Four years into the local skincare industry, Keith Sta. Barbara of Dermorepubliq knows that Filipino brands still have a list of misconceptions to address among consumers.
According to the brand’s founder and president, among these things is the comparison of local brands to imported products.
“We’re still really struggling to debunk the misconception that imported products are better than local products,” he told GMA News Online.
“It’s a very hard myth to really debunk, and that has always been our struggle. I think not just Dermorepubliq, but other local skincare companies as well,” he added.
Photo: Carby Basina/GMA Integrated News
He also disagrees that skincare is a “one size fits all” scenario.
“‘Yung old slogan ni Dermorepubliq is ‘Custom formulations that work’ because we don’t really believe in products na naka-bundle, like ‘yung sets. I don’t think that really works for everyone because we have different skin problems,” he said.
Sta. Barbara was only a one-man team in the middle of the pandemic when he started building his business.
He also struggled with acne, so he went on with formulating products that would address specific skin problems, including his.
The third problem he noticed was the demand for products to work in an instant.
“Our customer service team is having a hard time convincing people because I think what’s going on with the local skincare industry is we tend to overpromise,” he said.
He continued, “You see products that say ‘Whiter skin in seven days’ or ‘Clearer skin in three days.’ So we have a lot of customers who leave one star [reviews] when they use the product, saying ‘‘Yung pimples ko, hindi gumaling after three days.’ Science doesn’t really back that kind of promise kasi the skin doesn’t work like that.”
Photo: Carby Basina/GMA Integrated News
In Dermorepubliq, they rely heavily on clinical studies when identifying the time period a product needs before results are noticed.
“It’s really a process. It’s not an overnight thing,” he said.
To address these misconceptions, Sta. Barbara said that they also hold educational campaigns to help consumers understand their products.
“Our marketing team is very good at what they do. They have an education campaign aside from just promoting the skincare benefits. We educate them in terms of what these products can really do,” he said.
Dermorepubliq is a local skincare brand that gained popularity in TikTok in recent years. Among its best-selling products are the Niacinamide Acne and Oil Control Face Bar Soap (P179), 10% Niacinamide + Hyaluronic High-Strength Formula Serum (P289), and Clarifying Formula Toner (P269).—JCB, GMA Integrated News
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