Curiosity could easily lead to something unexpected. For Jayden Ling, it led to his first foray into the beauty industry.
At the tender age of 15, Jayden was already involved with a string of odd jobs like reselling products to working as a part time private tutor—all for the sake of earning money.
The entrepreneur gene runs through his family; he cites his parents as his main inspiration. Watching his parents purchase special discounted goods or find a good source of products to resell them in bulk was one of the ways Jayden studied the art of business.
At the age of 18, he had started getting involved with meeting clients and assisting in closing multi-million deals. He even helped start a few businesses.
All these little things helped build his confidence enough to pursue his own business and at 19, when curiosity led him to make soaps for fun, he saw an opportunity that came in the form of his new enterprise known as àreum.beau.
Combining practicality and aestheticism.
àreum.beau is a skincare line that focuses on being all natural. Their products are handmade and the range comprises of soaps, facial cleansers, lip balms, and essential oils.
The young core team consists of 5, including Jayden, but they have extra help to stand by during bazaar events and DIY classes.
The soaps are priced from RM27.90 to RM49.90 (if it’s a specially made), whereas the essential oils can go from RM38.00 to RM158.00.
I was pretty drawn to the artistic look of the soaps. They have quite an elegant and premium feel to it despite the price being quite reasonable. When asked on how the soaps are made, Jayden said that they use the cold process technique, the most traditional method of soap making.
The reason why he prefers it to be done in that way is to retain most of the nutrients in the soaps while also being gentle to the skin.
To give it the other benefits, scent and overall look, the team adds a chemical known as lye to ingredients such as olive oil and coconut oil. It’s then mixed with dried ingredients and essential oils for the final touch.
The oils are actually one of the things Jayden considers carefully as all their products are formulated with essential oils that help with different concerns of the body.
“We handcraft all our products in small batches to ensure freshness and quality control. Each single piece goes through delicate care and quality control process, bringing only the best to our customers,” explained Jayden about their quality.
But it’s not just the soaps that are a bit hit with their audience.
Their best-selling product from àreum.beau is the Facial Cleansing Powder which doubles as a face scrub and mask. According to Jayden, he has gotten positive feedback saying that the powder had helped with those suffering with blackheads while making their skin smoother.
“Many of our customers love this product. It is also one of our most expensive products hence it generates quite a significant portion of our cash flow,” shared Jayden to Vulcan Post.
Although the àreum.beau soaps are pretty, the product itself is a dime a dozen. I’d think it would be tricky for a new beauty brand to stand out from other competitors who are already specialising in handmade soaps but Jayden believes they have an edge.
Their products are all handmade in Malaysia but the ingredients are sourced from all over the world. The team ensures that whatever they use comes from the native country that best produces them.
“For example, I personally travel to Korea 2 times a year just to source for the best seaweed for our products. Besides that, our soaps are tested in a pharmaceutical facility in Korea, hence giving more assurance to our customers,” said Jayden.
This does however translate into monetary issues, which Jayden acknowledges as a big challenge for the business.
“I do not come from a wealthy family and hence I had to bootstrap. My friends were there when I needed them, and they always lend me an extra hand. I am really grateful for everyone and everything around me which made me who am I today,” said Jayden.
Despite that, àreum.beau is already heading towards a break even point and have been growing exponentially in this year.
And diversifying their offerings has helped give them a boost.
To widen their audience, àreum.beau doesn’t just cater to normal customers. Corporates have also approached them for their products along with DIY classes for team bonding experiences.
Recently, the team had taken part in Chanel’s celebration of their 20th year in Malaysia by providing custom made door gifts of their soaps to be given out during the event. Quite interesting considering that these brands also have things of a similar nature in their line which they could’ve given out if they wanted to.
But Jayden believes it might be because brands may want something different from what they already have and he feels thankful to be working with a prestigious brand.
“There have been some corporate clients like L’ORÉAL Malaysia who engage with us in holding team building classes for their employees. We organise a one-day event for their employees such as soap making class, lipbalm making and introducing them to empower their lives using essential oils and natural products,” said Jayden.
For àreum.beau’s future, Jayden has a wider vision of bringing finer things in life to their customers while finding a way to be a brand that can give back to the society by upgrading the lives of the more unfortunate.
“We have slowly expanded into F&B, and if everything falls in place, we will have a lifestyle boutique department café coming up next year.”
– Jayden
Feature Image Credit: àreum.beau
