In 2020, Karine Cheong co-founded the skincare company Eight Karats as a subsidiary of her wholesale distribution business EK Brands. For the new venture, she set up a manufacturing facility in South Korea with an in-house R&D capability to ensure control over product quality and production method, from the selection and procurement of key ingredients to the way they are formulated.
“My inspiration for Eight Karats came from my dream of manufacturing only high-quality products that are safe and effective,” Karine reveals. “I want to develop a product line that bridges the gap between beauty and wellness, and thus help my clients feel good both inside and out.”
Besides wholesale distribution of health and beauty products, EK Brands also owns the label Klarity, manufacturer of innovative skincare products that rely on cutting-edge laboratory technology and medical-grade ingredients to deliver visible and effective results.
Karine’s unrelenting efforts to deliver a range of highly effective products paid off. Within 10 months of operation, Eight Karats’ distribution network ballooned from three to almost a thousand; meanwhile, its combined sales grew over S$9.6 million during the same period.
With an online presence to deal with customer inquiries and purchases, the company is on track to greater success.
A successful array
Eight Karats then launched a series of skincare products under the Klarity Skin label. The first of these is Lasertox Miracle White CC Lotion, touted as Singapore’s first colourant-free skincare product which works both as a skincare or cosmetic solution to brighten and enhance the tone and texture of the skin.
The main ingredients of Lasertox are diamond powder, which helps to exfoliate and refine skin texture, and wild rosehips, which protects the skin against cell damage with its abundant Vitamin C content.
Other ingredients that go into its formulation are Niacinamide for minimising redness, Adenosine for healing wounds, and Madecassic Acid for reducing irritation. The product has been proven to lighten acne scarring, stretchmarks, and redness within a couple of weeks.
Following on the success of Lasertox, Klarity Skin then released an array of other products for the skin. In May this year, the popular Laserox was relaunched as Lasertox Miracle White CC Lotion SPF 30 PA++, a reformulated version with new PPPbiotics, which stands for prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics or the introduction and maintenance of good bacteria on the skin.
The product is also fortified with other ingredients such as Madecassoside which improves skin quality as it addresses inflammation and redness, Asiaticoside which enhances skin elasticity and accelerates wound healing, and Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate which promotes collagen synthesis, nourishes skin cells, deeply revitalises and softens skin while protecting it from free radicals.
Eight Karats is on the quest to deliver beauty and wellness benefits to clients through a range of products—from UV protection to skin lightening, anti-acne solution, moisturisation, and skin rejuvenation.
For more product and services information, visit the Klarity Skin website and follow their account on Instagram.
A version of this article first appeared on Solitaire.
