Deer placenta skin care: NZ brand Bouvelir targets Thailand and Malaysia with premium range

Bouvelir is a skin care brand developed by Alpha Laboratories, a New Zealand nutraceuticals manufacturer and is a major supplier of deer placenta.

The company decided to expand into the topical skin care market as it saw an opportunity to promote its deer placenta complex as a cosmetic ingredient.

It developed Bouvelir, which features a deer placenta complex derived from New Zealand Red Deers.

According to the company, this complex contains insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also known as somatomedin C. It is a glycoprotein hormone which is similar in molecular structure to insulin, which plays an important role in promoting tissue growth and organ health.

In skin care, it is essential for regulating healthy cell growth; development and regeneration, protecting and inducing the healing of injured monolayer cells; and is vital to promoting important epidermal growth factors (EGF).

This is not Alpha Laboratories first foray into the beauty space. Three years ago, it developed a beauty collagen supplement brand called MHD which is now available in New Zealand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Bouvelir is less than a year old and is currently only available in its home country. However, it is itching to expand overseas and is targeting the SEA’s lucrative skin care market.

“I can say that 97% of deer placenta supplements selling in South East Asia are from us. So, you can see we are very familiar with South East Asia – it is our backyard after all – people here are very familiar with placenta products so it's easy for them to accept as skin care,”​ said Cindy Loke, business development manager, South East Asia, Alpha Laboratories.

More specifically, the brand is most interested in Thailand and Malaysia, where it hopes to find partners in the beauty salon and clinic channels.

“We are mostly interested in exploring offline channels because what we have are premium products and I think online is a bit more difficult for a new brand,”​ said Loke.

The company is hoping to bank on its expertise in deer placenta and the clinical studies it has on this material. It has a few ongoing studies it hopes to share soon with potential consumers.

While the company is working to enter the SEA market at the moment, it also has its sights set on the wider Asian market. Most notably, it hopes to enter China, where consumers are familiar with animal placenta as an ingredient.

“China will be later on because we have to consider the regulations. But yes, eventually, we would want to go to China,” ​said Loke.

At the moment, the brand has just four products split between two ranges – an anti-ageing and a hydrating range which has a face cream and serum for each.

The company is currently working to expand the range, and we can expect new products such as cleansers as well as masks soon.