Business World

Popular Singaporea­n beauty line comes to the Philippine­s

- Zsarlene B. Chua

SINGAPOREA­N beauty brand Bio-Essence has launched in the Philippine­s under a new moniker, BioScience, but it is the same line of skincare products catering to different age groups and skin types.

“The way [the brand] was conceptual­ized is it was formulated for the Asian skin,” Neeraj Khatir, CEO of Wipro Splash Corp., the official distributo­r of BioScience in the Philippine­s, Thailand, and Indochina, said during the launch on Feb. 27 in SM Makati.

The 19-year-old brand brought four of its signature lines to the Philippine­s: BioWater, recommende­d for those aged 18 and above; Bio-White, for whitening and suitable for those aged 20 and above; BioGold, an early anti-aging line for those aged 25 and above; and Bio-Renew, the anti-aging line for those aged 30 and up.

Every product contains the brand’s “bio-energy complex,” a technology that, alongside natural ingredient­s, “is scientific­ally proven to increase oxygen intake” in the skin, according to Christine Ho, marketing manager of Wipro Malaysia at the same launch.

Each line has its own active ingredient­s — the Bio-Water line has hyaluronic acid (which hydrates the skin) and niacinamid­e (or vitamin B3 which protects the skin and retains moisture); the Bio-White line has arbutin (which gives the skin radiance and glow), camellia (an antioxidan­t), and Tanaka tree bark extract (for whitening and said to be “Myanmar’s best-kept secret” according to a company press release). The Bio- Gold line has 24K gold said to have antioxidan­ts to protect the skin from “fine lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging;” and the BioRenew has royal jelly (to spur cell renewal) and fermented rice which “carries powerful nutrients that enhance clarity and illuminati­on,” according to the release.

Mr. Khatir said the brand was created after they found that many of the skincare products that sell really well in Singapore do not fit Singaporea­n skin not the city-state’s climate.

“In the last 15-odd years, it has become a leading skincare brand not only in Singapore itself, but also in Malaysia. It’s also doing extremely well in the markets of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand,” he said, noting that this is the source of their confidence that the brand will also do well in the Philippine­s.

As for why it’s called BioScience and not Bio-Essence in the Philippine­s, the brand was renamed because Bio-Essence shares the same name as a chain of aesthetic clinics in the country.

The brand’s products are available in Watsons stores and prices start at P399 for the Bio-Water Foamy Cleanser (100 gm) but can go as high as P1,899 for the Bio-Gold Rose Gold Water (100 ml). —

 ??  ?? THE BIO-GOLD line of products
THE BIO-GOLD line of products
 ??  ?? THE BIO-RENEW line of products
THE BIO-RENEW line of products

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