Sonmi, Founder Of meeth And Jamie Yeo On Taking Entrepreneurial Challenges As Celebrity And Secret To Their Success

The beauty and entertainment industry are known for their fiercely competitive environment, it is definitely not an easy profession especially if you’re just starting out. But both Sonmi and Jamie Yeo are not your average celebrities. Known for their groundbreaking success and a legion of loyal followers, they have made a name for themselves. Have you ever wondered how they successfully manage their business as celebrity entrepreneurs? Although they hail from different countries, they are seasoned veterans in both industries. Beauty Insider gets up close and personal with these ‘it girls’, Sonmi and Jamie Yeo as they share their experience as celebrity entrepreneurs and juggling their business empire.

Sonmi and Jamie Yeo Share The Challenges They Experience As A Girl Boss

The business industry is a cut-throat world that goes above and beyond competitiveness. This environment is not unusual for Sonmi and Jamie. They both revealed that they experienced initial challenges when they founded their business empire. “At first I managed the business by myself so I had to do everything alone from creating the product, communicating with the customer and delivering the product,” says Sonmi during the zoom interview.

Jamie adds, “I actually really agree with that as I started my jewellery business last year and I also do everything myself now. I talk to them (customers) on Instagram and the only thing I don’t do is deliver but everything I do by myself at the moment.”

“I definitely want to follow Sonmi’s footsteps because she started out like that and now she has a whole team of people taking care of her brand and her business is expanding. So that’s all very exciting.”

They both agreed that being a celebrity entrepreneur has its perks as they both already have a solid base of followers. However, staying true to their inner business mogul, they emphasize that the quality of the product is essential to survive in the industry.

When asked about their secret to managing their business empire successfully and balancing it with personal life, they both agreed that living a healthy lifestyle is the key. “Obviously, it’s what we put inside of our body, so we just need to take care of our body,” says Jamie.

Sonmi Spills Her Beauty Secret and the Inspirations Behind meeth

What is the meaning behind meeth?

It means me forever. The play of words is in a numeral added to “me” As in “th” being the most frequent and therefore the most timeless, the brand name meeth came to exist as a definition of me every day.

meeth is known for its clean ingredients and sustainable packaging, what sets it apart from other similar brands?

We are a circular brand with absolutely everything we make and deliver being recyclable and made out of recycled materials. I don’t know if we are much different from other brands with the same philosophy but it is good to know that we align with this philosophy. We do it not only because we have to but also because we firmly believe that you cannot exist as a manufacturing company these days if you don’t learn how to care for the environment and others first. Given that we are a skincare company, we take the “care” part very seriously. Another aspect that sets us apart is that we do not do animal testing which is not something we consider cruel, but also immoral.

The philosophy behind meeth creation is “Beautiful Skin is the Best Jewel”, why is such a statement important to you?

It was from my own complex that I became interested in skincare. When I was doing entertainment activities, there were many good-looking people around me, and I was worried that “I wish I had long legs like this person” and “I wish I had a smaller face”. In such everyday life, I decided to think “Then what is my charm point?”

At that time, I often had my skin complimented. From that point onwards I became interested in skincare. From my early twenties, I tried various things and found out what made my skin better. For example, what ingredients work to improve all skin problems, what should be used to achieve the desired skin quality, and so on. All things considered at the time to start my company, I looked at myself very well again and realized that Beautiful Skin is the Best Jewel. You can have everything else that makes you look good but without good looking skin you have nothing.

Among the ingredients that meeth products are formulated with are mineral-rich water that is sourced from Sapporo and Iwanai, can you tell us more about it and why did you choose to incorporate this ingredient?

In alignment with what Japanese Beauty stands for, from the beginning we started to look for natural ingredients that deliver multi-purpose effects. Ingredients that to a certain degree have been used for a long time and that we believed could be made better with modern technology.

If you can only choose 1 product that best represents the brand, what would it be and why?

Our flagship Morerich Pack. The roots of this product were originally formulated for medical use, mainly to treat acne outbreaks. As we took a closer look at it we discovered that with the right engineering we could make it ideal for skin tightening and hydration. In addition, we developed a formulation that allows us to sell it freely online. And, the most important part is that it comes with a neck.

During the initial launch, you started out the brand by yourself. How do you juggle different businesses and what keeps you motivated during those times?

At some point as I started to share advice on my Instagram account, I realized that as I introduced products people wanted them but they were also looking for a more comprehensive solution. This motivated me to start meeth.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy but if you have an idea and motivation you believe in, you have to go ahead and do it. In my case, it was a big step to go from being in the public eye to becoming a CEO, especially since I had never worked in an office before. In summary, it all comes to effort, sleepless nights, never giving up and fundamentally surrounding yourself with the right people who can help you. Personally and on this note I am extremely grateful to the team of people we have built in a rather short period of time. People who have bought the dream as much as I did from the very beginning.

You’re a firm advocate of skinimalism, what do you think the trend will be like in the next few years?

I believe that J Beauty will continue to exist and progressively continue to drive trends in skincare around the world. In essence, all we stand for in Japan is about being minimal and effective. We all live a busy life and while we want to look good at the same time, as a brand we live by the premise that achieving this goal is our most important objective.

Can you share with our readers your daily skincare routine?

There’s no pre-set schedule. I basically build my routine over a month period in which Morerich pack is used regularly and fill it with Morerich Essential Lotion, Twelement Day Cream and Ceraderma essence, FBright UV Base (absolute must every day), and sometimes & Skin Oil when more hydration is needed. I also focus on the cleansing step as my daily skincare routine. I don’t wipe off my makeup or rub my skin with force as it can damage the skin. Besides, no matter how “skin-friendly” the product is, the cleansing ingredients will dry out if left on the skin for a long time. On a daily basis, I gently massage my face using the Morerich Smooth cleans and I use my ring finger to cleanse around my eyes. After 1 minute, I rinse my face with lukewarm water about 20 times or more. 

5 must-have beauty products that you can’t live without?

I have to say they are all meeth products.

• Morerich Pack
• Morerich Essential Lotion
• Twelement Day Cream
• Ceraderma Essence
• Skin Oil

We heard that you’re planning to launch several new products including scrub, night cream and hair essence. Can you give our readers a little sneak peek?

While most details are confidential I must say that there’s a lot to look forward to. Basically, our business intention is to go beyond the skin and into areas we know we can care for very well. The body category is very attractive to us since beyond the care itself we see it as having to do with pampering. The scrub for example will care for the skin, but also for the soul. Everybody likes a good time for relaxation every once in a while, if not every day and this is what we are excited about, providing a unique degree of care. Hair is the same and a nice complement to the skin being the best jewel.