Klaypeau was launched in August this year by Karen Khoo, who saw a gap in the market for a platform that offered a curated collection of sheet masks.
"I feel there's quite a bit of potential here, especially with so many brands out there in the market that most people may not be aware of. Most people know the Korean brands, but there are great sheet masks from all over the world like Taiwan, Thailand, even the US,” said Khoo.
Klaypeau has made an arrangement with the brands it carries to sell its sheet masks on a per-sheet basis which allows consumers to try more brands.
“Some people may be hesitant to buy a box of premium masks, but with our model, you can just buy one and mix it in with other masks in your weekly routine. This way, we reduce the hurdle and let people try new things out. After all, sheet masks are supposed to be fun. You can try one and if you don’t like it you can just move on.”
Additionally, Khoo believes buying-per-sheet is more environmentally friendly and can help reduce wastage.
“This way people don’t have to commit to a full box every time. I personally have had the same issue where I bought a whole box of masks and I would often end up throwing them away. With the per-sheet concept, you can minimise the wastage.”
COVID-19 accelerates masking trend
Khoo told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that she believed the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has boosted the demand for sheet masks.
“With COVID-19, people seem more into wellness and self-care. In the past, people didn't have the time, but now since everyone is working from home, people can just use the mask while they are working. That probably helps to encourage more usage of sheet masks.”
This is driving the company to scout out more brands to carry. It currently stocks nine brands such as Joanna Vargas, Orgaid Organics and L'Herboflore and is looking to raise that number to 20 by next year.
“We don’t necessarily need to hit that target because it's more important for us to be mindful about the brands we bring in. We want only quality brands that are not commonly seen in the market. We definitely try to be more curated on that front,” said Khoo.
Khoo said she would focus on sheet masks first because there’s a large market of niche brands she could tap into. However, she was considering stock other types of masks as well.
“I hope that Klaypeau will be the ultimate platform for masks. We are starting out with sheet masks... maybe we will explore eye masks and cream masks eventually. But as a start, I want to focus on sheet masks because I feel that there are already quite a lot of things to look at in this one category.”
Moving forward, the company is working to raise brand awareness in its home market.
It plans to launch curated sheet masks sets in the next couple of months and is gearing up for the festive season with Christmas themed sets.
Khoo said once she got the company on track in Singapore, she planned to expand the business into neighbouring ASEAN countries as well as Europe and the US, where she said the sheet masking trend was just beginning.
“Once we manage to get some traction, then I'm hoping to expand overseas. I'm thinking of Thailand, Malaysia, Europe and US. Surprisingly quite a lot of [Americans] have come across our social media and website. I will be keen to explore and look a little bit further once things are more stable.”