20:42If they don't necessarily...
20:43I wouldn't say I'm like super successful yet.
20:46But if there's one advice I would give them is,
20:48you know, know your market, you know,
20:50care about your customers and also don't give up.
20:54Yeah.
20:54What would be one of the first things that they should do
20:57if they, you know, want to...
20:59And they have no business background.
21:00Okay.
21:01Right.
21:01And they just don't know where to start.
21:03Like, should they maybe come up conceptualization
21:05of a product or a theme going or...
21:07Okay, like for me, a lot of people want to start a business.
21:11Yeah.
21:11And they get stuck mainly because of how they run the business
21:16and their cash flow.
21:18And that is very important.
21:19Like products aside, beauty aside and all that,
21:22like the theme aside,
21:25I think building a business, you need to know your numbers.
21:28Yeah.
21:28You know, numbers is so important.
21:30You need to budget properly.
21:31You know, you need to, you know,
21:35make sure you don't run out of that cash flow
21:38and make sure it's healthy.
21:39So I think that's when people get stuck.
21:42They feel like, oh my gosh, I'm now in a financial,
21:44you know, like crisis because, you know,
21:47I have no money, not enough money for like,
21:50to buy new products or to sustain the business.
21:53And that's very important because sustaining the business
21:55is the most important part of growing a business.
21:58And if you cannot do that, then your business will fail
22:02no matter how good your idea is,
22:03no matter how beautiful your product looks,
22:07that's all irrelevant.
22:08So a lot of people, I speak to quite a few,
22:12like business people as well.
22:14Sometimes like it's the cash flow that really,
22:16you know, drains them.
22:17And you know, sometimes when, of course,
22:20you know, when I run like my F&B business and Lumi,
22:24you know, sometimes there'll be stuff you're like,
22:25oh, but you can just put the money in and spend,
22:27but that's not the point.
22:29Yeah.
22:29The business needs to be sustainable on its own.
22:32Definitely.
22:32Yeah.
22:33Once that, if you think there's a bottomless pit
22:35where people or investors can just inject money in,
22:38your business is not going to work.
22:40Definitely.
22:40So that is very, very important.
22:42Yeah.
22:43I think that's a really important takeaway,
22:44I think for anyone who's watching or listening,
22:46because yeah, it's not that simple.
22:48And I think a lot of people have this misconception that
22:51if you have many different businesses,
22:52you can kind of just fix one another.
22:54Yeah, I think a lot of people have the misconception of,
22:57you know, a lot of young people, I mean,
22:59they think like, OK, you know, I can create a good product
23:03and, you know, I can market it and it's all good.
23:06It's building a business is way beyond that.
23:10It's not just one product looking good,
23:13beautiful colors, good pictures.
23:15And that's a business.
23:16It's not.
23:17Yeah.
23:17Yeah.
23:18OK.
23:18Wow.
23:18We have so much to learn from Chris's.
23:21But I guess like for Lumi, where do you see Lumi,
23:24you know, in the next maybe three, five years,
23:25short term, long term, do you think?
23:28I mean, I do definitely want to expand
23:31into different countries.
23:32And actually, we just went into London,
23:34you know, feedback was great.
23:35Like people love the products.
23:37So we're going to seriously take like new markets.
23:41Yeah, take on new markets.
23:42Seriously.
23:43That is so cool.
23:44And you did mention that you're also maybe expanding
23:47into more body care and body care, maybe perfumery.
23:50I don't know.
23:51I think that would be so cool.
23:53It would be like stay tuned.
23:55Stay tuned.
23:56So once again, thank you so much, Chris.
23:58It was so much fun talking to you.
24:01Any last words you would like to share
24:02for anybody who's watching,
24:04maybe where we could find you on social media, Instagram?
24:07Yes.
24:08I mean, I would also first love to thank my customers
24:12who support Lumi throughout this four years.
24:15And also, yes, like others on my Lumi Beauty
24:18and me on Chris Tan underscore X.
24:21It was so fun having you.
24:23And as usual, it was an honor interviewing you
24:25for this episode of Art of Beauty.
24:27I have so many different takeaways
24:29just from our little conversation.
24:31And you have so much knowledge
24:32and information to share with everybody.
24:34And once again, thank you so much
24:36on behalf of Art of Beauty for coming onto this show.
24:39It was a pleasure.
24:40And once again, guys, thank you so much for watching.
24:43Thank you for having me in my next video.
24:45Bye.