The Wander Diary launched in December last year by Jaycee Ng, who was formerly working with a South Korean skin care start-up before striking out on her own.
Ng founded the company after observing a gap in the market for skin care products targeted at consumers with active or jet-setting lifestyles.
“I began to notice that when a lot of people travel, they either buy travel sizes or depot into smaller empty bottles. These solutions are either not environmentally friendly or too troublesome and messy.”
The brand offers a solution to this by trying to cater to all the basic needs of women with a small curated collection of products.
“We only have four products, but they are also multipurpose. For example, our crowd favourite oil serum can also be used as an oil cleanser to melt and remove your make-up while helping with dry patches on skin,” Ng explained.
“People nowadays just want everything to be efficient. Everyone is busy they have hectic lifestyles. For them, every second counts. They tend to want a minimalist skin care routine and multipurpose items can help them save that time.”
Ng admitted to CosmeticsDesign-Asia that introducing a new brand right now was a less than ideal situation.
“The first step for a brand is to gain more brand awareness. It's been difficult now because of the COVID-19 situation, especially because my brand is geared towards active on-the-go types and frequent travellers.”
However, she believes there will be new opportunities for her brand in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. For instance, she thinks this will lead to increasing demand for multipurpose products.
“After COVID-19 I think there will be a group of people that will lean into the less is more approach, where people will become generally more conscious about what they use, how they use and the purpose behind each product. People will look towards minimising their skin care routine while maximising the benefits that each product can give.”
The COVID-19 crisis has led Ng to realise that her brand can appeal to more than just the frequent flyer.
“My products fit in well with the [conscious beauty trend]. They are clean and my packaging is recyclable. The travelling is just one part of my brand story. I also have customers that started following my label because we have this eco-friendly story.”
The best policy
The disruption caused by the supply chain by the pandemic has delayed the company’s shipments, affecting the brand’s stock supply.
In order to cope with the “haywire situation”, Ng said it was imperative for brands to remain open and honest with their consumers.
“Right now, engaging with consumers in an honest way is very important. Everyone is affected by this in one way or another. If you are honest with your consumer, they will be more than happy to be understanding.”
While it is uncertain how long the current situation will last, Ng remains optimistic about the future of her brand.
“I feel quite lucky that we still operate fully via e-commerce, it’s been slightly easier to manage. Also, with everyone stuck at home and on their phone, it’s easier now to engage with them through social media. I’m definitely using this time to connect with my followers and build a community around the brand.”
